The Importance of the Arts in Primary School

By Sarah Hibshman Miller ‘98

At Laurel School we believe the arts are an essential part of the curriculum. From expression through dance, music and visual art, the lessons learned are innumerable. Collaboration leads to creativity, small differences can make big impacts, and most importantly, there are several paths to take to “problem-solve” in art. There is no one right answer and expression leads to personal success on many levels.

“The arts provide a chance for girls to explore their own creative side, a chance to show their feelings and express what they are learning through dance, music and visual art. The arts give girls an outlet to get excited.” said Bella Patel, Director of Laurel’s Grades K-2.

Art is the act of creating. In Kindergarten through Second Grade, that manifests itself naturally as games and imagination play. Music, dance and drama at this age use the tendencies that students are doing outside of the classroom. Teachers are adept at leveraging the style of creation, and synthesizing it into organized learning.

The performing and visual arts curriculums are designed to be exploratory and a jumping-off point to further develop each discipline. The learning tools gained through the arts help develop and reinforce learning benchmarks being taught in traditional classrooms settings.

“It is a great way to sneak in learning in a ‘fun’ way”, said Joel McDaniel, K-2 and Upper School Music Teacher. “For instance, the First Grade curriculum revolves around the study of ‘Musical Superheroes’, which celebrates musicians across genres and time while students design their own superheroes and compose short musical phrases to produce their own unique superpowers.”

Visual arts are key to developing early skills that weave into so many different aspects of learning. “Visual art builds observational, fine motor, and beginning critical-thinking and engineering skills while fostering experimentation and resilience in an atmosphere of joy and curiosity,” said Catherine Butler, Visual Arts Department Chair and Teacher. “As students learn how to mix colors, fold and cut paper, create symmetry, draw faces, create sculptures, and explore other media they hone their fine motor skills and become comfortable with experimenting and exploration.”

It is natural to tie visual art into traditional classroom learning. In January for instance, Kindergarten students wrapped up their annual classroom study of Antarctica and this tied in perfectly to a visual arts project where they created clay penguins and drew other research animals, which adorned the Primary halls for all to enjoy. Taking that classroom curriculum and turning it into a way of expression allows for a deeper understanding of the material and provides one more avenue of learning. neighborhood scrolls to tie in with their studies of community, which included their house, and places important to their lives —all placed at relative distances along the scroll.

Visual art is also a great way to teach and reinforce inclusivity. Ms. Butler states that, “As students learn about artists of different races, cultures and backgrounds—with a particular focus on women artists, they begin to see the world through the lens of inclusivity and curiosity.”

“We tie class learning into all aspects of art, and dance is no exception.” said Ida Porris, Performing Arts Chair and Pre-Primary and Primary dance teacher. “For instance, each February First Grade works on the ‘Color Dance’, which draws from Dr. Seuss’s Many Colored Days and works of classical, jazz and contemporary music to allow students to explore and create original choreography. Students incorporate and respond to each of the drawings and works of music focusing on the idea of form, time, space and energy.”

Dance is an important element of art that Laurel values greatly. Mrs. Porris goes on to say that, “In dance, students are thinking about form, like beginning-middle-end structures, similar to the construction of sentences and paragraphs. Dance uses notation to create sequences, visual, and written representations of movement. We often link dance directly into poetry and books by connecting movement to words.”

Mr. McDaniel adds that, “Music literacy reinforces reading skills like reading from left to right and spatial tracking. Music notation and rhythm are comparable to early math skills. Rhythm introduces fractions, graphic mapping, and interpretation of graphic representations. Kindergartners work hard in music to tackle phonemic awareness by breaking down syllables and words. Many of these concepts are introduced early in the performing arts curriculum and provide a transference point for students once the classroom curriculum is being taught.”

“The performing arts at Laurel are collaborative across disciplines which is a huge advantage to student learning,” continued Mrs. Patel. “Dance, music, and theater are constantly intersecting to reinforce concepts and allow students to immerse themselves further in learning and exploration at a young age. In fact, art in Kindergarten through Second Grade lays the foundation for future arts exploration out at Butler for Grades 3-5 and on into Middle School.”

Laurel also frequently brings in guest performing artists to advance what has been learned in the classroom. Students are exposed to diverse professional artists from around the greater Cleveland area. This helps to illustrate what a working performing artist looks like and reinforces the curriculum already taught in their classes. Guest artists have included Multi-abled artists, Laurel Alumnae, and professional performers.

In many schools the arts are considered a luxury. It is not automatically part of the curriculum for all. But arts are actually fundamental in development from early childhood through adolescence. Outside of academic skill reinforcement and development, the arts work to develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Collaborative activities work to strengthen language and verbal skills through multimodal expression and communication of the creative process. The arts naturally produce differentiated instruction, challenging students of all abilities and skill levels to practice and hone their individual skills. Moreover, early study skills, stress management, and high-stakes testing are developed through learning how to rehearse for and perform during recitals and performances.

THE ARTS PLAY A VITAL ROLE DURING THE PANDEMIC

When the COVID pandemic hit and Laurel transitioned to School@Home, our faculty remained committed to tying art into remote learning. For many of our students, art of all kinds provided creative forms of expression and still allowed for collaboration and connection with fellow students.

“The arts really tie into the social/emotional aspect of learning and this was never more true than during COVID when traditional play was not really an option,” said Mrs. Patel. “Our arts curriculum allowed for student collaboration—even over Zoom, and more time for play. The arts really work toward developing soft skills; working together and communicating.”

One positive change to have come from incorporating art throughout the pandemic was a shift in scheduling. Students now have dance, visual art and music twice a year for extended amounts of time. These intensive blocks allow teachers and students to focus deeply on skills during the first round and performance during the second round. This change has proven to be successful in allowing students more consistent time to study and understand materials and techniques, and to then apply those skills to performing or showcasing their work.”