Activities

The KinderstART program is comprised of three main components: 1) the KinderstART Family Art Fair, a fun-filled day of art activities for parents and their children 2) kindergarten classroom participation in the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts Lincoln Center Institute aesthetic education program, and 3) “You Gotta Have Art,” an outreach effort that enlists S.F. organizations and businesses to provide Rooftop kindergarteners with an opportunity to share their art with their community.

Rooftop's partnership with Berkeley's Julia Morgan Center for the Arts (JMCA) has proven to be an ideal match, creating a rigorous academic focus while allowing for individual classroom goals. Each year, using the Lincoln Center Institute model of aesthetic education, students focus on two works of art in deep classroom study. The JMCA 2003-2004 program featured Crosspulse in a performance that explored the universal language of music, and the public works of Ruth Asawa, the noted Bay Area artist and champion of arts education for public school students. The 2004-2005 program will focus on theater, with a performance of Moliere's The Miser by the Shotgun Players, and dance with Oakland Ballet. Participating kindergarten teachers found that classrooms formed tightly supportive communities as a direct result of this shared exploration of the visual and performing arts. Improved listening and observation skills, an increased ability to follow complex instructions, mutual trust and tolerance when working individually and cooperatively, critical thinking, self-awareness and the thrill of discovery - these life skills are taught through art.

Kindergarten Lesson Plans