Celebration of the Arts

Celebration of the Arts 

The "kids School" Parent Teacher Association is proud to welcome you to the 14th Annual Celebration of the Arts.  This event was conceived by parents in 1999 with one goal; to inspire an interest in the arts by bringing music, dance, and the fine arts into the hands and hearts of our children.  This year's celebration will continue the mission of providing all of our students with a full day dedicated to a hands-on experience and appreciating art in all of it's forms.  Students will practice their skills by touching the tools used by the artists themselves. 

This years Celebration of the Arts once again brings together a variety of different artists from the community, some of whom are "the Kids School"s parents, the school alumni, teachers, and parent volunteers.  We welcome them all and thank everyone for participating.

Banners are hung in the entryway

The woman here is the Chairperson for this years Celebration of the arts.

She is welcoming a member of The Shamrogues!

A gift for all the volunteers, cookies and a reusable cup.

Inside is also the brochure/booklet for this year and the schedule for the day.

I received one for I am on this years committee and volunteered to do a hands on art activity for the Kindergarten classes

My activity; Story Stones.  After seeing these all over the Internet and wanting to make a set for years now, I took this opportunity to make some and share the idea with others.

Here are my supplies.

My sample of story stones to show the children

We talked about all the different ways to tell a story.  We came up with using your imagination and telling the story with your words only; an oral story.  We talked about writing a story down on paper and maybe it becomes a book people buy.  We talked about using pictures to tell stories. 

Then I read them a book.

The book I chose to read to the children is Where's My Teddy? by Jez Alborough (one of my favorite books of all time)

Here is a samples of using pictures to tell a story.  We made up a story together using the pictures in this bag (transportation themed)

Next we discussed how to use a story we already know and change it up by telling it backwards or coming up with a new ending or beginning, etc. Sample; Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See?

Finally I used the story stones I made to tell the kids a story.

After that, they got to work!

Each child received 5 river stones and a small canvas bag to keep them in.

They used stickers for the pictures and then covered them in watered down glue for protection and hopefully they'll stay on a little longer.

Four Kindergarten classes!

At the end of each session.  We sat together on the carpet and took turns saying a few words going around a circle to tell an oral story.  Finally the children had a chance to use the stones I made to tell a story.  All unique and interesting to say the least!!

I had so much fun being a part of this day.  One little girl said to me in the hall "I loved making my story stones. Thank you."  I think I'll be doing this again next year.  How could I not after that cute little face and those doe eyes?

Everyone who participates also gets a tee shirt (colors by grade, all adults received gray this year).  When we got home we took a picture together with our matching shirts!