Art Vistas is a volunteer led art curriculum, which incorporates hands on activities with art appreciation and art history. Each class receives 6 presentations over the course of the school year. The volunteers who teach the lessons for each class, called docents, are provided with the materials and lesson plans. It is also helpful to have 2-3 volunteers to assist with set up and clean up. Training and practice time are provided during school hours for each set of lessons. Each student will have one piece of artwork on display at the Art Vistas Exhibit during Open House in May.

Here are the highlights of the lessons for each grade level.

Kindergarten: Students will learn the building blocks of art concepts including shapes, lines, as well as primary and secondary colors.

1st Grade: Students will study the elements of art in detail through the work of Vincent Van Gogh and many other artists. This includes lines, shapes, colors, texture, and value.

2nd Grade: Students will learn about the principles of art with a focus on the impressionist painter, Pierre Renoir. Balance, contrast, rhythm, symmetry and overlapping are just some of the techniques that are practiced.

3rd Grade: Students will continue integrating elements of art that encompasses linear and aerial perspectives, with a focus on harmony.

4th Grade: Students get an in depth look at realism, primitivism, impressionism, expressionism, cubism, surrealism and abstract schools of painting.

5th Grade: Students will have art lessons that are closely related to their social studies units. These include art from Native Americans, Colonial Art, Revolutionary Art, and Photography.