Lower School Arts
As part of Keith’s Lower School arts program, our youngest Cougars are introduced to visual arts, music, and performing arts programs starting in preschool and continuing through their Keith career.
Nothing makes our Lower School parents prouder than seeing their child’s art hanging in the hall, or hearing their student performing in one of Keith’s plays or musical programs. Unleashing our students’ creativity is key to engaging their enthusiasm for school and gaining additional confidence.
Visual Arts
Our students explore the key elements of art—color, line, shape, and composition—through projects in a variety of media. We explore landscapes, still lifes, perspective drawing and drafting skills in our work. Basic concepts of balance, proportion, shading, and contrast are emphasized.
Music
Through their experiences in Lower School music class, students learn to sing with confidence, be comfortable on stage, read music, memorize lines, and play several instruments such as recorders and xylophones.
Keith’s Education Curriculum incorporates the Music TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) and the National Standards of Music. Students listen to various styles of music and learning to identify, describe, and categorize myriad sounds. Using correct musical vocabulary, Lower School students identify attributes of sound such as:
- Dynamics
- Pitch
- Timbre
- Melodic and harmonic properties of notes played or sung at the same time
- Music forms
- Rhythm and beat
- Duration
- Silence
Our students experience music by listening, reading, writing, speaking, chanting, singing, playing, moving, and creating. The basic elements provide a foundation for advanced development as students sing, play, compose, improvise, and evaluate music and musical performances. Our goal is to enable all students to realize their musical potential and interest.
Performing Arts
Keith’s theater program strives to introduce children to performance art and all its aspects. We enhance the skills and talents students already possess and help discover new ones. In the creative exploration, children find their strengths, use their imaginations, enhance their musicianship and develop their voices as individuals and groups. Our youngest students have many opportunities to perform and build personal confidence through annual plays performed for family, friends, schoolmates and the community at large.