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Music
Language is inherently musical and a strong music program complements language immersion very well. Through music, children will better hear the intonation and pronunciation that lead to fluency and will be practicing the vocabulary of the curriculum in an entirely different way.
Our program emphasizes musicality integrating the Kodaly philosophy, solfege handsigns to assist with pitch and Orff instrumentation. The children will sing, play instruments and dance from memory. They will perform, listen to, and analyze the great art music of the world and achieve mastery of musical skills, such as musical reading and writing, singing and part-singing. At each grade, the children will be encouraged to experience music at their own level of understanding.
Using Orff Instruments (tone bar instruments) is part of the learning approach. The instruments all possess unique timbres, which make all parts clear and well defined. Their use helps children become sensitive listeners and considerate participants as they play together in an ensemble. Used as a large group, the teacher can create an orchestra. Used as a small group, it can become accompaniment for storytelling and movement. These instruments allow a unity with music, movement, dance, and speech. (back to top)
Visual Arts
Creativity inspires language. Our visual art program seeks to provide children opportunities to use a variety of artistic media as well as a variety of techniques. Children will be encouraged to explore and create unique works of art. (back to top)
Cultural Education Weeks
Four times per year, Twin Cities German Immersion School will be offering cultural education (CE) weeks. All students must participate in two CE weeks in order to meet the required number of days in school as determined by our school board.
The purpose of these weeks is two-fold:
First, for the children participating in CE, these weeks allow for some exciting multi-age integrated educational opportunities. Artists-in-residence will be invited to work with the children for longer blocks of time with the intent of creating museum displays, theatrical productions, and more. The themes will be tied to artistic and cultural learning goals. While the educational goals will remain the same for each of the CE weeks, the content and activities will vary each week.
Second, we recognize that many of our families have strong international ties and value the option of traveling overseas for extended periods of time. The CE weeks coordinate with our vacation schedule in order to allow families to take advantage of some extended time off from school. (back to top)
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