Third graders are taught Shop by Valerie García. Students begin the year exploring Clay and making ceramic gifts for a member of our community. We then launch into Woodworking, creating blueprints, making accurate cuts with the Japanese Saw, detailed cuts with the Coping Saw, and finally, assembling our Animal Step Stools.

Third graders are taught Art by Andrea Aimi. The semester begins with a collage project where students create two specific spaces—one outside and one favorite inside space—within their home, using recycled paper scraps. Romare Bearden’s work, particularly from The Block, is introduced, and students discuss his artwork before writing a cinquain poem about their piece, connecting to the third grade poetry unit with their homeroom teachers.

Students work with tempera paint, observing objects and drawing inspiration from the work of Morandi. Additionally, they study the history of sand mandalas and their connection to both Indian and Indigenous American cultures, they create fabric paintings influenced by Bogolanfini cloth from Mali, learning about its connection to the earth and its strong use of patterns, and explore watercolor, printmaking, and sewing in the curriculum.