Go back

Art for Children

 

2024-2025 Schedule 

Fall 1 Term • August 26 - October 7
Registration will open on August 5th
Fall 2 Term • October 28 - December 13
Registration will open on October 1st

Spring 1 Term • January 27 - March 7
Registration will open on January 3rd
Free Somatic/Yoga Workshop • March 17-26
Spring 2 Term • March 31 - May 9
Registration will open on March 3rd
June Session • June 2 - June 27
Registration will open on May 1st
2024 Summer Arts Camp • July 7-11 + July 14-18
Registration will open end of February 

 

Spring 1 Term

Registration - will open on January 3rd 

Art for Children 
Advanced Art for Children 
Art for Teens
Drawing for Youth 
Ceramics for Youth (10-week course)
Ceramics (10-week course)
Drawing 
Mixed Media Painting
Photography 1 
Photography 2

Creative Movement
Dance for Children 
Dance for Youth

Theatre Tots
Theatre for Children 
Acting and Improvisation for Youth

 

Free - Somatic/Yoga Workshop 

March 17 - 26
Austin Peay State University 

Join Kelly Ferris Lester and Amy Bush from Eastwest Somatic Institute for a transformative 5-day workshop, generously offered for free thanks to a Google Grant from the Community School of the Arts. This unique workshop, held at Austin Peay State University, blends somatic practices with yoga, movement, and hands on lessons to help participants deepen their connection to body, environment, and creative expression. Through Land to Water Yoga, Shin Restorative Bodywork, and guided movement experiences, participants will explore the core principles of: 

moving with the enviornment, witnessing, effective communication, focusing imagination, re-patternin, and more 

Attend the full workshop or drop in for free. The fee to recieve certification credit will be offered at 50% off the standard rate. For more information, contact lovelandk@apsu.edu 

Questions about certification credit, contact workshops@eastwestsomatics.com.

 

 


 

Community School of the Arts Class Descriptions

Each session will explore a range of art-making materials and techniques. Students will create their own sketchbooks to fill with ideas, experimentation of materials, and artist statements about their completed projects. Experimentation of media and techniques is welcome, as the classes are designed to spark creativity and build confidence.

Please note this class is for students who have previously taken Art for Children.

This class will further explore art-making with new and more advanced techniques and projects. This will allow students to continue experimenting with new media to boost their creativity.

Each session will explore a range of art-making materials and techniques. Students will create their own sketchbooks to fill with ideas, experimentation of materials, and artist statements about their completed projects. Experimentation of media and techniques is welcome, as the classes are designed to spark creativity and build confidence.

Ceramics for Youth will focus on creating ceramics through various hand building techniques. By provide thoughtful guidance and foundational knowledge about ceramics, we hope that students gain a deeper or newfound interest in ceramics or art as a whole.
No prior knowledge is necessary or expected.
Wearing an apron or clothing that can get dirty is recommended. Come prepared to get your hands dirty and have fun!

Ceramics for all skill levels! From beginners that have never done wheel-throwing to advanced students that would like a place to develop their skills more, anyone is welcome to take the class. Students will learn the basics of wheel-throwing to make functional pieces and new techniques if they already have the basics down. The teacher will give demos and instructions based on the desires of the class so that everyone leaves with multiple pieces they love.

The student will learn the use of brushes and composition creation. This class will focus on a variety of water based mediums such as India ink, liquid acrylic, and watercolor. Students will create a value scale to better their understanding of achieving depth in a work of art. This class will be fun as the student learns to paint with confidence using a variety of skills. No drawing or painting experience required. Students will leave the class with 6-10 paintings. No prior experience required.

Students MUST have already completed Intro to Mixed Media. This class will focus on a variety of water based mediums such as India ink, liquid acrylic, and watercolor. Students will create either large scale work from techniques and materials taught in the intro course or several consecutive quality pieces. This class will be fun as the student learns to paint with confidence using a variety of skills.

Digital Photography 1 will be a class for any student who wants to learn how to use a digital camera to create artistic images or better their current skills involving image capturing. This class is open for students 16 years old and older who own digital cameras such as DSLR and Mirrorless Cameras. This class will require that ALL cameras involved must be able to access their manual controls for shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. These are the fundamental aspects of understanding how to fully use a camera and will be heavily used to participate in this class’s lessons. At the end of this class, students will have a better grasp of the basic manual controls of a camera and how to edit their photographs in Adobe applications like Lightroom and Photoshop. It will also get students prepared for an advanced version of the class, Digital Photography 2.

Classroom Materials and Equipment (student's responsibility):
* DSLR or Mirrorless cameras. Must has access to all manual controls (ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture).

School provides:
Adobe Lightroom Classic on a computer (lab days)
Adobe Photoshop on a computer (lab days)

Digital Photography 2 will be a class for individuals that have a good grasp of how their camera controls work and understand what Shutter Speed, Aperture, and ISO do for a camera. This class is an advanced course to help students learn the artistic side of photography. We will focus on composition skills, different styles and genres of photography, dive deeper into Lightroom/Photoshop, and learn about some of the masters of photography. We will also learn how to prepare our photos for web use, printing, and make a Blurb photography book from the photos in our project.

Classroom Materials and Equipment (student's responsibility):
* DSLR or Mirrorless cameras. Must have access to ALL manual controls (ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture).

School provides:
Adobe Lightroom Classic on a computer (lab days)
Adobe Photoshop on a computer (lab days)

This is a fun course that will cover basic design, drawing interesting subjects with emphasis on texture, lighting, and shading and blending techniques. Included will be an introduction to varied pencil types, ink, colored pencil, and contrasting papers. Subject matter will include landscapes, seascapes, florals and other interesting subjects. No prior experience necessary.

This class meets for 45 minutes, once a week.
Creative Movement dance classes combine stories, props and music in a child-friendly setting, which help students develop body awareness, rhythm, flexibility, coordination, and confidence. Because the Creative Movement students are so young, we ask that a parent stay and wait in the classroom. Thank you for your cooperation.

What to wear: anything active (leggings, tshirt, tank top, leotard)

This class serves as an introduction to dance forms for ages 6-9. Each class will learn introductory steps in ballet & jazz technique. Each student will need to bring ballet slippers to each class. Jazz shoes are not mandatory. Shoes can be purchased from your local dance wear store, Amazon or sportswear store.

This class serves as a continuation of dance forms for ages 10-15. Each class will develop their skills in ballet & jazz technique further. Though this classes acts a continuation, beginners are welcome to join. Each student will need to bring ballet slippers to each class. Jazz shoes are not mandatory. Shoes can be purchased from your local dance wear store, Amazon or sportswear store.

Jazz is a rhythmic and upbeat style of dance. It focuses on isolations of the body, proper alignment, leaps, turns, and rhythmic/performance aspects of dancing. We range in style of classical jazz, contemporary-jazz, commercial jazz, and jazz funk

*This class meets for 45 minutes once a week.
Theatre Tots focuses on acting as a way to strengthen collaboration skills and sharpen problem-solving abilities while instilling discipline and giving individuals a strong sense of pride and accomplishment. Theatre Tots will explore the ways in which non-verbal and verbal communication can convey emotions. We will consider characters within popular stories, utilizing the stories’ conflicts and relationships to understand each other. The unit will culminate in a small performance where the young actors will convey a simple story on the final day of class. The unit will culminate in a small performance where the young actors will convey a simple story.
*Because the Theatre Tots students are so young, we ask that a parent stay and wait in the classroom. Thank you for your cooperation.

Theatre for Children will dive into acting as a way to strengthen collaboration skills and sharpen problem-solving abilities while instilling discipline and giving individuals a strong sense of pride and accomplishment. This session will be spent focusing on individual growth through theatre, working on monologues in order to strengthen our voices, creating character, and building self esteem. We will also be delving into improvisational theatre in the form of exercises in order to build our interpersonal skills including communication, eye contact, on-the-fly thinking, and clarity in speech. By using scripted material as well as improv, our actors will hone a deeper understanding of storytelling and character-building. This unit will culminate in a production of a cycle of monologues and improv beats performed by our actors on the final day of class.

Acting & Improvisation for Youth will explore acting principles and the relationship between perspective and environment when depicting a character. This session will be spent diving into acting within a show and inner workings of a production. We will be working through the production process from auditions all the way to the opening night. This will allow our students to deepen their understanding of theater and acting as well as honing their interpersonal skills. This unit will culminate in a production of a cycle of scenes and improv beats or an one act show performed by our actors on the final day of class.

Come join us for a wonderful introduction into the world of acting and Improvisation! We’re inviting performers across all levels to step out of their comfort zones and give it the ole Community-School-of-the-Arts try! In this 6-week course we will be learning character exercises, audition techniques, group exercises that’ll get you thinking on your feet, as well as performing monologues and scenes.

Learn with friends how to play and strum along to some of the ukulele's favorite tunes—you can even sing along too! Students will learn ukulele fundamentals such as how to hold the instrument, how to play 4+ chords, and how to strum basic rhythms. 

Writing for Military and Families is open to all active duty personnel, veterans, and family members. In this course, students can write about any subject matter and in any style. Students are not required to write about military experiences. Styles of writing can be nonfiction, fiction, and poetry as well as drama, suspense, humor, free verse, narrative, song writing, and personal journaling. Students will have the opportunity to read and/or share their work with the class (though not required) and to receive feedback from the instructor and other students in the class.
If students choose to write about the military, the course explores writing about those life experiences. This could include the effects of war, the benefits and effects of that lifestyle, the personal lives of military families who have a wide variety of experiences and backgrounds, and much more.
Students will be given writing strategies, prompts, and challenges in order to create work. If applicable, students are welcome to bring in work that they have already created prior to the class.

This is not a grammar course, and students should have an understanding of English language and usage. This course is for creative writing development. If you have a manuscript-in-progress, bring it with you to the first class. If requested, students can receive critical feedback about how to improve your writing.
The class is limited to 10 students.

 

Hip Hop

"WELCOME" EMAILS WITH ALL CLASS INFORMATION WILL BE SENT TO REGISTRANTS THE WEEK BEFORE CLASSES BEGIN.
(questions/concerns, email csa@apsu.edu)