Related Arts

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1) 
Elementary art focuses on individuality. Each child is thus nurtured and encouraged to develop skills and concepts that lay at the core of art education.
Elementary Art – Grades Pre-Kindergarten through 5th Grade

•     Relates to all students’ lives and experiences.
•     Is valuable in that it challenges students to use creative areas of their brains in both critical and creative thinking.
•     Promotes self esteem and nurtures individual talent for future success which leads to lifelong learning.
•     Relates to all areas of curriculum studied in the regular classroom.
•     Uses a unique language that encourages the elements and principles of design.
•     Artists studied monthly change from year to year by design to give students a wide range of art history and genres.
•     Student work is displayed monthly culminating in an end of the year art display in conjunction with The Celebration of the Arts.

The Barham Library Media Center is a resource provider for students and teachers. The staff strives to provide a center that is a catalyst for increased student achievement, lifelong learning, and spiritual development and, in collaboration with the classroom teachers, empowers all students to become information literate. The curriculum is based on National and State Standards and addresses 21st century information literacy skills. The staff provides instruction on library skills, research, and literature appreciation. The goal is to prepare students to be informed learners and confident researchers at the middle school level. To that end, the staff provides age appropriate resources such as online encyclopedias, a subscription educational search engine, a video database, and over 16,000 print resources. The Barham Library Media Center is a wireless environment and houses a computer lab of 20 computers.

“Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy.” (Psalm 33:3)
The music instructional program provides experiences in many areas including:
LOWER ELEMENTARY:

• vocal exploration to find singing voice
• keeping a steady beat, the basis of learning rhythms
• recognizing fast and slow, loud and soft, high and low
• notate simple rhythms
• identify same and different parts of a song
• recognize melodic direction
• use pitched and unpitched instruments
• hear and sing music from diverse cultures
• identify instrument families and members of each family
• perform during the year in a musical or choral setting

UPPER ELEMENTARY:

• identify form
• identify instruments by sight and sound
• identify major/minor tonality
• sing rounds and partner songs
• notate more complex rhythms
• study of composers, past and present
• experience music from diverse cultures
• study of different music styles
• compose lyrics for songs
• perform during the year in a musical or choral setting
• 4th grade- music reading and preparation for band with recorder playing
• 5th grade- introduction to band for 12 weeks
• 5th grade- select group leads worship through song in chapel each week

Donelson Christian Academy provides an elementary physical education program that gives students quality athletic training in a variety of settings. These settings include physical education classes, after-school intramural sports, and summer sport camps. 
The Academy’s goal is to create a positive environment for all students and desires to instill a passion in them for physical fitness and athletic competition. The desire is for each student to achieve their full athletic potential. 
Physical education classes focus on fitness, motor, and team building skills. It helps students acquire the confidence and skills they need to participate in a variety of athletic activities. 
Intramural sport opportunities include flag football, volleyball, basketball, cheerleading, soccer, bowling, and  kickball.  Participation for these activities is scheduled for after school and Saturdays. 
Summer sport camps are provided by DCA’s high school coaches for elementary students during the summer. The camps are for football, volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer. 
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (I Corinthians 9:24-27)

The Elementary Spanish curriculum provides basic Spanish for Pre-Kindergarten through fifth grades. Its purpose is to lay a foundation for eventual fluency, with the hope of encouraging involvement with the Spanish-speaking community. Outside projects and tests are designed to encourage the students to spend time learning and reviewing Spanish outside the classroom, rather than to determine a passing or failing grade. The curriculum is by design directed away from tests and graded assignments, with the expectation that students will learn Spanish through practice and a desire to communicate--much as a young child learns his first language. The general goals of the curriculum are to provide a variety of classroom experiences that (1) expose the students to the Spanish language and culture; (2) develop a familiarity with the Spanish language and people; (3) kindle an enjoyment of learning Spanish and knowing the Spanish people; (4) provide as much practice as possible learning and speaking Spanish; (5) expedite language learning in secondary grade levels; and (6) produce a love of Spanish language and culture and a desire to understand and to build relationships with Spanish speakers.

Students in second through fifth grades participate in Technology classes taught by our School Library Media staff. Topics covered include research, drawing, keyboarding, presentations, movie making, word processing, spreadsheets, and more. These skills are integrated into projects throughout the curriculum.