Literacy through the Arts

Spring 2022

During our Winter/Spring 2022 after school program, over 36 children participated in Movement and Art, Crochet Club, and/or Bilingual Yoga at Waterbury and Greenbrook Elementary Schools.

Our core text this session was Alvin Ailey by Andrea Davis Pinkney. Utilizing this book as well as others, children explored modern dance and its connection to the African American experience within American history. Additionally, we introduced a brand new class: Crochet Club for 3rd-5th Graders.

Our highlights from this session:

• Nine children, parents, and Teaching Artists took a field trip to downtown Chicago to see The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform live at the Auditorium Theatre. To read more about our trip, click here.

• Over twenty children performed a modern dance piece at the Hanover Park Resource Fair. Additionally, the crochet club’s art pieces were displayed for the community.

• Two new Teaching Artists joined us this session: Ms. Kwak in art and Ms. Stephanie in crochet.

• Valentine’s Day proved to be a day all about love, joy, and art for our LTA kids. Take a look here.

• LTA’s baby trees, which were planted in the November cold, began to bloom towards the end of our session together. We can’t wait to watch them continue to grow.

• In March, ballerinas Ava and Brooke Keiler read Robert Battle, My Dance Story, a book about Alvin Ailey's Artistic Director and Choreographer, to children at Greenbrook. Then they danced for the children and helped them with their dance moves in smaller groups.

• Friday, March 11, 2022, Ms. Laura, two Teaching Artists, and an LTA family traveled to Springfield, IL to present at the Illinois Reading Council (IRC) Conference. Our presentation included a brief overview of our programming, history, and how we’ve affected the community. Two LTA children, JJ & Alyssa, and their dad had the opportunity to talk about their experience with the program and what it’s meant for them and their family. Read more about it here.

• Before spring break, children received brand new books for free from the Bernie's Book Bank.

Don’t miss out on our next ARTSiE program session!