The first full year of the CTO Pathway to Literacy for Kids program took place at F.W. Begley Public School in downtown Windsor, and Queen Elizabeth Public School in Leamington.

Dance and Drama Artist Educators from ARTS CAN TEACH worked in partnership with the classroom teachers to deliver arts-based English language learning (ELL) to Kindergarten classes once or twice a week throughout the school year.

At the end of the school year, the CTO Artist Team provided the Kindergarten teachers with the tools, books, lesson ideas and puppets for them to continue the work without the artists.

The students had a blast being a part of the program. They were amazed by the ‘Magical Mouse’ who would physically appear in our classroom while we were learning virtually with Mr. Romain. They loved learning the kindness song/dance with Ms. Winter and performing it for their peers. They enjoyed the movement activities that they engaged in while learning about the 4 Seasons with Ms. Paquette and they were thrilled about how enthusiastic and hands-on the whole experience was with Ms. Lord. Overall, they have fond memories of learning with all 4 artists because they were able to communicate their thoughts and ideas easily, and the entire experience was hands-on and engaging. 

-Kindergarten Teacher, Queen Elizabeth Public School

STEM LESSONS

During the school year, thanks to the generous support of Doug and Randi Fox, the CTO program also funded two arts-based STEM lessons (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) to students in Grade 2 to Grade 4 at two schools in Windsor-Essex. Teachers chose the STEM topic and the art form (Visual Arts, Dance, Puppetry or Drama).

In the STEM program, Artist Educators from ARTS CAN TEACH in collaboration with the classroom teachers classes provided 4 weeks of high-calibre arts-based learning support for core school subjects like science and mathematics to support design thinking, problem-solving, inquiry, collaboration, and more!