Frog Street Pre-K - Criterion 2.7

Frog Street Pre-K materials partially meet the indicator for promoting the core ideas of visual arts, music, dance, and drama (2.7a). 

Visual arts, music, movement, dance, and drama are present throughout the curriculum. The materials provide some opportunities for students to practice fine arts skills during practice centers, dramatic play, music, and movement. Inquiry-based elements appear primarily in the creativity center and during some music-and-movement activities.

Weekly songs are included during the Music and Movement portion of the daily lesson across all themes (Themes 1–9; e.g., pp. 15, 41, 67, 93). Songs align to weekly themes and include guidance for coordinating lyrics with movement (Songs and Stories resource; Lilypad). During these activities, children respond to music through movement, supporting creativity and expression. For example, in Theme 7, Teacher Guide, p. 15, students sing The Parade, Little Ants, and All Around My Yard, which align with the theme Amazing Critters.

Opportunities for fine arts development are most often found in the Creativity Station within Practice Centers. Activities are typically presented as prompts or projects. Some dramatic expression is evident in the retelling of the story. For example, in Theme 4, Week 2, Day 5 (p. 43), children act out The Three Little Grasshoppers. Creative experiences emphasize structured exploration rather than intentional artistic learning. Children primarily engage with visual art media, such as paint, crayons, markers, scissors, and glue. For example:

• Theme 1, p. 87: Drawing emotions in response to mood music

• Theme 2, p. 61: Designing a dog or cat collar

• Theme 5, Week 2: Cutting and tearing confetti pieces to create a design

Overall, Frog Street Pre-K provides a somewhat balanced range of experiences across visual arts, music, movement, dance, and drama through songs, practice centers, and dramatic play opportunities. These experiences generally lack explicit connections to content-specific vocabulary. While music and movement occur daily and allow children to respond creatively, these activities emphasize participation rather than the development of core fine arts knowledge and skills, such as beat and rhythm or instrument playing. The materials also provide exposure to the arts and include opportunities for artistic expression, such as creating and performing. Opportunities to respond to and connect with artistic work are less evident, and support for the development of artistic knowledge and skills could be strengthened.

Frog Street Pre-K materials partially meet expectations for supporting artistic expression, ideas, and work through integrated and interdisciplinary experiences (2.7b). 

Fine arts experiences are present across themes through read-alouds, SEL, STEAM experiences, practice centers, music and movement, and outdoor activities. Fine arts integration is emphasized in Theme 5, Creative Me. For example, the Week-at-a-Glance outlines show how fine arts experiences are incorporated across content areas throughout the theme.

Materials include some integration of fine arts across content areas:

• Theme 2 (p.64), children sing a song, “Get Ready,” that connects to SEL.

• Theme 2 (p. 74), children sing “Bingo” and connect it with counting in math.

• Theme 4 (p.37), children build a house with sticks, pebbles, straw, or grass, which connects with pretend play 

• Theme 5 (p. 61) After children hear the story Candy Land Journey during Read-Aloud #1, teachers are prompted to invite them to draw or paint their new ideas

• Theme 7 (p. 15): Children sing songs such as “The Parade”, “Little Ants”, and “All Around My Yard”, which align with the theme Amazing Critters 

Overall, Frog Street Pre-K includes fine arts experiences through music and movement and art activities across themes, providing opportunities that support creativity and expression. However, teacher guidance for integrating fine arts across multiple content areas and for connecting learning across disciplines is limited. Opportunities for unstructured exploration and play in the arts are present. The materials would benefit from clearer teacher guidance and more intentional integration to strengthen meaningful connections between fine arts and broader developmental domains.