Portrait of Ferdinand by Whitney Young Elementary Kindergarten student, Gabriella.
Thanks to support from the 5 x 5 grant, Kindergarten and First Grade students from Whitney Young Elementary attended a recent performance of “Ferdinand the Bull” presented by Stage One at the Kentucky Center. Stage One generously provided us with free tickets, but Five by Five grant money paid for bus transport of 125 eager students. As an added bonus, Stage One graciously donated two copies of “Ferdinand the Bull” to read aloud to our classes in the weeks before our visit.
Carolyn Fassio, our music specialist, and I collaborated on pre-performance preparation in our respective classes. In her music classes, Carolyn set the mood for the children with a rousing clip from the prelude to the opera “Carmen”. Students marched around her classroom waving red chiffon scarves anticipating a scene from the bullfighting arena in Madrid.
The students also learned to sing a song about Ferdinand. Across the hall in my art class, students painted portraits of a blissful Ferdinand sniffing fragrant flowers in a verdant pasture. Following the performance, students were eager to share their favorite recollections with us. Several enjoyed the scene where Ferdinand is stung by the bee. A first grade student from Puerto Rico said she LOVED hearing so many Spanish words, especially when it was time to chime in on the refrain to “One, Two, Three- OLE!” We say “OLE!” to the Fund for the Arts 5 x 5 grant and Stage One for enhancing our fine arts curriculum in such a tangible way.
Kristine Larson
5 x 5 liaison
Arts and Humanities Teacher
Whitney Young Elementary
Major Support for 5×5 provided by Chase and The Community Foundation of Louisville. 5×5 is part of the Fund for the Arts EVERY CHILD Arts Education Initiative.
