This month, the 65 preschool students participating in the Arts-World Project at Destin School of the Arts began learning about the meaning of the South African phrase, Ubuntu .

" Ubuntu " - I am because we are.

DSOTA's Arts-World Project classes have experienced an introduction to the colorful arts of South Africa by listening to samples of beautiful South African music, playing traditional South African instruments, and beginning our September art project that we are doing in conjunction with our sister school in South Africa. Students learned about the first discovered paintings in South Africa that date all the way back to 75,000 years ago, as well as how these ancient people used art to share their stories and way of life. Art plays an important part in understanding the history of any culture!

Thanks to modern technology, in addition to all of these fun experiences, our students also had the opportunity to sing and dance with our new friends at the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Preschool in Hermanus, South Africa! It was so exciting for our students to see their new friends and discover that even the children all the way in South Africa know the song, "Baby Shark!"

Because of the support we have had for the DSOTA Play It Forward program, Destin School of the Arts has been able to send art supplies to the students at the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Preschool so that they are afforded the opportunity to create and learn along with us! In addition to that, we also have included Arts-World Project shirts, books about our culture and way of life here in Florida, lesson plans for the teachers, and interesting facts about our students here in Destin! This year is going to expand and welcome so many new things for all of our students (113 in all!) in each country!

The Arts-World Project is a part of Destin School of the Arts' Play It Forward Program and is available Jacob's Ladder Preschool VPK-K5 program students free of charge. If you would like to know more information about the Arts-World Project, or ways how you can help the Play It Forward through a program sponsorship or supply donation, please contact DSOTA Director, Keri Klaus at Destin School of the Arts, to share the good news of your blessing!

Tap here to Play It Forward

DSOTA's Pre-K Arts Enrichment students kicked off their year of arts education with a splash of color and more than a dash of inspiration! While learning about the works of George Seurat, Claude Monet, and Georgia O'Keeffe, our littlest artists got to try their hand at creating their own masterpieces using techniques developed in DSOTA's one of a kind curriculum.

Stay " tuned" for updates on our next unit of study - Intro To Music - beginning in October!

Tap here to request more information about registering for DSOTA's Pre-K Arts Enrichment Program!

The 2018-2019 program year is leaping to new heights and we couldn't be more excited! September 2018 brought an expansion to our DSOTA Dance program with the addition of THREE new classes! Tutu Cute (2-3 year olds), Beginning Ballet (K-2nd grade), and Primary Ballet (4th Grade +) have joined Pre-K Ballet (4-5 year olds) on the roster of available ballet classes offered at Destin School of the Arts.

There are still available spots in Beginning and Primary Ballet. If you would like more information about our DSOTA Dance program or class availability, please tap below:

DSOTA DAN CE