Ballet & Tap:
Mills offers dance every week to their students starting at age three. Taught by Ms. Niki Fallah, who has
had over 20 years dance experience and 10 years of teaching experience, students learn the skills and
techniques of ballet and tap and are the main attraction of the end of the year show. In addition, dancers
develop strong balance and coordination through tumbling activities and physical training. The dance
program at Mills is unique and designed for children to learn and enjoy the art of dance. Click here to download form.
Martial Arts:
Mills students have the opportunity to participate in Martial Arts. The children will be learning Shaolin
Kempo, a form of Kung Fu, which emphasizes self-control and confidence by fostering a calm and peaceful
state of mind. Relying less on physical strength and more on mental development, it has been found that
children as young as four years of age can benefit from such classes. Our instructor has had thirteen
years of teaching experience and this will be his sixth year teaching marital arts at Mills. There will be
two sessions during the course of the school year. Classes are offered one hour a week, within a group of
approximately 10 students. Additionally classes will be divided by age group as needed.
Art:
This program provided by Art Forms, has designed a fun and educational mixed media art activity for
children. Students at Mills are given excellent art instruction while exploring the styles and techniques
of famous artists, using a wide variety of high quality painting and drawing materials. Classes are held
once a week for one hour.
Foreign Language:
Offered by IES Language Foundation, Mills students are given weekly instruction in a second language.
Offering Mandarin, Spanish, and French, IES classes are held one hour per week. Each student receives
home reinforcement materials, which include curriculum for the entire program. IES teachers are usually
native speakers and all are bilingual. Their methodology follows a progressive program of instruction
with language acquisition using one word and short sentence responses. All children will receive a
certificate at the end of the program.
Piano:
Taught by Ms. Helen Mitchell, who has over 20 years piano instruction experience; Mills students are
given private piano lessons right here on the Mills campus! Accepting students beginning at age three,
children are given the opportunity to learn the art of music, which in turn enhances their academic
performance. Through this program children will enjoy and foster a love for the piano and music as a
whole. Ms. Helen holds a yearly piano recital where students perform music of their choice for family
and friends.
Kids Sing w/ Catherine Starr:
Developed using the Kodaly Method, Kids Sing provides playful, academically rich music education to children ages 3 1/2 to 6 years of age. The program instills our children with a love of music while teaching basic music literacy through circle singing games, chants, improvisations, dancing and instrument play. Teacher Catherine grows her students’ skills in sight singing and ear training through solfege (do-re-mi) and rhythm syllables, and develops the musical ear through singing a rich repertoire of folk music. Each child’s classroom learning is reinforced with a CD/songbook so they may practice at home.
Basic Facts:
- 8 to 12 children
- 30-minute classes weekly
- Ages 3 1/2 to 6 years. Classes organized by age and ability.
Teacher Catherine Starr’s musical training includes vocal studies at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and UC Santa Cruz. She has performed extensively with
a cappella folk ensembles and has studied folk dance traditions in the U.S. and abroad. She is a former Montessori teacher as well.
* Applications for the extra curricular activites mentioned above are available in the scool’s
office.
|
