During the earliest grades, music and art are usually covered by the classroom teacher, rather than being taught as separate subjects. Often, they're integrated with other studies: children may draw things they're learning about in history or science. When the school can afford to pay for a special teacher, children may receive a weekly art or music lesson. In private schools, separate art and music classes are more common. Art activities for youngsters are typically open-ended, with children provided materials for painting, drawing, building or sculpting, and allowed to make their own creation. Kids may also do crafts according to the teacher's instructions, where everyone in the class produces a similar product. Basic experiences with music will involve learning songs, singing as a class, listening to recorded music, and improvising with simple instruments like tambourines. In the intermediate grades, instrumental lessons may be offered. Children learn about notes and sheet music. They also begin to study a wider variety of music and composers. Art classes in the upper grades tend to be more sophisticated. Children work with different media, such as charcoal, pastels, water colors and acrylics. They may also learn crafts such as weaving, dyeing or woodworking.
