On Friday morning, the LGA community was treated to something extraordinary - the 1st ever Gan Opera. That's right, the Kindergarten at LGA has just completed their unit study of opera. Morah Amy's brother, Ken, who is an opera expert, spent two days studying opera with our Kindergarten students. From there, the opera unit took on a life of its own. The students story boarded, wrote, produced and starred in the "Enchanted Forest." Only one word comes to mind when I saw it - inspiring. It was so amazing to see how much pride the LGA Kindergarten students took in this unit.
This unit signifies so much more than the producing of the opera itself. It represents the best of how we understand how teaching at LGA should be done. Students and faculty delving deep into an area of learning and focusing their attention of every single aspect of a topic. When Morah Amy and Moreh Karl started this opera unit, they were planful in their approach to teaching. They talked about goals. They designed a unit that would teach opera appreciation. What happened was so much more. The students took the idea of an opera and ran with it. Moreh Karl helped them compose the music, and Morah Amy assisted in the writing process, but the students really took the lead.
This unit blended formal and informal learning. It inspired students to get creative, and it made our Gan class (even those too shy to perform) work together to create a stupendous piece of art. Below you will find the link to the show. Enjoy. Make sure you watch until the end, when a real opera aficionado gives us his opinion about the show. Some parts are harder to hear, but you'll get the gist.
Mazal Tov to Kitah Gan and to the Gan staff for turning this unit into a memorable moment for our youngest students. Enjoy the opera!
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