Welcome to Intermediate Art !

Grades 3-6 with Mrs. Weir

Every child is an artist at Jefferson Academy Elementary! JA’s young artists engage in the creative process to create high-quality projects reflecting imagination, meaning and skill development using a variety of media. Artists also practice how to look at art, recognize the Elements and Principles in an artwork and consider its meaning and purpose. Young artists explore artworks from a diversity of cultures and become familiar with an ever wider range of great artists and masterworks.

The Colorado Visual Arts Standards and Core Knowledge strongly inform the three curricular strands of the intermediate art program.

A child-created paper mosaic in which the student is posed like the Thinker.

Thinking about Art:

Art tells a story! At first, we learn to open art like a book, to notice its pages and to listen.  Later we learn to see the artmaker, to appreciate their craft and their voice and to be invited into their experience and point-of-view.  We notice the artmaker is part of a community and a particular time and place that lends meaning and depth to their work.  Later we can give language to their craft and think about their art from multiple perspectives.

"Take time to look." Georgia O'Keeffe


Student shows sewing progress

Art Making

Art is learned in the making! At JA, artists explore many media including ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture and fibers! Opportunities for creative exploration, and structured skill development ensure that students discover areas of strength and interest.

"I keep on making what I can't do yet in order to learn to do it." Vincent Van Gogh

A child looks at art

Art History

Every culture, both ancient and modern, creates art! The artworks created within the context of a particular culture provide a valuable window into the values, understandings and happenings of a time and place. Complementing JA's Core Knowledge history curriculum, intermediate art instruction enriches the students' understanding of history and it's important lesssons.

"Art is not a thing; it is a way." - Elbert Hubbard

Art Club 2025-2026

Intermediate art club is an after school enrichment opportunity offered to 3rd-6th grade students who express a passion for the visual arts. The art clubs will focus on deepening experience with a particular medium and building a sense of fun and community among our young artists!

  • Registration Details: Families will receive an invitation to enroll August 18th-29th. Registration officially begins August 25th and will end August 29th at the end of the school day. Registration forms are available below. Students will rank their 1st, 2nd & 3rd project preferences. We will do our best to honor preferences.

  • Payment: A completed registration form along with exact cash or a check payable to “Jefferson Academy” for $60 should be submitted to the office or to Mrs. Weir by August 29th.  Siblings do need separate forms and payments. Please note, art club is an optional after school program. Therefore the fee is not included in the free or reduced lunch waiver program.  Families will be notified of club enrollment via email by Friday, September 5th.

A few things about Mrs. Weir

A picture of Mrs. Weir

I LOVE… my family, my students, my team, lifelong learning, art, gardening, travel, celebrations, healthy food, and poetry.  I’ve taught as both a classroom teacher and art teacher for 20 years - mostly at Jefferson Academy! I’m a professionally licensed K-6th elementary educator with both a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and Master's in Curriculum and Instruction.

You can reach me at lweir@jajags.com