art 08/09

Okay... as you can probably tell by my previous posts, my "style" is changing a bit this year. I'm letting go of my previous "school at home" homeschooling method and going for a more "joy of learning" philosophy. Don't get me wrong, you can still love learning in a "school at home" scenario, but I'm finding the we, as a family, are really enjoying a more relaxed framework when it comes to school.

I used to think that I needed to schedule in artist studies. I went crazy trying to find the right curriculum and such. I never really found one that was right and I would beat myself up about it. But then I began to realize just how much my children had absorbed from our frequent trips to the Art Institute. They had developed relationships with the various pieces of art, and through these relationships, they had begun to seek out more information about the artist, the history of the piece, the style, etc. They had done all of this because they loved the piece and it brought them joy. It was so amazing to finally step back and realize what had happened. I'm pretty sure most of the curricula I was considering wouldn't have brought them the same delight as our trips to the Art Institute did.

So, instead of lesson plans and such for art appreciation, I bought these instead...
Can You Find It?
Alex LOVES I Spy books so I thought this could be fun for him.

The following books look like a lot of fun..... mysteries, spot the differences and great pieces of art! I think we'll really enjoy these...
Art Fraud Detective
The Great Art Scandal

In addition to these, we may continue with the art classes the kids are currently in. If not, we'll continue working our way through our Atelier Art program. We'll also continue visiting the Art Institute as well. I have some special art appreciation things lined up for Clara that I will post later in a separate post. Clara has her own special little plan for next year that I'm very excited about!

More later!