Do you feel art appreciation and/or history is necessary in elementary?

[rafiki]

.

[LivingUnderGrace]

No, I don't.

 

I do give my children the time, space, and materials to be as artistic (or not) as they desire.

 

For my children who ARE interested/have an art bent...I pursue more. They do learn any art history/appreciation as it comes up in history, but not as a seperate 'subject'.

[SheWillFly]

I think it is important to be exposed to but not more than looking at a painting or sculpture and being able to identify what you personally like about it.

[HSMom2One]

If your children are not interested in PE, grammar, or history do you insist that they have it anyway? Of course you do. We have to do our best to expose and teach our children a variety of important subjects whether they want it or not.

 

In my humble opinion, art is under valued and under appreciated in our culture --and that is a sad thing. This subject gets pushed aside so often, or relegated to the bottom of the list. Art may not be your child's "thing", but it is enriching and important for them. Additionally, your children should have a better understanding and appreciation of the giftings of others. They should be familiar with art vocabulary, terms, techniques and the names of artists as a part of their over all education.

 

I have learned that if I am passionate about a subject that I teach, I find that it is more interesting to my students. If art is also not your "thing" and you teach the subject, it may come across to the children you teach and they (in turn) may not be as interested in it either. I don't know if this is the case with you and your children, but it may be worth consideration. Maybe its time to find another person, one that really loves art, to become your dc's art teacher. I teach art in a private school and have seen previously uninterested students suddenly "wake up" and become engrossed in a project simply because I presented it to them in an appealing way. The secret was that I really loved the subject I was teaching, and they caught on.

 

Art is all around us. It is closely, closely connected to the study of culture and history. Even young children need to begin to appreciate these concepts. Art is a valuable subject within the realm of classical education, just as music, logic, Latin, etc.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

 

[tdeveson]

Exposure to the arts is essential from a very young age. Each year -- since grade 1 -- I've covered eight great artists and 8 great composers. At this age, all we do is look at paintings and perhaps read a short book about the artist. The same thing with the composers -- choose a few pieces and play them often for a month and read a short story. (Mike Venezia has great short books on many artists.)

 

It's not rigorous academics by any stretch. But at the end of each year my son can name the composer of several important works and can identify the work of several artists.

 

For an idea of how we do it, follow the link to The Examined Life and download our free curriculum. It include art and music appreciation.

[Lucy in Australia]

Neither of my sons was interested in art, full stop. Didn't want to look at it, didn't want to do it... You get the picture. So I lowered my expectations; we still went to art galleries (some excursions were more successful than others) and I made sure that roughly once a fortnight, we had looked at and talked about paintings by various famous artists. I basically just wanted them to be familiar enough with most of the well-known artists and their works, so that if their interests change as they get older, they'll at least have a reasonable basic knowledge to be able to develop their interest further.

 

I also incorporated biographies of artists & composers into our history curriculum.

[Pretty in Pink]

I think exposure is very important during the elementary years. I do not feel the need for a formal program during these years but I do go out of my way to provide a learning environment rich in quality art supplies. I stock up on various art books (ranging from "How To" books to art appreciation books and everything in between, mostly thrifted). I also make an effort to schedule regular excursion for my children to visit various museums and galleries, browse and participate in community art shows, experience community theatre and concerts, etc. HTH!

[kalanamak]

I think exposure is very important during the elementary years.!

 

:iagree: with everything P in P said, and act on it as best I can. It is wonderful for me, too.

[Colleen in NS]

My oldest is in 4th and has zero interest in art. My middler is in 2nd and very into art, however he wants to explore different mediums himself without the appreciation/history portion of it.

 

Both really enjoy more craft type projects, such as paper mache, paper making, making T-shirt designs, holiday projects, etc.. Is it okay to stick with these for elementary?

 

I have tried Artistic Pursuits and Discovering Great Artists, they just weren't our cup of tea or maybe I'm trying before the "ideal" time? We have used Scribble Art, How to Teach Art to Children, and a lot of the Family Fun suggestions, in addition to kits such as mosaics.

 

They have an "art" closet they explore regularly as well.

 

Necessary, no....highly desirable, yes. I tried to have formal "art appreciation" times when my kids were getting started in the grammar stage years, and they didn't always go well. I've lowered my expectations to "we'll get books out of the library that go roughly along with our year's history, and we'll look at paintings every so often together, and we'll read about artists together." I do want my kids to be exposed to the paintings/sculptures starting young, just so they recognize cultural things as they grow older. I also have tried to keep up drawing lessons with Drawing With Children over the past 3 years or so. This year, I will hand over the WTM rec'd. watercolour book to ds every few weeks and say, "here, have fun with this for a half hour" JUST to give him some exposure to some more skills. Who knows, he might turn out to enjoy it, even though he's not clamouring to learn watercolour right now. I think the book is something he can use himself, so that might help his interest along - something Mom isn't hovering over.:D

 

So anyway, yes to reading about/looking at art in elementary, and yes to exploring whatever art skills you want to in elementary, in no particular order.

[Jeanne in MN]

I would strongly recommend these, Come Look With Me books. They show beautiful works of art and ask questions about the pictures that really help the viewer to explore the art work and appreciate the artist and what they were trying to portray. I love these books.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=come+look+with+me&x=17&y=1

Edited July 31, 2009 by Jeanne in MN

[Paintedlady]

I agree with another pp who said that art is undervalued in this society and should be studied. No, it's not part of a basic skill set like the 3 Rs, but it's so undervalued today that most people don't have any clue at all about art. I think a little exposure at this age can be hooks to hang information on later when studied in depth, per the WTM.

[Peela]

I agree with those who said it is not necessary, but desirable.

 

I would like to add that elementary is a time that you can fit such things in....once they are teenagers and they dont know the difference between a Waterhouse and a Da Vinci and Picasso, it is much, much harder to fit it into the schedule. Exposure is so much easier when they are young...then if it drops off the schedule when they are older because they are still not interested, you can do so knowing they at least have some basic art literacy.

 

You dont need to use a program. I have used the Charlotte Mason method of having an artist a term, putting some pictures around the place, and once a week (or less, depending on when I get around to it), have a deeper look at once picture and doing an oral narration about it, and once a term having a brief chat about the artist.

Non artistic kids can do this and get a lot out of it.

 

I dont think a formal art course is as important as basic art appreciation, and we too tried Artistic Pursuits and it didnt work for us. But I am glad I plodded away- even when we didnt do it for months- at picking an artist, getting some prints or even books from the library, and leaving them around the schoolroom.

[Chris in VA]

Let's put it this way--

Wish I had, will with the next one. First one, not artistic at all. Had minimal exposure.

Now majoring in Art History in college because it's one of the recommended second majors to go with Cinema.

You never know how useful it will be down the road! :D

 

(I really agree with HSOneto2, but thought I'd toss our experience out there.)

[Colleen in NS]

then if it drops off the schedule when they are older because they are still not interested, you can do so knowing they at least have some basic art literacy.

 

This morning ds asked me why I make him check out an art/artist book (of his choice) whenever we go to the library. He said something like, "I don't even like art. And the only ones I remember are Van Gogh and Monet." I said, "But you liked Van Gogh's paintings, remember?" "Well, yeah, but he was weird. He did blah blah blah.........." and I said, "*That's* why I make you check them out - so you can see what's out there, read about them, and then decide what you like and don't like, and decide what you think about their life events. But you have to read and see before you decide.":D He laughed. (and I know he remembers more than VG and Monet, from all the bio./painting books I checked out when he was younger.)

[swimmermom3]

If your children are not interested in PE, grammar, or history do you insist that they have it anyway? Of course you do. We have to do our best to expose and teach our children a variety of important subjects whether they want it or not.

 

In my humble opinion, art is under valued and under appreciated in our culture --and that is a sad thing. This subject gets pushed aside so often, or relegated to the bottom of the list. Art may not be your child's "thing", but it is enriching and important for them. Additionally, your children should have a better understanding and appreciation of the giftings of others. They should be familiar with art vocabulary, terms, techniques and the names of artists as a part of their over all education.

 

I have learned that if I am passionate about a subject that I teach, I find that it is more interesting to my students. If art is also not your "thing" and you teach the subject, it may come across to the children you teach and they (in turn) may not be as interested in it either. I don't know if this is the case with you and your children, but it may be worth consideration. Maybe its time to find another person, one that really loves art, to become your dc's art teacher. I teach art in a private school and have seen previously uninterested students suddenly "wake up" and become engrossed in a project simply because I presented it to them in an appealing way. The secret was that I really loved the subject I was teaching, and they caught on.

 

Art is all around us. It is closely, closely connected to the study of culture and history. Even young children need to begin to appreciate these concepts. Art is a valuable subject within the realm of classical education, just as music, logic, Latin, etc.

 

 

 

:iagree:In my previous ps and private school life, I spent many years volunteering for and teaching Art Literacy. An Art Lit. lesson involves studying one artist or country. For an artist, you look at a brief biography. Then you examine several examples of their work. Next, you focus on one thing such as line, value, or texture. You learn about the term and apply it to the artist's work. Finally, the dc create art using techniques similar the artist's. It's a formula we have used at home successfully. However, my ds have been exposed to it since kindergarten. It's not just painting or drawing. They've done mobiles with Caulder and fish painting for Japan.

 

One of my favorite things to do with my ds is to show connections. How did the religious or scientific movement of the time affect the art? How do other disciplines come into play. Anatomy? Chemistry? Think of some of Leonardo's attempts to create different types of paint. How does math play into proportion? How does a country's geographic location affect it's art? My boys like seeing how an isolated childhood can affect an artist's creations. Kids that don't like art but like math can be drawn in by focusing more on the use of math in art. The same can be done with other disciplines.

Edited July 31, 2009 by swimmermom3
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