Composer/artist studies--if you do these, how do you pull them together?

[melissel]

I'd like to do one a week, alternating weeks. I have some great resources--the Classical Kids CDs, several Come Look With Me books, the book and picture cards for Child-Sized Masterpieces, etc.--and I'm just wondering what else I should look for. I have little formal knowledge to pull from, so if you can tell me how you do this (or point me to a thread or blog post about it), I would appreciate it!

 

TIA!

[amiemac78]

I was doing a search yesterday and came across this blog. She has some very nice items for composers and artists studies.

 

http://practicalpages.wordpress.com/free-pages/free-famous-musicians-wall-chart/

[Cleopatra]

I was doing a search yesterday and came across this blog. She has some very nice items for composers and artists studies.

 

http://practicalpages.wordpress.com/free-pages/free-famous-musicians-wall-chart/

 

This is what we use. It's a great resource!

 

We post the artist and composer of the month on our board at the beginning of the month. Each week we study 1 painting from the artist and one song from the composer. I have an art study page (I print out and glue down the work that's to be studied); my dd has to note the artist, the date of the work and it's title. Sometimes I'll get her to write down the medium the artist used or write something about the painting. As for the composer, I have a music listening sheet where she has to listen to one piece from the composer, note the composer's name, the date of the composition, the name of the composition, etc., and then she has to write about what the piece makes her think of as she is listening to it.

 

Sometimes she does more than one per week so at the end of the month she has studied 4-6 paintings and 4-6 compositions. I also try to get her to read a short, interesting book on the artist or composer during the month. I find that it works very well; it is not too overwhelming and is relatively simple to implement and complete.

 

We've also used the How Artist See series .... http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=how+artists+see&x=0&y=0 They are very easy to use and are excellent for gently getting the child to recognize certain technical aspects of art.

 

For music, the Story of Music is a great little resource. I found mine used. It contains wonderful information and is written in a style that is very engaging. http://www.amazon.com/story-music-Harriot-Buxton-Barbour/dp/B0007H95XO

 

Here is what we use for the artist study pages http://notebookingpages.com/wp-content/uploads/free-content/fine-art/picture_study_pages.pdf

I'll try to attach the classical music listening page .... I just hope it works .... :tongue_smilie:

ClassicalMusicListeningGuide.pdf

ClassicalMusicListeningGuide.pdf

[Amy Jo]

I do 10 week quarters. For Composer Studies "Classics4Kids" podcasts - usually 4 or 5 per composer. For Artist Studies we have enjoyed a "Book of Masterpieces" from charlottemasonhelp - basically each child gets a photo print of each painting/artwork for their book. Even my 4 year old enjoys it. We are low-key. Sometimes one child describes the picture to the rest of us; sometimes we study the picture, put it away, then 'narrate' it; others we just talk about the picture.

 

So we will alternate weeks: 4-5 Classics4Kids and 5-6 pieces for each artist (10 weeks total). That will cover 4 artists and 4 composers per year.

 

I hope this makes sense - it's late.

[Donna]

We used the lapbook programs from www.homeschoolinthewoods.com for composer study and just began the artist study one. My 8yo enjoyed making the projects and putting together her lapbook. We also added in other resources we had available like CDs with the stories of the composers and biographies.

 

Here's a link to the finished composer lapbook dd created... http://ptmom.blogspot.com/2011/01/composers-lapbook.html

[JEMama]

AO and SCM both have schedules of artists and composers for such studies. AO also includes lots of free online resources and tips.

 

I haven't done these yet, but would like to incorporate them into our schedule this year. I wish I had artist and composer studies as part of my own education... I'm excited to be able to learn alongside my kids!

[SnMomof7]

I also flounder at this, so I'm going to eavesdrop. Thanks for the suggestions so far!

[mamachanse]

I use Harmony Fine Arts. They follow our history rotation.

[Erika]

I follow the schedule in Living Books curriculum music study beginning in 1st grade.

[mom@shiloh]

We've floundered with artist and composer studies this last year as well. Of course, we've floundered with almost everything this past year..... (sigh) Moving on. I have "heard" people talking about postcard sized art prints, but I've never been able to find them. Could somebody please hold my hand and walk me over to some??

 

Jean

 

I checked out the child-sized masterpieces book that was mentioned in a pp, but I'd like a copy for each child if possible, so I was hoping for something less expensive.

Edited May 17, 2011 by mom@shiloh

[MelanieM]

We've floundered with artist and composer studies this last year as well. Of course, we've floundered with almost everything this past year..... (sigh) Moving on. I have "heard" people talking about postcard sized art prints, but I've never been able to find them. Could somebody please hold my hand and walk me over to some??

 

Jean

 

I checked out the child-sized masterpieces book that was mentioned in a pp, but I'd like a copy for each child if possible, so I was hoping for something less expensive.

 

Check out the selection of Dover art postcards. I had these pointed out to me yesterday as an alternative to Childsized Masterpieces.

[ChrissySC]

I use the composition notebook method. Any composition notebook will do. Create a cover for the front. I use about a 5x5 sheet of paper. I have dd create the cover with me and print. I use clear contact paper cut larger than the sheet to fix it to the cover of the book.

 

Leave the first few pages (1-3) blank. I print, cut, and past a lable - "Table of Contents" - for the first page. We number the pages on the bottom right corner starting with the fourth page, number one.

 

Each artist page receives a title. Use sticker letters, print from the computer, etc. Choose a few works to print. Under the title a short biography is written. The printouts of the work are cut and pasted inside. A short comment of whether or not the child liked or disliked this artist and why is recorded at the end. I do not limit how long or short or how many examples are pasted for illustration.

 

Record the page numbers and the artist name in the TOC.

 

:) HTH We just do not make this complicated. Actually, the book can be quite a "journal" through art studies. I suppose that this is maybe more of a CM approach to art too. I do not choose the artist. I let the children decide what goes in their book.

 

E: Dd loves these http://www.amazon.com/START-EXPLORING-Masterpieces-Fact-Filled-Coloring/dp/0762409452/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1305634582&sr=8-3

Edited May 17, 2011 by ChrissySC

[ladydusk]

Kinda pricey, but we enjoy the Masterpiece Cards.

 

We also have enjoyed the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Page-a-Day calendar this year. My husband wants one next year for his office, too.

[clarkacademy]

Check out the selection of Dover art postcards. I had these pointed out to me yesterday as an alternative to Childsized Masterpieces.

those look really nice thanks

[Satori]

We use Meet the Masters to introduce a new artist in an interactive, fun way, and then we go off on our own with children's books about that artist, following the MTM list. We read Mike Venezia books (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artist/Composer) series, Smart About Art, Laurence Anholt. Once we finish their series for a level, I'll go through and include some famous artists that they didn't cover. I went through a bunch of children's art books and listed the top 100 artists. I made a sortable artist list, click the headings to sort it a different way. The top 100 is probably overkill, but there are some artists that aren't quite as popular that I'd still love to cover with my daughter (Ansel Adams, Frank Lloyd Wright that do other artistic genres or are more modern).

 

For inexpensive prints, I joined the AO Yahoo artist list, and also just use Google Images and Artchive.com (although I don't go there much anymore, too many annoying popups). Then I print them out and put them in page protectors in a binder.

 

I love the Masterpiece Cards set that ladydusk linked to, I've had it in my Amazon shopping cart for awhile, but it is expensive. I do get the Art Page a Day calendars she links to, it's a good idea to stock up on those early before the price escalates in the hundreds, hehe.

 

I do subscribe to impOnline's Masterpieces. Every 3 weeks you get 4 high quality 10x13 prints delivered for about $14 (including shipping). We accelerated our delivery to 3 shipments at a time, so we get 12 prints for about $41. Kinda pricey, but we love collecting the prints. You get a fancy box to store them in, and some silly gift they throw in (which can change). I've been able to halt my delivery when we're on vacation or when finances are tight. So far, I'm very pleased with their service and also get their Classical Composers and Ancient History DVD collections.

[MinivanMom]

I divide our year into 9-10 week quarters and we study 1 artist and 1 composer per quarter. Since we're doing a two-year world history rotation with Sonlight, I chose 8 major artists and 8 composers to study in chronological order over the two years. I bought biographies of both the artists and composers, a cd of each composer's music, and art calendars for each artist (to cut up and use as art prints - a $12 calendar=$1 per print).

 

We read the biographies of the new artist and composer at the beginning of each quarter. I have a large frame hanging near our kitchen table (where we work) that is matted 12x12 for the calendar prints. I put in a new print each week for us to look at and discuss. I play the composer's music during lunch each day. At the end of the quarter we do an art project in the style of the artist.

 

This has been working good so far. It has been very little prep and expense, but art and music appreciation get done in a low-key, enjoyable way. We're planning to do a two-year American history rotation with Sonlight next, so I'll probably choose 8 American artists and composers to study along with it.

[ladydusk]

I love the Masterpiece Cards set that ladydusk linked to, I've had it in my Amazon shopping cart for awhile, but it is expensive. I do get the Art Page a Day calendars she links to, it's a good idea to stock up on those early before the price escalates in the hundreds, hehe.

 

The Masterpiece Cards are expensive, but the quality of each print is quite good.

 

I already put next years calendars into my cart for pre-order ... I think you're the one who introduced me to them in the first place, Angela!

[melissel]

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who posted on this thread. I was using Google's advanced search feature to look for ways people are implementing artist/composer study, and I came upon this thread, which I posted just about a year ago when I was stressing about the same thing :lol: And I never said thanks then, so I'm saying it now. I appreciate all the great ideas! This year we might actually have the budget for the Masterpiece cards, which I totally love. And I'm a member at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, so the next time we go in, I'm going to grab that calendar.

 

Off to research! :auto:

[Kelly1730]

I divide our year into 9-10 week quarters and we study 1 artist and 1 composer per quarter. Since we're doing a two-year world history rotation with Sonlight, I chose 8 major artists and 8 composers to study in chronological order over the two years. I bought biographies of both the artists and composers, a cd of each composer's music, and art calendars for each artist (to cut up and use as art prints - a $12 calendar=$1 per print).

 

We read the biographies of the new artist and composer at the beginning of each quarter. I have a large frame hanging near our kitchen table (where we work) that is matted 12x12 for the calendar prints. I put in a new print each week for us to look at and discuss. I play the composer's music during lunch each day. At the end of the quarter we do an art project in the style of the artist.

 

This has been working good so far. It has been very little prep and expense, but art and music appreciation get done in a low-key, enjoyable way. We're planning to do a two-year American history rotation with Sonlight next, so I'll probably choose 8 American artists and composers to study along with it.

 

Love this idea! I'm looking at a place in our eating area that would be perfect to hang a print. Where is a good place to buy the art calendars? Amazon?