Thursday, June 22, 2006
Art and MoreIn keeping with the desire to introduce my kids to the noble and beautiful things of this world, I kind of balk at giving the boys a pre-cut out bunny and saying "Color this in" in order for them to express themselves. By itself, pre-cut out bunnies are fine, but I like to supplement that with other things as well. Sia and Hope probably have their own great ideas on how to teach their children to express themselves on a creative level, but as far as familiarizing kids with the great artists of the world I love to start them early in a gentle and fun way.
And so I'm giving a plug now to the "Child-size Masterpieces" collection (formerly known as "Mommy, it's a Renoir!"). This program contains several postcard size reproductions of great art and includes various activities for children to get to know them. From age matching and sorting at age three, all the way to creating a "Schools of Art" timeline for older children. My favorite advantages to this program are first of all, children can hold the images... art isn't always an untouchable thing on a gallery wall, so they really get to use their instincts in handling the works of art. Secondly, I love that this program allows room for expansion. We can go to an art museum, see the real-life masterpiece and then buy the postcards in the gift-shop. This really helps make the connection about these works of art being a real-life thing. You can purchase this program at Emmanuel Books
*Finally, today is the feast day of St. Thomas More. His patronage includes: adopted children, civil servants, court clerks, difficult marriages, large families, lawyers, politicians, statesmen, step-parents, and widowers. There is a great classic movie about him called A Man For All Seasons that everyone should see. This also makes for a solid and interesting history lesson for older children.-Ellie
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