ART APPRECIATION

If you had told me that I would be encouraging art appreciation with my children a few years ago, I would have laughed!

Let me begin by telling you that I have very little artistic ability and appreciating great works of art was not high on my list of things to do!

However, when I started homeschooling our children, I was introduced to Charlotte Mason, a lady who really challenged anything I ever thought about education. I am thankful for her aquaintance, albeit through books she wrote over a century ago, and I know that my children are too!

I began to implement the principles she suggested in a very simple way- my children were 4 and 5 years old at the time. I bought a calendar with Monet prints in it, cut up and laminated all the pictures and then gathered my children. I asked each child to pick three prints that they really liked... ones that appealed to them, and stuck them up in our family room low enough for them to admire. We spent the next few months reading wonderful children's books about his life and impressionism and discussing the prints they had picked. I still remember the look of delight on their faces as we finished the book Linnea in Monet's Garden and my son saying, "Oh Mommy, we have to go to Giverny!" Such were the humble beginnings of art appreciation in our home.

I hope that you will be inspired to embark on adventures of your own.

An Art Gallery Visit is another great way to explore art appreciation.

ARTISTS WE HAVE STUDIED

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