Art and Science

I know a couple of other gals crazy enough to educate their kids.  We happen to be doing the same science this year, so we get together every couple of weeks to do the fun stuff we don't typically do when we're alone with our kids.  I'd go on and on about how hilarious and delightful and loving these ladies are and how wonderfully our kids get along and how fun it is to teach a whole gaggle of kids at once, but I don't want to make you jealous.  I will tell you I like our set up.  We take turns.  Hosting, teaching, feeding.  1/3 of the time I do it all.  But 2/3 of the time?  They do it.
Suckers.
I simply bring my learners to the great rumpus of communal discovery while I get to sit and chat with the other mama about...well, anything.  Teaching, marriage, leggings, the meaning of life, etc.  Then we all have lunch, the mamas talk, the kids play.  It's not a bad deal.  And since it's just the three of us, we can do whatever the heck we want.  Last time S did penguins, which are SO COOL but not in the "Flying Creatures" portion of zoology.  On my last turn, I did art, which isn't exactly science.  But it was Valentine's Day.  I had to do the Romantic Era.  I had to!
I talk to a lot of mamas who are kind of intimidated by the idea of teaching art.  I love art.  I'm not an expert, I haven't actually created anything in years, but I love it.  Introducing my kids to art is my way of doing what I really want to do.  So it's actually kind of selfish if you think about it.
When I have enough time to share my lesson ideas with other moms they aren't as scared.  So I thought I'd share what we did.

If you are a family member, you'll adore the cute photos and rest in the knowledge that your grandbabies, nieces, nephews, etc. are actually learning.  If you're another homeschooling mom, maybe this post will give you some ideas that will lead to even better ideas of your own.  If you're not one of those two, I cannot say with confidence that this post will hold any significance for you whatsoever.

My objective was to introduce the kids to the Romantic Period and the key concepts associated with that time.  I chose the Romantic period because it was relevant to Valentine's Day.  But it proved to be very difficult.  I was lucky to find any interesting paintings that did not contain naked bodies being gruesomely stabbed to death.  So with Chopin playing in the background, these are the ones we looked at:

We compared a Neoclassic piece to an Impressionistic piece and then looked at the above Romantic pieces to see the bridge they created.  I directed them to discover the elements that made these paintings historically Romantic.  Amazingly, I had the kids' attention most when we were simply looking at and talking about the prints.  They were very interested in the visual elements, pointing out all the interesting tidbits, and quickly began questioning what was behind it all.  Once we transitioned into activity time when we were going to make an explosion of our own, and then paint our own version of a Turner fire, it was much harder to get them to focus.  And it wasn't a time thing.  I kept our lesson short and their bodies moving.  This is encouraging me to focus on art when I'm teaching art.  I was trying to make it "more fun" so they'd accept it (we had five boys in the mix), but I found that fine art is perfectly acceptable to young children in and of itself.  I'm sure I'll still tag activities to the end of future lessons, but I won't expect that to be where they "get it."  It was obvious they "got it" as soon as I laid the beautiful prints before them.

I have also found that it is not hard at all to make connections between any of our subjects and our faith.  The most profound benefit of teaching my kids is the opportunity to point out where God's love is--in everything.  I don't even have to try.  I don't look for ways to interject truth where it doesn't really fit.  Artificial and forced is the not the sense I want my children to have of their faith.  The Spirit is constantly at work around us, in us, and all we have to do is pay attention.

During this particular lesson it was natural to contrast the Romantic passion and Christ's passion.  I showed them this painting:

Since the Romantics were so focused on the sensory, we discussed Christ's sensory experience while he was on the cross.  I felt it was a very natural segue from a worldly idea of romance to a Godly view of sacrificial love, which is the most romantic of all. 

Below is my detailed plan if you want to look for something worth retaining and reusing.

February 14, 2013   Art Day

~Discover the Romantic Period of the arts, exploring the artists’ focus on sensibility and passion.  Later discuss sacrificial love of Christ as the love we should emulate.

(In School Room)
Lay Down the Rules
10:15 Fun Fact Song & Motions

10:25 Compare prints of Neoclassicism and Impressionism
Look at prints from Romantic Era
-passion/emotion
-dramatic colors and scenes
-focused on the senses
JMW Turner, “Burning of the House...” prints
-from a rented boat,
-he watched the burning,

-sketching and watching,

-absorbing the event into his sensory mind.

(In Dining Room)
10:40 Sparkly Explosion
-focus!  absorb the experience into your senses!
-see, hear, smell, touch?, don’t taste!
10:50 Wash hands if you touched
11:00 Paint our Explosion
-recall from your senses and paint what rises inside
-German Romantic painter, Caspar David Friedrich said,
“The artist should paint not only what he sees before

him, but also what he sees in him.”

11:45 Clean up table and prepare for lunch

During lunch:
~Set out print of the Raising of the Cross & John 15:13
~Read “Jesus on the Cross” pg. 377 of The Children’s Bible
~Wonder about his senses that day--what did he hear, taste,

feel, see, smell?

~Discuss sacrificial love and John 15:13

Dessert Acticity

~dip strawberries and marshmallows in chocolate