Archive for the ‘Importance of Art for Kids’ Category

Facilitating An Artistic Child When You Aren’t Artistic Part II: Being Your Own Kind of Creative

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

I know. You said you weren’t “creative.” You may not express your creativity through paint and clay, but creativity can take on many forms. It can manifest itself in new marketing strategies, chemistry experiments, the construction of a fence, or your special soup recipe. Whatever your profession or hobby, it is likely that you use some sort of creativity every day. Here are a few ways to facilitate an artistic child without being “artistic” yourself.

1) Be confident in front of your child.
Your child is looking to you for an example. If you want him/her to be confident in trying new things (like art), you need to do the same! If you would like to learn how to speak another language, let your child observe you. Allow him/her to watch you make mistakes. Show your child what it looks like to be resilient in the face of obstacles. Talk with him/her about different solutions to everyday problems. Your child will recognize that learning a new skill takes time and making mistakes is part of the process.

2) Take risks.
Being “artistic” is all about being confident and taking risks. I am not talking about risking health and safety, but I am talking about risking pride. Risk failure with the greater hope of discovering something new! Try adding an unlikely ingredient to a recipe. Wear your favorite sweater with something you have never worn before. Rearrange the furniture in your living room. It may look awful, but it may look great… You’ll never know until you try.

3) Problem-solve with your child.
We all run into unexpected situations everyday that require us to change our course of action. With your child, practice recognizing problems as opportunities for creativity, rather than as obstacles. For example, when you and your child come to a road closed for construction, think of it as a chance to see a new part of your neighborhood. Turn the experience into the exciting discovery of new houses and people. As your child develops problem-solving skills, he/she will become more resilient to frustration in all areas of life and naturally apply them to art-making.

4) Look with your child.
Take the time to look at unfamiliar objects with your child. Talk about what you see. Look at the objects again on multiple occasions and share new observations with each other. Explain to your child that we encounter things everyday that don’t make sense to us at first. It is important for us to visit and revisit whatever it is that we want to understand. Teach your child to spend time looking, analyzing, and drawing upon new information to make sense of something new, whether it is a map of a foreign city or a new toy. This same process can be applied to looking at art. The more we look, the more we understand.

5) Say, “I don’t know. Let’s figure it out together.”
Don’t make up answers to satiate your child’s curiosity. Use your child’s inquisitive nature to springboard a quick Internet search, a trip to the library, or a conversation with someone who can help you! If your child has seen you asking questions to find answers, he/she will be much more likely to do the same! There is no need for your child to feel like they have to figure out the whole art thing alone. Take the opportunity to learn together.

Raising an artistic child when you aren’t artistic doesn’t need to be a daunting task! Even if you aren’t artistic, your can teach your child valuable life skills that will naturally leak into every aspect of his/her life—including art-making. There are many other resources available to help you feel capable in your quest to becoming a fantastic art facilitator. Below I’ve listed a few books that have me most helpful to me. Best of luck!

Museum Resources and the Homeschooler

Monday, September 12th, 2011

It’s been said before, but it bears repeating, art is crucial to your child’s education. Educators increasingly tout the importance of creativity and acknowledge that art encourages analytical thinking and problem solving. It can further be used to teach concepts from a variety of disciplines. Finally and perhaps most importantly, art is a vehicle through which our children can express themselves.

The benefits of making art can also be applied to learning about art. The idea of teaching art history to children might seem to some, boring and to others, daunting. After all, who really cares about Chola bronzes or Mannerist paintings? The truth is, we can learn a lot from both. The cultural, artistic and historical components underlying an artwork can introduce children to new perspectives and ideas. Educators and parents alike, however, grapple with teaching art history, either because they find it difficult to understand themselves or, because they struggle with translating these themes into fun and accessible experiences.

Go to almost any museum website and look under the “education” heading and you are likely to get more than you bargained for. A world of resources, at your fingertips, built to teach art history.

The National Gallery of Art (NGA) boasts one of the largest and most prestigious collections in DC. Likewise, its educational programs are innovative and comprehensive. The NGA website has a page devoted to homeschoolers that features a resource finder, which allows you to search for materials by curriculum, topics or artists. These materials feature online interactive guides, printable guides and exhibition resources. Most impressive are the interactive guides that contain lesson plans, activities, printable worksheets, bios and glossaries. Printable learning resources like, Painting in the Dutch Golden Age: A Profile of the Seventeenth Century, are bountiful and provide enough information for you to construct long-term learning experiences.

The Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (FSG) house both Asian and American art. Like the NGA, they offer a wide variety of printable materials including exhibition guides and a teacher newsletter entitled, Asian Art Connections, which features material centered on exhibitions. Their teacher guides focus on more generalized topics such as the art of Buddhism, Japan and the Islamic world and are written in a clear and culturally sensitive manner. The guides consist of lessons, glossaries and community connections. The FSG also hosts an interactive resource that examines the Shiva Nataraja and includes sections on history, contemporary importance and its relationship to dance.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum is unique in that it offers videoconferencing. What a great way to reach out to those who can’t make it to the museum! These video tours feature three series; Looking at Art, Learning History and Celebrating Heritage, each of which includes activities and teacher’s guides. Looking at Art focuses on building visual literacy and artistic methods and materials, something particularly helpful to students who are unfamiliar with museums and art.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Most of the museums in DC and beyond offer online educational tools that can help any homeschool parent tap their resources. Go exploring, I know you won’t be disappointed!!!

Tags: Art and Homeschool, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Freer Gallery of Art, Homeschool, museum education, National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Teacher resources for museums
Posted in Art in the Classroom, Art in the Home, Importance of Art for Kids | No Comments »

Reflections: Early Childhood Art Experiences with Scientist, Erin Vogel

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

I am so happy to have had the opportunity to speak with friend and fellow mom, Erin Vogel (her daughter is three). Dr. Vogel is currently a research scientist at the Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology at The George Washington University. Sadly (for me, at least), she is leaving the D.C. area to take a position as an assistant professor at Rutgers University.

AWR:
What is your earliest memory and what is your most significant memory of a museum or work of art?
Dr. Vogel:
When I was young, my uncle made candles, really beautiful, intricate candles. I used to love watching them all burn at night and all of the colors he used and patterns.

AWR:
Were you encouraged to make art at home as a child?
Dr. Vogel:
Yes, I was. We did a lot of arts and crafts as children in my house: drawing, painting, and clay. I took my first pottery class at the YMCA when I was probably 4 or 5.

AWR:
Did you visit art museums with your family?
Dr. Vogel:
Yes, we lived outside of NYC and went to museums quite often. I remember enjoying it but not nearly as much as my sister, I was at times bored when I was younger.

AWR:
Did you visit art museums with your schools? If so, do you recall whether your teachers used the field trips to create a meaningful learning experience?
Dr. Vogel:
I do not remember if we went to art museums with our school but I do not think we did.

AWR:
How have these experiences shaped your interest in the visual arts as an adult?
Dr. Vogel:
I admit I am not the most artistic person in the world, but I did a lot of pottery in college and really loved working on the wheel. I also like to paint, although I am not very good at it in the traditional sense. I find museums peaceful and enjoy going to museums to look at exhibits and I also like learning about different styles and artist. My sister is an amazing artist and I have always loved to go to museums with her so she can give me the history of the different paintings. I would say my early experiences with art and museums at least gave me an appreciation for art.

AWR:
Do you wish you had more exposure to the visual arts as a child and if so, why?
Dr. Vogel:
Not really, my parents did a good job introducing us to art, music, etc. Even in all of the schools I went to we always had art class. I find it depressing that so many schools are cutting art programs from the curriculum; I think art really helps kids express themselves.

AWR:
Were there other artistic disciplines, i.e. music or theater,that interested you as a child? If so, please share one memorable childhood moment related to that discipline.
Dr. Vogel:
We went to Broadway musicals a lot growing up. I loved going to plays in the city, and the musicals where the best. We would always buy the album and sing to it over and over. My most memorable Broadway show’s were Annie and Peter Pan, and I knew both albums by heart!

AWR:
Do you think the arts improved your educational experience? (i.e. did you ever feel as a child that the arts helped you understand your lessons better?
Dr. Vogel:
Definitely, having art in my educational background, even at just the class level, allowed me to use my mind in different ways during the day, which is very important.

AWR:
Did you ever feel that art was an creative outlet, something that broke the monotony of the classroom?)
Dr. Vogel:
Certainly, having art allowed us not to really have to listen completed to just words coming out of a teacher’s mouth but allowed us as students to express ourselves.

AWR:
Do you think that art education (visual and otherwise) is important in creating a competent work force that can compete in a global economy?
Dr. Vogel:
I do. Art is part of education. I am always embarrassed about how little I know about art history compared to my international colleagues. Even as a biologist, my colleagues in graduate school knew so much about art history, making them well rounded and not just focused on science. I think having a good knowledge of history and art would certainly make people worldlier and hence more competitive in a global economy.

My daugther's drawing of the orangutans

AWR:
It never fails; I always unearth something that I hadn’t thought about with these interviews. Dr. Vogel’s remarks about her European colleagues having a better understanding of art and art history really struck a chord with me. It reminds me of a piece I heard some time back on NPR about French preschools. The gist was that there were state funded preschools where children were provided with a safe, nurturing environment that introduced them to new experiences, thus forming a foundation for a well-rounded adult. It goes back to the idea of holistic education and makes me think that scientists would only get better if they had more art and artists would only get better if they had more science. It’s all too often an either/or situation.

I couldn’t help but include the photo, above, my daughter drew after a visit to the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum when we went to see the movie, Born to be Wild. Part of the movie featured orphaned orangutans and provided information about their habitat and lifestyle. In the picture, she synthesizes that information and visually records the orangutan, it’s environment, diet and movement. She was extremely proud of the picture and kept it safely away from her little sister for over three weeks until she presented it to Ms. Erin (a.k.a Dr. Vogel). Her drawing is less an expression of her own imagination and more an opportunity to present new information that she had learned and about which she was clearly excited. As a parent, I was thrilled to see her combine two of her interests so seamlessly.

Tags: art education, early childhood education, Erin Vogel, museum education, Museums, Science and art
Posted in Art Education & Museum News, Importance of Art for Kids, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Reflections: Early Childhood Art Experiences with Curator Lee Glazer

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

This is the third in a series of interviews featuring members of the DC community. These conversations will provide a personal perspective on art and childhood. It will illuminate the unique and important role art has in shaping our memories and cultivating our interests. This interview features Lee Glazer, Curator of American Art at the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Art Within Reach {AWR}
What is your earliest memory of a museum or work of art?
Dr. Glazer
The Adoration of the Magi by Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi at the NGA (National Gallery of Art). My grandparents lived on Capitol Hill, and my grandfather, an attorney by training, became a freelance tour guide after his retirement. He would drive us down to the “Mellon Building,” as he called the NGA, and wait outside in his car while my mother and I looked around the museum. Typically, he would sell his parking space to anyone willing to pay, and then we would find him double-parked out front.

AWR:
Were museum visits and/or exposure to art an important part of your upbringing?
Dr. Glazer:
Yes, but not in a formal or organized way. It was just something that we did occasionally, not a big deal or made to be boringly educational.

AWR:
In other words, did you visit museums a lot as a child? Did you make a lot of art at home? Were you exposed to art/museum experiences at school?
Dr. Glazer:
Not a lot of art-making at my well-funded public schools. Most of the art budget must have been reserved for music, because there was a dedicated music teacher, but never an art teacher until junior high.

AWR:
How do you feel your childhood experiences with art and museums impacted your decision to become a curator? How have these experiences helped in different aspects of your career?
Dr. Glazer:
Although the memory of that painting is vivid, I wouldn’t say that it influenced my career path. That happened in college, as the result of my first art history survey.

AWR:
Do think exposure to art and museums at an early age can have a lasting impact on children and if so, how?
Dr. Glazer:
Exposure to art and museums is important – but I wouldn’t necessarily link it up to future career paths. It’s part of understanding a common cultural heritage and therefore deeply humanizing; it’s fun; it’s great to see that art is valued by society and over the course of time – that it is in big, beautiful buildings and carefully tended. Art-making is also important – for somewhat different reasons, I think. It’s just satisfying to make things, and more satisfying if you have a certain level of mastery with materials, the possible modes of expression. Visiting museums can help expand kids’ horizons in terms of what kinds of artistic languages are possible. My own kids have taken a couple of drawing and painting classes outside of school, and the best teachers do always bring in reproductions of works that they’ve gathered from museum collections – as sources of inspiration, etc.

AWR:
Like Dr. Glazer, my career choices were influenced by people and events that occurred during high school and college. She makes a point of more casual and informal encounters with art in her youth, which is extremely valuable. The more teaching I do with young students in the museum environment, the more I understand the importance not making it, as Dr. Glazer puts it, ”a big deal or made to be boringly educational.”

In fact, it is a mistake to make children’s early experiences too structured (with one caveat, early childhood classes must include routine and consistency so kids know what to expect and what is expected of them). The class framework needs to be constructed in a fun and appealing way, lots of high fives and making sure our “looking eyes” and “listening ears” are properly in place. Once that is done, I like to listen and respond to individual observations. The children often take a conversation somewhere other than where I intended and I try to avoid forcing them back on point. The lesson objectives ultimately take second place to their engagement in the artwork. After all, I don’t want them to see the museum as a stuffy place where there are rigid rules, rather a place with infinite possibilities.

Tags: art education, early childhood education, Freer and Sackler Galleries, Lee Glazer, museum education
Posted in Importance of Art for Kids, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Reflections: Early Childhood Art Experiences with Teacher Megan Smith

Thursday, February 17th, 2011

This is the second in a series of interviews featuring adults from a variety of backgrounds and professions. These conversations will provide a personal perspective on art and childhood. It will illuminate the unique and important role art has in shaping our memories and cultivating our interests. This interview features a Montgomery County Kindergarten teacher, Megan Smith. I know firsthand that she is a wonderful teacher because she teaches my daughter (hence, the reason I have to refer to her as Ms. Smith!). She has a real way of engaging and teaching and was thrilled when she agreed to be interviewed – look for another blog from her soon!

Art Within Reach {AWR}:
What is your earliest memory of a museum or work of art?
Ms. Smith:
I first remember a painter coming to my kindergarten classroom and she did an “experiment” by mixing a variety of different colored paints together. At the time, it was amazing to see the transformation of colors and it was a great visual of how you can mix certain colors to make a new one.
Another memory I have was visiting the Philadelphia Museum of Art with my family when I was little. I remember loving everything about the museum; the smell, how quiet it was, the beautiful artwork, and the well-informed guide. I also remember being very excited to see the different works of art created by Picasso because I learned a lot about him in school.

AWR:
Were museum visits and/or exposure to art an important part of your upbringing?
Ms. Smith:
Yes. I was fortunate to grow up only 15 minutes away from Washington, DC; so visiting all of the museums was a weekly event in my family. I loved weekends because this would be our “family adventure” time when we would explore different museums and attractions in DC.

AWR:
Did you make a lot of art at home?
Ms. Smith:
Yes. My mother, being very involved in my education as well as being my Brownie and Girl Scouts leader, had a variety of crafts/materials for me and my sister to use at home, such as markers, crayons, colored pencils, paint, glue, colored paper, buttons, etc. My mother said that I was always making little projects and creating pieces of art for my family members. In my household, any free time we had from schoolwork, we were allowed time to do arts and crafts. This was a huge treat for me!

AWR:
Were you exposed to art/ museum experiences at school?
Ms. Smith:
Yes. Since Kindergarten, I can remember art class being one of my favorite subjects to go to. I had amazing art teachers that made my school experience even more meaningful for me. I always felt that art was one of my stronger skills and I have always had an appreciation for it. In school, I would attend many class field trips to art museums, as well as a variety of other museums in Washington, DC.

AWR:
How have these experiences helped in different aspects of your career?
Ms. Smith
My past experiences of visiting museums with my family have impacted me in different aspects of my career. I always try to encourage my students’ parents to take their children out for exploration. I believe it is imperative that children are exposed to the world around them and are not confined in a house in front of a television. In addition, I have a huge appreciation for art because of my past experiences and this is portrayed within my classroom. I encourage my students to explore a variety of materials and to be creative. Many educators feel that allowing students to complete art projects is a “waste of instructional time”; however, I beg to differ. I believe it is important that children are exposed to a variety of materials and supplies because not only is art fun and engaging, but I feel that art is a wonderful way for individuals to express themselves. I want my students to have as much passion and appreciation for art as I did growing up.

AWR:
Do you think exposure to art and museums at an early age can have a lasting impact on children and if so, how?
Ms. Smith.
From personal experience, I believe that exposure to art and museums at an early age can have a lasting impact on a child. As I reflect on my past experiences of visiting museums and looking at various works of art, I remember fun times that made my family bond. I have such an appreciation for art today and I believe it is because of the experiences I had when I was young. I am fortunate to grow up in a family that also appreciates art. My sister is an amazing artist and I always wanted to be able to draw as well as she did. My father and mother are also great artists; my father even sold his paintings when he was younger. As a child, I never spent time sitting in front of a television, but rather experienced the world around me and put my creativity and imagination to use. I can honestly say that visiting museums with my family is one of my fondest childhood memories.

AWR:
I am reminded again in this interview of the relationship between: family and the museum outing and family and art-making. In fact, just a few weeks ago at one of my classes I told a dad he could grab a coffee while I taught the class. His response was “No way, this is father and son time.” It’s true that you can bond with your children through a lot of activities, but art and art-making certainly offers an opportunity for exploration and creativity in a way that can connect children and adults.
It is also interesting to hear Ms. Smith highlight the importance of exploration. She speaks specifically about understanding materials and self-expression, which is important for young children. I think it can also be an exploration of culture, customs and ways in which different people see and depict the world. If we can support that exploratory nature and encourage children to peel away the layers of meaning, it will help them learn and more importantly, understand concepts from a multiple perspectives.

Tags: art and family, art education, early childhooed education, Montgomery County Public Schools, Museums
Posted in Art Education & Museum News, Art in the Classroom, Importance of Art for Kids | No Comments »

Visiting the Museum With Your Kids

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Here are my tips for a successful visit to DC’s art museums with your kids!

Summer is coming to end and you’ve been meaning to take the kids downtown to see some of the art museums and haven’t. You have a to-do list a mile long and the last thing you have time to do is prepare an educational visit to an art museum, especially for your 4-7 year old. So how can you make the trip fun for the family and easy for you?

Follow these easy steps and you will have a great afternoon.

1. Which museum to visit?

Choose the museum that interests you, if you aren’t interested its going to be hard to get your kids interested. DC offers a wide variety of art museums, for our purposes we’ll stick to what is on the Mall:

African Art
Freer and Sackler Galleries (Asian and American art)
National Gallery of Art
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (modern and contemporary)
Ripley Center’s International Gallery

2. What part of the museum?

Many of us feel compelled to see a whole museum in one afternoon, DON’T! Choose a part and when I say a part, I mean one, maybe two galleries. How do you choose?

Again, stick with what interests you. If you are organized, look at a museum’s website prior to visiting. These days, you can most definitely get a map and are likely to find some information on the objects. Most art museums have a separate section on their site’s featuring their collections. You can even think about giving the tour scheduler/ education department a call and asking what they might suggest.

When you consider the galleries, think about the size and location of the objects. Basically it helps to choose something big and exciting or an object your children can see well from their vantage point. In the case of our little ones, you will probably have more luck choosing objects that are big and breathtaking, some of my favs are:

Tomb Guardian at the Sackler
Giacomo Balla’s Sculptural Construction of Noise and Speed at the Hirshhorn
Rubens’ Daniel in the Lion’s Den at the National Gallery

3. Time your visit.

You are obviously not going to have a good afternoon if your little ones are tired. If you’re like me and live in the burbs, getting to the museum is going to take some time, so let this be the day’s event. Take that travel time to talk about where you are going and an art museum is. I am still looking for the perfect children’s book on museums, but the one I like most is Babar’s Museum of Art. Generally, kids learn better when they are prepared for an experience

4. What to do in the galleries?

Talk about what you see.
So, now you have got your little one in the museum and you are standing in front of a Buddhist sculpture. Are you going to give your child a brief history of Buddhism – NO!!!!!!!! You will lose them if you do.

Remember, part of your objective is art appreciation. Give them time to look at on object and talk about what they see. As they tell you what they talk, you can gently insert factual information that corresponds with their observations. For example, if they bring up that the Buddha has really long ears you can say that is because the Buddha used to wear heavy earrings, but took them off when he decided to give up all his “things.” Now, his ears are stretched out. Depending on the age of your children, it might be okay to just stop there. For older kids you can always go further and talk about the importance of the Buddha giving up his worldly goods. Make it age appropriate!

Say “I don’t know.”
It is also okay to say “I don’t know.” Museums are places where we explore and learn. If you don’t know why the Buddha’s ears are elongated, ask someone, read a label, pick up a brochure or do some web research at home with your little one. That way, you are learning together.

Activities
Don’t fight your kids instinct to move around. Ask them to find their favorite object and have them tell you why its their favorite. Spend some time with one object and ask them to find another object that looks similar. Once they found it, ask them what makes that object look similar to the other one. You would be surprised at their observations!

Read
Choose a book about the artist or the subject matter, sit down and read it in front of the work of art. Sitting is permitted and as long as you are not blocking entry ways or other visitors, you should feel comfortable taking a moment to relax with your child.

Sketch
Most museums allow pencils in the galleries. Pack a pencil, paper and a clip board your kids not only get a lesson on art appreciation, but get an art class! Plus their drawing help them remember their trip.

5. How long?

After about 45 minutes, consider ending the trip or at least taking a break. The Mall offers a wonderful area to picnic (bring your own food, feeding a family of four can be expensive!), run around and a carousel to boot. Chances are your kids won’t even realize that you just gave them an art history lesson and will want to come back for more!

For more information about museum-based programs for early childhood audiences, visit our Museum Tours page.

Tags: Art Museums, DC, Hirshorn Museum, National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian, Washington
Posted in Importance of Art for Kids, Visiting Museums With Kids | No Comments »

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