So I keep meaning to post about Thursday. It was just so fabulously art filled. One of the common complaints about public schools today is that the kids don’t get enough exposure to art. Art is important. It is not only good for the soul, it’s a creative outlet for everyone. It allows one to see and interpret the world in different ways and allows different forms of self expression and self exploration. Many people argue that reading and writing are far more important so, since are schools are also doing so poorly with those, we can drop art, music, pe to allow more time for the important subjects. Unfortunately not all people have the same interests or skills. Even those that are intersted in basic subjects need the arts. Why? Same reason I listed above: teach you to view your world in different ways, teach you to think creatively.
I think our kids are exposed to more art in the average day than many get in a week of school. Especially at their age, it is vital to have your little fingers squishing clay, smearing paint and clutching a crayon. It gives them the ability to be silly, sad, happy; to express themselves beyond the ability of their vocabularies.
So back to Thursday . . .
D and C have art on Thursdays. Three hours of art: an hour each of visual art, drama and dance. That alone is probably more than most children without all they do at home. This week C brought home his green armed caterpillar he’d made. D had pictures of superheroes he’d drawn. Very cool. When I went to pick them up, one of their teachers asked if she could show them the stage for an upcoming production. D’s class had seen it but not C and she wanted to be fair. So we got to wander backstage for Little Red Ridinghood and check out how everything worked. The combination of art and engineering really interests our kids: the ‘how does it work’? Knowing the secrets of the theater doesn’t seem to ruin the magic for them but instead seems to make them feel like they are in on the secret.
A few hours later one of our homeschool groups had a field trip to the <a href=”http://www.arizonamuseumforyouth.com/Home.aspx”> Arizona Museum for Youth.</a> So more art. We explored the gallery briefly but the kids were all more interested in playing in Artville (interactive exploration side) and making their own art. AMY is one of the places we have a membership. Such places are invaluable to us as homeschooling resources.
