Enrich Your Child’s Cultural Education Through Art
The following featured post is by guest author Molly Pearce.
Teaching your children to have an appreciation for art is one of the best gifts that you can give them. After all, art not only has the ability to cause an emotional response in the viewer, but it can also teach us a lot about the history of the world. The art from each time period provides a reflection of the struggles and morals of the world at that time as presented through the eyes of the artist.
How do I Introduce My Children to Art?
Many children claim that they are not interested in art, but this is only because their parents either waited to long too introduce them to it or are going about it in a way that’s not kid friendly. For example, some parents will wait until their child is 10 and then expect them to enjoy a long visit to a museum. If you really want your children to appreciate art, however, you need to begin incorporating it, from the traditional print to eclectic folk art, into their lives from the time that they are a toddler.
One of the best ways to get children excited about art is to ensure that they work on family art projects on a regular basis. You can also take them to a children’s art museum to help them see how art is typically presented. After a visit to one of these museums, the entire family could enjoy an “art night.” Allow everyone to bring their own artistic interpretation of something that they saw in the museum to life, and hang all of the pieces in your home. This will help children learn about art while also encouraging them to continue to create art of their own.
Using the Internet
There are thousands of websites online that are devoted to art, and you can use them to help your children explore artists who are new to them. If they find a piece of art that particularly resonates with them, help them print out a copy of it and let them put it up in their bedroom. Being surrounded by art in this manner from a young age will definitely help your child have a real appreciation of art as they get older. In addition to letting children find classic works of art online that they like, you can also use the Internet to let children explore their own creative side. KidSites.com offers a nice mixture of kid-friendly art websites, and there are options for children of various ages.
Art History
When your child finds a piece of art that they enjoy, take the time to learn about its history together. By simply providing them with even minor pieces of information, you can make the painting feel more alive to your child, and they will also learn something about history. As long as you introduce this connection between history and art at a young age, your children will quickly latch onto art as both a visual treat and a learning opportunity. After all, even children who protest about school actually do enjoy learning about new things, and art can make the entire process seem less like schoolwork and more like fun. The creative process and learning about it’s background can help children make all sorts of connections, from the cultural to the scientific to the social. The sooner you can incorporate art education and appreciation into your kids’ education, the more well-rounded their sense of the world will be. You may even ignite a passion in your child and facilitate the early career of a great artist.
Freelance artist and author Molly Pearce is also a proud mother of two always looking to enrich the cultural education of her kids. Artismo.com is an online source for custom-framed, high-quality art reproductions, from the traditional print to the modern masterpiece. Displaying a variety of art on the walls at home, including in the nursery, is another way to expose kids to art.
Chattanooga Children’s Creative Discovery Museum Images Copyright 2013 Kathryn Depew.
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