My Lessons Coordinate with Yours!

As I have been thinking about how to set up my teaching curriculum, I decided to approach it as I would like to have it done were I home schooling my child. I thought that I would want to have the art lesson reflect what we are studying about in the other areas of my curriculum. In order to do that, I will have to keep in close touch with each parent and create my lessons to enhance their current area of study.

An important part of my curriculum is to teach children to enhance their sense of sight. Too often we draw what we think we see rather than what we are really seeing. Lets say since it is fall you are teaching your child about photosynthesis and looking at trees and leaves. As part of my lesson for your child, we would do a unit on learning to "see" Trees. (almost any topic having to do with the natural environment could be substituted for Trees) The idea is to look, study and learn about specific objects in the environment. In this way, students become aware of visual detail.

This unit would focus on developing the student's perceptual abilities and awareness of the environment.

Sample Lesson 1: Trees

Introductory Activities
The natural environment provides a wealth of visual information for students to explore. We would encourage your student to continuously add to their repertoire of images, lines, colors, textures, shapes, forms and patterns by observing and noting the natural environment's every-changing variety.

Questions to discuss:

1. What does a tree look like? Using the terms above make a list of their ideas and words. Get them to really look at what a tree looks like (not the typical lolly-pop on a stick)
2. How does it differ from another species in shape, color, etc.
3. View a tree from far away. What do you see? Draw what you see.
4. Move close up. What do you see now? Notice the lines, colors, textures, leaf shape. Fold a 11 x 17 piece of paper in 6ths and draw a different part of the tree close up.
5. Older students could take photographs and digitally change them on photography editing programs on the computer and print 6 different views/colors/effects of same photograph.
6. Make a large poster of tree and its part in a collage using various natural objects.
7. Ask student, "What can you do with a tree?" Answers may include climb it, make a swing, make a tree house, decorate it at Christmas, make a totem pole, paper,cloth and a variety of materials. Using your imagination now draw a tree in one of these manners.

It would be my job to use materials that create an excitement in the student to create a colorful piece of art. Some of the above ideas could be used by the parent as an art lesson in the week I would not meet with them to continue their art education.

In my next post, I'll give some other ideas I would do for lesson plans. Thanks for taking the time to look at my ideas.

Welcome to the Adventure

Thanks for checking out my blog. I am really excited to begin my new adventure in teaching children all the wonderful things about the world of art. It is my intent to bring a true art classroom experience to your home. I wish to open the world of art to young people and create opportunities to experience a variety of mediums and styles.

It is important for students to experience visual art both as artists and as audience. As artists, they can use the processes and materials of visual art to explore their own ideas, feelings, cultural identities, observations, and imaginations. As audience, they can see how other artists have expressed their ideas about the world and their place in the world we all share. In contemporary art (including such forms as painting, printmaking, architecture, sculpture, craft, commercial art, film, video, multimedia, and gallery installations), we see artists' reflections on the world in our own lifetimes. Through visual art, we come to see and know ourselves.

Students should

• Understand the elements of art and develop concepts that lead to an understanding of order in the visual environment.
• Begin to develop skills that help them depict people and objects accurately.
• Begin to understand the variety of sources for visual art ideas.
• Begin to develop own ideas into visual art expressions, using the processes and materials of visual art.
• Begin to think and talk about own visual art ideas and expressions.
• Develop understanding of the work of a variety of visual artists.
• Begin to talk about, interpret, and respond to works of art.
• Become aware of the visual environment and visual art in the daily life of own community.