For preteens and teens that enjoy art, a studio class gives them the opportunity to explore new media, develop their skills, and engage their social skills.
Parents can encourage the artistic expression of older children and teenagers in an open studio environment created at home. One parent can host each gathering or the meetings can move to different homes. One advantage to assembling a small group of homeschoolers for an art class is that the cost of materials can be spread to several families. Another benefit is the opportunity for teens to share an interest with similar-minded individuals and perhaps develop new friendships.
Structuring an Informal Art Series
If one individual is starting the class, he or she can determine how many weeks she’d like the class to continue, whether or not he’ll purchase all supplies beforehand, where and when the class will meet, and what the classes will focus on (just drawing, painting, or photography). Some of these factors will limit the number of students who can come into the class. Also consider if students must commit to a set number of classes or if a drop-in format will work.
If a couple of parents start the class with the intention of welcoming in other homeschoolers, they should still consider the advantages of presenting some degree of structure to others as the more people involved in the planning process the more difficult it can be to create a class. (more…)
Teaching Art to Kids, for Fun and for Profit
Children Art Classes LA, Draw and Paint, Fine Art Classes, Kid's Art Classesby Charlotte B. DeMolay
The title of this post, “Teaching Art to Kids, for Fun and for Profit” probably isn’t the kind of headline you’ve come expect in our current era of under-funded school systems and overloaded teachers.
Fortunately, I am not going to be talking about teaching in a public school system where—well—it’s under-funded and the teachers are overloaded.
Instead, I’m talking about using your own knowledge and skills to fund your art business, gain inspiration, or even earn enough supplement income to stay at home with your kids. I’ve been able to do all three of those things and, yes, I’ve had fun and profit along the way!
So is teaching kids an option for you? Let’s find out.
What it takes to teach art to kids:
First, make sure you know enough about art to teach it.
I graduated with a Bachelor’s of Fine Art and have been a practicing artist for over 14 years. If you don’t have an art degree, but you’ve been a practicing artist for several years you may still be able to teach.
Before sitting down with the kids, get some basic art books from a university bookstore or a well-stocked library. Read about the elements of art and the principles of design. Get comfortable with the vocabulary of art and always be exploring art history. All of this will be important for you as a teacher. (more…)
By eHow Contributing Writer
Encouraging children’s appreciation of art isn’t as daunting as it sounds. Like many other things, teaching children how to appreciate art needs to begin when they are young. Encourage children to appreciate art so that they may grow into cultured adults.
Instructions
1. Step1
Start them young. Children’s appreciation of art does not develop overnight. Instill their appreciation for art by actively encouraging them to think about art. Find a children’s art museum and take them to it.
2. Step2
Become an expert. Learn as much as you can about art so you can be ready to answer their questions. Visit museum websites and read articles about art. Include your children in your research. (more…)
Why Children’s Art Lessons Are an Indispensable Part of Their Development
Children Art Classes LA, Draw and Paint, Fine Art ClassesBy Chris A. Harmen
Psychologists, anthropologists, and social scientists have long suspected that the development of a child’s creativity carries ancillary effects. While a painting or drawing that an adolescent creates may never make it further than the door of the family refrigerator, its value is often underestimated. Indeed, the process by which it was created plays a key role in many other areas in a young person’s life. Children’s art lessons can guide kids in the process they use to express their creativity.
In this article, we’ll discuss how the recent economy has affected the availability of children’s art lessons in public school. We’ll also explore the reasons why a kids art program is an essential part of their development.
The Budget Crunch Takes A Toll
Nearly every state has begun to struggle financially as the economy continues to shudder. Their growing need for additional funds has outstripped their limited coffers. As states wait for aid from the federal government, they’ve been forced to deploy aggressive cost-cutting measures in order to survive. The public school system has become a target. While math, history, reading, and the sciences are normally spared, classes that focus on music, painting, and other forms of artistic expression are the first on the chopping block.
This is an unfortunate circumstance of an economic reality. Sadly, even as an increasing number of schools are cutting such programs, experts are discovering new advantages that kids gain from them.
Unlocking A Child’s Potential
Long ago, a child’s ability to absorb new concepts and apply them was thought to be directly related to intelligence. Today, of course, we understand much more about the brain and how it develops. We know that young people begin learning new ideas earlier than was once thought. We also understand that creative expression plays an important role in the absorption and practical application of these ideas.
For example, parents have reported that their kids’ performance in “hard” subjects (i.e. math, science, etc.) has improved markedly after enrolling them in children’s art lessons. Given what experts have discovered about the brain’s development, this is not an unexpected result.
The Value Of Perseverance And Dedication
One of the most important benefits of children’s art lessons is the role they play in developing a young person’s perseverance. When an adolescent begins an art project, they tend to take personal ownership of it. When obstacles present themselves, a child will persist in finding a solution. Completing the task becomes a lesson in dedication.
Helping a young person develop a strong sense of perseverance and dedication in everything they do is critical for their lifelong success. Whether in their future business endeavors, personal relationships, or the pursuit of individual goals, these traits are essential ingredients to personal achievement. As Calvin Coolidge once said, “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.”
Looking Outside The School System
As public schools continue to look for areas in which they can reduce their costs, “soft” subjects are increasingly vulnerable. Parents who want to give their kids an early advantage by enrolling them in children’s art lessons may soon be forced to look outside the public system.
This may be a blessing in disguise. Often, elementary school teachers who are responsible for educating their classes on a variety of subjects are ill-prepared to provide artistic direction. Kids need an encouraging environment. They need step-by-step instruction with the flexibility to explore their own creative process. Professional children’s art lessons are designed not only to ignite a child’s passion for artistic expression, but to engage them in a way that boosts their performance in other areas. Sometimes, it’s the key they require to unlock their own potential.
Christine O’Kelly is a writer for Young Rembrandts, an innovative provider of children’s art lessons. They encourage creativity and active participation by offering a kids art program that focuses on developing their artistic passion with a step-by-step approach.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_A._Harmen
http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Childrens-Art-Lessons-Are-an-Indispensable-Part-of-Their-Development&id=2022683
First Drawing Lessons for Children
Children Art Classes LA, Draw and Paint, Fine Art Classes, Kid's Art ClassesPart of the attraction of art, for many kids, is the freedom from restraint that it offers, so be sure that any formal lesson is well balanced by plenty of free time. Often ‘art lessons’ can be incidental to everyday activities, observing the shapes found in nature, tracing with fingers on foggy windows, or observing textures and colors of fabrics. Try these introductory drawing lessons for children:
Seeing Shapes: From around 5 years
What You’ll Need: a cylindrical object (a mug or can), a rectangular object (a box).
The purpose of this lesson is to discover that what we know about an object is different to what our eyes see at one time. Begin with a discussion. It should go something like this: Sitting beside junior, at their eye level, I hold up the cup, and ask what shape the top is. ‘A circle!’. ‘Good! Now, look closely at the circle.’ I tilt the mug slowly until it looks like a fairly thin ellipse. ‘Now what shape is it?’ ‘Hmmm.. a circle?’ ‘Is it? Really? Have another look. It is a circle, but see how it LOOKS thin and squashed.’ I draw the ellipse on the chalkboard. Do the same exercise with the box, observing how the rectangle becomes a rhombus when tilted.
Seeing Colors: From around 5 years
What You’ll Need: Simple, solid-colored objects and a directional light source (so that the object will have highlights and shadows).
Like the lesson above, this is essentially a discussion to investigate the difference between the known and the seen. Show the object to your child, and ask about its color. Is it the same color all over? The surface is (painted) the same all over, but it looks different depending on the light. Where does it look lighter and darker? Sketch the object and show how you can use shading to show the light and dark areas. (Keep it simple).
Observing Perspective: All Ages
When travelling in the car, or walking, look out for an area where you can observe a clear foreground, middle ground and background. Take the opportunity to point out:
· how much smaller distant objects look than closer ones
· how colors change from close to distant
· how distant objects look blurry (atmospheric perspective)
· how much detail you can observe in closer objects
See if you can find a reproduction of a painting of a similar scene, and see how the artist has handled these elements.
http://drawsketch.about.com/cs/perspective/a/kidsdrawing.htm
Wary of inhibiting their creativity, I we tend to avoid teaching drawing to children. But they are receiving input from all around them, and want to learn to draw. Why let them flounder when we can provide positive models? So how do we approach teaching of drawing to children? It depends on what stage of development they are at, and of course, every child is different.
A First Visual Language
From picture-books toddlers learn that shapes have names and represent objects. They begin to label familiar shapes found in their scribbles, then begin to use simple shapes to construct simple objects, especially faces.
The Visual System Expands
As children get older, they add detail and complexity to their drawings. Faces attach to bodies, and ways are found to represent more objects. At around age 5, depending on the child, a sense of pattern emerges, with houses, trees and families telling familiar stories, and the symbol-library does its job well.
Discovering Limitations
Problems begin at about age 10, when reality and appearances become important. The rocket taking off or the beautiful dress or the horse don’t look right – the symbolic language no longer works. Some children become obsessed with drawing fine details at this stage, some will do a great deal of drawing in an attempt to get it right, and most will give up in disgust.
Handle with Care
Drawings represent the child’s experience of the world. We must be careful not to invalidate this by the way we respond. Inappropriate responses may include imposing our narratives – our stories or ideas – on the drawing, for example “Oh, that’s a nice dog. Oh, it’s a horse? Well it looks like a dog…”; criticism of lack of realism, and unrealistic expectations – have you noticed how we always expect children to draw from memory even things which they may be quite unfamiliar with? – and importantly for older children, criticism of realism, when we label their awkward attempts at realistic detail as ‘tightness’ and lament the loss of childish naivite.
Of course we fear that we might inhibit a child’s natural creativity, but it is important to remember that if children are not taught to draw, their creativity will die a natural death. Art skills – drawing, painting, sculpting what you see – can and should be taught to children. You have to know the rules before you can break them: no-one would suggest that you can play great music without years of music lessons, but somehow they don’t apply the same logic to art.
http://drawsketch.about.com/cs/kidsdrawing/a/teachkids.htm
by Richard Louv
“Music is a more potent instrument than any other for education, and children should be taught music before anything else.”
–Plato
” Art education is not a luxury, it is a spiritual necessity.”
–Alexandra York, American Renaissance for the Twenty-First Century
The notice comes home in the backpack. Polite, low-keyed, and easy to miss, the notice says that, due to district budget cuts, your child’s school is cutting the art class. Or music. Or theater.
Reading the notice, you might shrug your shoulders: In the back-to-basics era, and with all the news about American students lagging behind technologically, the school must make more time for reading, math, and science. Art is a luxury we may not be able to afford for our kids, right? Wrong.
Remember how Johnny’s math scores soared when he learned how to read music to play the guitar? Or how Sally’s self-confidence went through the roof when she won that part in the class play?
Across the country, artists and anthropologists, educators and children’s advocates, parents and corporate leaders, are speaking out about the importance of the arts to child and youth development. Recently publicized brain research has taught us that kids learn earlier than we expected; now, a new round of research shows us that the visual and performing arts play an essential role in how children learn to read, write, and do mathematics. Even if a child’s drawing of a summer vacation never hangs anywhere more prominent than a refrigerator door, that act of creation can unlock a young mind in ways that scientists and educators are only now beginning to understand. (more…)
