Suggestions for What to Teach

Picture study can be done with the entire family together. Each Module below contains six artists; use all six or choose only three. Concentrate on each artist for six or twelve weeks. We tried to select somewhat diverse styles and time periods within most Modules so the artists wouldn’t be confused in the child’s mind. We also included some modern photographers whose work is respected and unique. Some Modules lend themselves well to certain History Modules, so watch for those Comments. Simply select a Module and assign it to the family. Click on any artist’s name to see corresponding resources in our CM Bookfinder.

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Module Resources Comments
1 John James Audubon; Claude Monet; Mary Cassatt; Carl Larsson; Maxfield Parrish; P. Buckley Moss Charlotte’s schools studied only one artist per term (12 weeks). Feel free to select only three artists to linger over and get to know during the school year. Our Picture Study Portfolios will make it easy.
2 Vincent Van Gogh; Pablo Picasso; Pierre Auguste Renoir; Frans Lanting; Jean Francois Millet; Georges Seurat Be on the alert for any artist’s inappropriate pictures and omit them from your study. There are plenty of beautiful appropriate works.
3 Rembrandt; John Singer Sargent; Paul Cezanne; Edouard Manet; Diego Velazquez; Jan van Eyck
4 Edgar Degas; N.C. Wyeth; Winslow Homer; Raphael; Pieter Bruegel the Elder; James Whistler
5 Giotto; Botticelli; Leonardo; Michelangelo; Ansel Adams; Jan Vermeer Fits nicely with the Middle Ages & Renaissance History Module.
6 Georgia O’Keeffe; Frederic Remington; Norman Rockwell; Thomas Kinkade; Wolf Kahn; Grandma Moses Fits nicely with the Modern Times History Module.

How to Teach

Art appreciation was one part of Charlotte’s “spreading the feast” before her students; and her method, as always, was gentle and inviting.

Display a picture and mention the artist who created it. Have children look at the picture until they can see it clearly in their minds’ eye. When all children are ready, turn the picture over or close the book and ask them to describe the picture. When their narration is finished, display the picture again and notice together any new aspects. Summarize any accompanying information if desired, but be careful not to interfere with each child’s forming his own relationship with the artist’s work. This study is not a lesson in art criticism. Display the picture in a prominent location in your home so children can look at it throughout the week.

Continue to study works by the same artist for several weeks until the children become familiar with that artist’s style. If possible, read a short biography about that artist sometime during your study of his or her work.