Name: Great Homeschool Conventions (Columbus)
Start: 2025-04-24T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-04-26T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Columbus, OH

Tagged: creative art expression

This topic has 1 reply, 2 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 4 months ago by Richele Baburina.

Viewing 2 posts - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

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October 21, 2010 at 5:59 pm
Kelly Bond
Participant
I’m struggling with how to incorporate creative art expression into our days. My hubby does handicrafts with my son so that’s off to a good start. We have markers and crayons at the ready all the time, and I’m a bit fond of white boards so those are plentiful, too. We have homemade play dough. Beyond that, I am having a terrible time thinking of what else to do. Should I be planning an art activity every week? Just set aside time for exploration with paint, etc. once a week? I like the idea of focusing on making things that are useful…I believe CM promoted that. But I feel like there should be a place for simple art expression and exploration, too, without leaving me with a bunch of stuff that just needs to be tossed out. Complicating matters a bit…I have a 2 1/2 year old boy who is still very dangerous with a marker! Leaving things out (which I used to do before he arrived) is not an option at this time.
Anyway, not only am I struggling to incorporate creative art expression in our days, I’m also having a terrible time explaining my question! If you have any thoughts for me, I’d appreciate it. BTW, I also have a 5yo boy.
October 21, 2010 at 8:57 pm
Richele Baburina
Participant
Hi blkateri14,
From what I’ve gathered from CM’s writings, the goal for art was two-fold
1)Express oneself creatively.
2)Appreciate art.
I have two boys so handicrafts is heavy here but we have “art” at least once a week on the schedule. Two CM methods you can read about in the Parents’ Review articles have to do with what was called “working from the round.” This means drawing or sculpting while looking at the actual object rather than a linear representation (ie picture/drawing) of that object.
You can put an object, say a lemon, on a shelf a number of feet away — so they aren’t distracted by the detail — for them to paint or draw. You can also put a number of objects on a table for them to choose from to sculpt using their clay or dough. Another thing stressed by CM was reverence toward the supplies so we make the set up, treatment and clean up a kind of special thing – an especially good habit when you have littles around.
We explore lots of different mediums so I don’t mind throwing their work away because of the sheer abundance but it initially goes in one drawer that I go through when it fills up. I keep art pads specifically for school so that I have things dated for the portfolio at the end of the year and we display some in IKEA frames. I don’t mean this to sound rigid, our guys have plenty of things to use in their free time but we still expect it all to be treated respectfully.
HTH. Have fun & enjoy!
Richele