Enrichment Struggles

We don’t use specifically SCM resources, but for these subjects, I consider that “the thing is the thing.”  That is, with poetry, I read a poem out loud and invite my 8yo daughter to read one if she’d like to. At the beginning of a poetry “unit” I read a brief biography of the poet and look at a photo if available, but other than that, we just read the poem. I love to read poetry out loud, so sometimes I can be a bit goofy and dramatic, if the poem warrants it.

For picture study, which has become my dd’s favorite subject, I choose an artist, read a brief bio and look at a portrait if available. Then we look at one of the artist’s paintings for a minute or two, I turn it over, and we talk about what we remember from the painting and what we enjoyed about it. Then we turn it back over and look at it again. My daughter likes to see how accurately she remembers the painting. I just like soaking it in. We do this once or twice a week, though she’d do it every day. We also use the art curriculum Artistic Pursuits, which has picture study included in it by presenting art and questions to consider about the art.

For music, same idea. Choose composer, read short bio or Opal Wheeler book if available. Listen to pieces a couple of times a week by this composer. We are very keen on music in our house, so we have a lot of books about music and composers and a lot of CDs.  I also think it’s fun to watch videos of musicians or orchestras, and listen to world music (my favorite genre) if we encounter a certain geographical area in our other studies.

So, in short, we keep it simple. Even just a few minutes a day, which avoids overkill, especially if you or your kids are new to these studies. I feel it’s the repeated exposure with no exact expectation that brings the joy. The soaking in.  And I always find it interesting what appeals to my dd and what doesn’t. For instance, she has loved Vivaldi music from the first time she heard it (and knew it was Vivaldi, that it). But we did a few weeks of listening to Hildegard von Bingen compositions, which I find fascinating and beautiful, and she could hardly stand it. We would watch videos of a singer performing H. von B pieces and my dd would say, “Not the screaming lady!” : )

Until you are comfortable, don’t feel badly about only doing one of the three (poet, artist, or composer) each semester!