My favorite subject to research, teach, and do is art! We take one great artist and study their life and work once a week for several weeks at a time. This is an idea that I adopted from the Charlotte Mason method and I love it! (We also do this with great composers and sometimes with great poets.)
I chose Georgia O’Keeffe for our first artist study this year. Some homeschooling moms like to match up their artists studies to fit in with the time period of history that they are studying, but I don’t do that. We just pick out what interests us and go with it.
Here’s how it’s done at our house:
1. Pick an artist. There are several web sites that list famous artists from which to choose. Here are a few: Simply Charlotte Mason, Ambleside Online, Harmony Art Mom’s Blog (scroll down to bottom for list), and this Artist Study Lens on Squidoo.
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2. Choose some great biographies in the children’s section of the library and read them the first week of the study to kick things off. Be careful here…some artists lives were nowhere near moral and some children’s books lay it all out there! I suggest you read the book before reading it to your children or handing it over to them to read for themselves. Some of the best children’s books about artists are written by Laurence Anholt and I also like biographies by Mike Venezia. (See my bookstore for a list of these great books.)
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3. Pick out your favorite works by the artist you have chosen and display them somewhere in your home. (Warning: many famous artists have immodest paintings. Preview all art books before giving them to your child.) You may choose an over sized library book full of pictures that you can lay open on your coffee table, post card reproductions of the works to stick on the fridge or change your computer screen saver or wallpaper to one of the artists works (go here to see many pictures online). Whatever method you choose, leave this display out for the children to see and become familiar with for several weeks. We usually change the displayed work weekly.
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| Long Pink Hills, 1940, oil on canvas, 7″x18″ |
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| Poppy, 1927, oil on canvas, 30″x36″ |
4. While you are displaying these works for your family to become familiar with, do some painting or drawing yourselves and try to copy the artist’s style.
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| Brother’s abstract landscape. |
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| Sister’s abstract landscape. |
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| Mom’s flower. |
5. After you have read, displayed, and painted yourself, pick a new artist and start all over again! You can spend a much or as little time as you wish on each artist. It’s so very easy to do! It can be done without much cost to you, and this small addition to your week will bring out a wealth of creativity in you and your children! Plus, it is just plain fun.
