Sprite had complained recently that artist study was getting a bit repetitive. “All we do is look at the painting, and I narrate it. I want to do something different sometimes!”
Hmmm…. good point, Sprite. Simplicity doesn’t have to be boring.
It just so happens that I had a great resource tucked away for our American history studies —Child-Size Masterpieces – Transportation in America. The book is actually a set of postcard sized art cards printed on cardstock, meant to be cut apart.
The back of each card has the title of the art, the artist’s name, the date of the painting, a paragraph or two about painting itself, a bit of information about the artist, and a timeline date of what the painting depicts (often different from the date it was painted).
Using Transportation in America, I added these assignments to Sprite’s schedule. (Of course, at each step, there was plenty of discussion going on about the art and the history portrayed in the art.)
- Day 1 — Take the book apart, and cut out all 40+ cards with the guillotine cutter.
- Day 2 — Without looking at the backs, try to put all of the cards in timeline order. Check the order against the dates on the backs, and fix any mistakes. Stack them in order, and put a rubber band around them.
- Day 3 — Look at all the cards again, and sort them by mode of transportation. Make sets and put them in the clear sleeves. (Affix the tiny art on the front as labels.)
- Day 4 — Let’s talk about the railroad cards.
On Day 4, I asked Sprite to arrange the only the train cards in chronological order. Then she chose one painting to focus on for narrating back orally. It was wonderful to tie our art into the history we’d been studying. I asked her, “What do you see in the painting that reflects aspects of our history study?” After she shared, I read the back of the card to her. And art study was done for the day.
I think we’ll continue working through the train cards before we move on to another mode of transportation. It’s not strictly a Charlotte Mason artist study as Miss Mason directed, but I am a firm believer in variety. How do you spice up artist study when it gets a bit dull? Have you ever used any of the Child Sized Masterpieces?
What a wonderful idea! And, it looks like a great set of cards.
We don’t really do a CM style of art study. I don’t know that I’ve ever had Alex narrate about a picture. When we study an artist, we usually read a book about the artist, look at some artwork, and then try our hand at a project that relates to the artists’ style. Although not CM, I have found that both my daughter and I have learned a lot about art and artists. When we go to museums like MoMA or The Met in NYC, we can identify MANY artists and specific pieces of art. I wouldn’t have been able to do this several years ago! So, I think what we’re doing really works for us.
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You always come up with some of the greatest ideas.
Blessings
Diane
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Don’t forget that narrating can take all sorts of forms…not just verbally telling. It can be drawing, acting out, quizzing, photography…anything. So, I have my kiddos draw the painting from memory (not to draw as well as the artist, of course, but to see how many details we can remember), act out a scene that could be in the painting’s setting, quizz each other on the details (I have the advantage in this in having several children), taking a photo similar to the painting in spirit or detail…..be as creative as you can to come up with unique ways to narrate, and it will bring life to an old idea.
-Phyllis
Huh! Very good! Our Child Sized Masterpiece cards came in conversation this very day, in fact and my kids pronounced them “boring,” because all they do is match them.
I’ve never utilized them to their full potential, but I have this set, also uncut and we are studying Am. Hist, as well. In fact, we talked about the Transcontinental Railroad today.
Thanks for the great ideas!
Blessings,
Sandwich
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Love what you are doing to switch picture study up! I’m regretful to say that we’ve not done picture study in awhile. But I have firm plans to start that back up in January!
I’m also stopping by to let you know that my new blog home is officially launched. Come visit me at http://www.inthesparrowsnest.com when you get a chance!
Blessings for your holiday season!
Melissa
Great idea! I have never heard of child-sized masterpiece cards, but I love how you changed things up a bit on such short notice. Way to go!
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