Friday, January 23, 2009

Lascaux Cave paintings







I am going to try my best to keep families and staff updated on our art program through the blog. My hope is parents of students and even students themselves (with supervision) can visit the blog and post comments. My world is about about the kids, so I would love to hear about the things they have learned on their own and in class. The past two weeks students at Mountain Vista and Sespe school studied Lascaux Cave paintings. I won't go into much detail here but encourage families to visit the website for themselves. This is the official web link http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/en/ Mrs. Leonard's 5th grade class went to the site while in computer lab and had a blast. The site is designed beautifully and children who are able to read can navigate without much trouble.
We will be starting a new lesson on Monday and I will keep you updated.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Art You Great



"Art You Great" is my program that I actually made-up. The thought came from my very creative English / drama teacher, grandfather, Grandpa Doug Lazenby. He coined the phase, "Aren't you great!", he used the phrase every time he talked to me. Now, I've taken his saying and I am running with it. As a child no other phrase made me feel more important or amazing.

Some of my favorite quotes are; "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up". Pablo Picasso and "Imagination is more important than knowledge" Albert Einstein. Creativity and expression in art truly gives a child self-esteem as well as developing their right-side of their hungry brains.

The child's whole way of viewing the world and way of thinking is the by development of the "whole brain." With art children receive a boost in self-confidence, art is a natural way to let the child's creative outlet expand and let go of the stresses in life. Art nurtures children in a way that helps a child's personal growth and academics. It also enhances individuality, diversity, personal expression and imagination in a world were technology domanates our world. Our children can appreciate art though experiencing it through close observation and how it makes them feel. Their feelings about each type of art media will deepen as they express themselves. What a wonderful step toward a lifelong love of art.