Art Cards

[sweetbee]

I have purchased a couple of the sets of art cards for my children, but I am not sure how to use them. They are labeled as Kindergarten Art Cards, First Grade Art Cards, etc., but I have a 5th, 4th, and 2nd grader this year. I don't want them to miss out on these simply because I did not find them earlier in our homeschooling. Do you include them in recitation time so they can identify the work of art and artist, or simply read about the artist and enjoy them? I want them to be familiar with great works of art, so any advice on how you incorporate them would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Melissa
Cincinnati, OH

DS-10
DD-almost 9
DS- almost 7
Using MP for many things, but not the entire package

[Michelle T]

If you got the corresponding enrichment guide it has a brief biography of the artist and interesting information about the art piece. It also has a music piece to correspond to the art work with a brief bio of the composer and information about the music selection. If you did not get the enrichment guide, you can look up said information online which might be a fun and educational activity for your older students!

We learn one art piece/artist per week. I give them the art card for the week, we talk about it, read the artist biography and discuss the picture. Then they add the card to their art card ring. My class does review all the cards they have learned so far usually during snack time. Sometimes I give them the name of the art piece and they find it or the artist and they find the art piece any little review game but, we don't grade this it is just for fun and exposure to the masterpieces.

For older students, since there are selections from each art period (listed on the back of the card) after learning about each period, each art piece can be studied to find which period it belongs. The definitions of the art periods is in front of the enrichment guide or can be looked up online.

Our initial thought was to introduce students to these pieces in primary then study them again in the grammar stage but look more closely at the characteristics of the periods since the pieces will be familiar, but that project is on the back burner for a while.

Homeschoolers who really enjoy (and have the time for) a more in-depth art history can begin with the kindergarten art cards and divide them into their periods then look for the similarities of each within its period. Later first grade cards can be added then second grade each by trying to place the art piece in its corresponding period and telling why it belongs there.

By the end of kindergarten all my little chicks know most of the art pieces and some of them can tell who the artist is for all but like I said, it is not a requirement they just enjoy it! Mom's and dad's love it when they visit a museum and their child recognizes a piece and knows something about it.

Blessings,
Michelle T

[pickandgrin]

Melissa,
Here's what I do with that exact situation--I use the K-2 student's art cards/music selection and that's what all of us focus on that week. I'm guided by the second grade lesson plans. If you don't have them, then you can simply sort the cards into chronological sequence and go through them one per week for the year. They are scheduled on Tuesdays, which I find to be a nice day for this. You could also arrange them seasonally. Many feature seasonal subjects: flowers blooming, snow, advent, summertime. If you are on Spotify, I have a second grade playlist with the year's music in there. You can just go through one song per week. Or, you can even get a CD of 100 best classical songs and simply do one per week. The order isn't really important I don't think. I feel it's more for exposure. I like that my kids can guess a painter when they see his work, just like they can guess at a composer when they hear the piece in a commercial or movie. That looks like Picasso! That sounds like Vivaldi! They might not get it right every time, but they are getting closer the longer we work on it and they are "becoming friends" with art and music at an early age, which I love!
Oh, and for next year you can just loop to the K set, which is completely appropriate for any age! If you are super creative, you can have them draw/paint/etc their own versions of each card each week. One of my kids liked to do that.
Best!

[Kargo]

Great advice P&G and Michelle! I bought the three sets of art cards seperately since MP didn't have them when my children were going through the curriculum, but haven't used them yet because I was unsure how to include them in our week. This gives me an idea of how to do that.

[Katie]

I was going to wait until my pre-k-er became a K-er to start the Art cards with all my crew, but now I am thinking we may need them for this year. Thanks for the great ideas! I was worried about cramming in another subject, but these plans seem totally doable!

Thanks

[Mom2mthj]

Michelle,

For your art card ring do you laminate the cards or just punch a hole in the corner? Last year we looked at the K cards once, but never reviewed them. Oh well, I guess once is better than never. I wasn't (and am still not) sure how to store them without them ending up everywhere. I like the ring idea, but am afraid the corners would get ripped off and I would like for them to last awhile. I guess I am curious how they hold up on a ring.

For those of you who learn them as a family, does everyone have their own set or do you share?

Thanks for the ideas!

Dorinda

[pickandgrin]

Try a 5x7 picture frame and a zip lock bag

Dorinda,
We use the very high-tech solution of a freezer zip lock bag. I want to be able to flip through in various orders for recitation/quiz. I love the idea of the lamination/rings, but that's more expensive than I can do right now. The card of the week is featured in a frame on our mantle for the entire week, then changed out the next Tuesday. (I got this idea off the forum a few years back--kudos to that person who shared that I can't remember!) This year I bought a duplicate set of cards for my K-er to be able to tape up favorites in her bedroom.
Just a few more ideas for the idea pot!

Oh, and Katie--If you'll have a K-er next year, I'd suggest starting with the 2nd grade set to have the K set fresh next year. That way you're starting a three year rotation with your entire crew. Does that make sense?

[Michelle T]

Dorinda,

I answered your post about the art cards under the flashcard organization post........If you can't find it, let me know!

Michelle T

[sweetbee]

Thank you for all the helpful ideas regarding the art cards. I think we will introduce one per week during our art time. I do not have any of the enrichment books, but I am not opposed to picking them up to help with this.

Melissa

Cincinnati, OH

[Katie]

Thanks, Jessica. That does make sense to do a rotation. I like the idea of framing it for the week too!

How are the art cards packaged? Are they put together according to certain time periods, or would that be something I would have to do? Is there a list of the artists covered in each set floating around somewhere? Specifically, I am looking for the Baroque period onward.

Thanks!

[tanya]

Katie,

The art cards are packaged in the chronological order In which we use them. And we don't use them in order historically. We chose them based on the read-aloud book for each week. The images loosely connect to the themes in the read-alouds.

Our teachers have each art period listed on a wall, and as the pictures are studied, they go on the wall under the appropriate period. When students enter 1st grade, the K selections are already on the wall, and the start adding to them each week. Eventually, students start recognizing where the cards belong as they look at them that way. And that is all we are attempting to do in the primary years - gently introduce them to the major art periods that they will study in more detail in the grammar school years.

Regards,

Tanya

[momee]

Might I ask what those periods are? I'd like to do the same thing in my home but have found conflicting titles to describe art periods. I'd like it on a first grade level and am still learning myself. Thanks in advance for the help.

[tanya]

I'm attaching the art periods from the enrichment guide for you.

Tanya

[sweetbee]

Tanya,

Thank you so much for attaching the pdf file of art periods. This is so helpful to me! I have the 1st and 2nd grade packages and opened them both and sorted them by art period, based on the information on the back. I really like the idea of putting them up on the wall according to time period. I was thinking of adding them to our memory work, but this may be better and allow us to see them throughout the year.

Thanks again!

Melissa

Cincinnati, OH

DS- 10, DD- almost 9, DS- almost 7
Using MP for more each day!