We have been doing Art appreciation since we started implementing the Charlotte Mason method of education last September. I will confess that I never thought my children would enjoy this new subject, but I was pleasantly surprised. They love it, and look forward to it every week.
We just finished studying the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci, using this book that I found at the library.....
A word of warning: there are a couple of photos that, in my opinion, aren't appropriate for children's eyes, so I kept the book out of reach. When it was time for the lesson, I read aloud to them from the book, and I controlled which photos they could see. Other than that, the book is wonderful, with lots of ideas for crafts, recipes, a short lesson on how to speak Italian, and even drawing lessons.
One of the craft ideas was about making masks. Leonardo made Death Masks for families whose loved ones had passed away. He would decorate the masks with things that reflected that loved one's life.
The idea in the book was called Life Masks, which my children eagerly wanted to make. I drew the outline of the masks, and each child decorated their mask with pictures of their life: what they like to do and what their hobbies are.
So, here are our Life Masks.....
This is Mimi's. She likes to color, swing, have tea parties, sew on buttons, play with our cat, and play football with her brothers.
This is Natty's. She likes to play the piano, crochet, paint, sew, read her Bible, and play with Barbies.
This is Asher's. He likes to play guitar, do anything that has to do with Art, read his Bible, work with his Dad's tools, take care of his snapping turtle, do archery, sing, and play badminton.
This is Aaron's. He likes to invent things, collect pocketknives, fish, play with our cat, play his recorder, do school, play football, cook, crochet, and text his oldest sister on his Dad's cell phone.
This is Ian's. He likes to play his sax and clarinet, play football, read his Bible, fly his RC helicopter, throw his boomerang, play with his pet snake, and hunt with his Dad.
I'm going to hang these masks in our schoolroom to help the children remember our study of Leonardo da Vinci. :)
Happy homeschooling, everyone!
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