Art

This is a songbook of lullabies illustrated with paintings of mothers and babies by American artist Mary Cassatt. The songs are mostly classics such as Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Now the Day is Over, but you'll also find Cum By Yah. Mary Cassatt was an impressionist from the 19th century and her paintings include lots of baby bottoms and nursing mothers. They are all very sweet, but not necessarily everyone's style. It is sold by Dorling Kindersley with a tape of the lullabies. On one side of the tape is the music with vocalization and the other side is the instrumental version of the same songs. I don't care for the voice, but the tape does help to learn the songs, especially if you don't know how to read music. I think this makes a very nice beginning art and music book, particularly for preschoolers, and could also become a nice part of your bedtime routine.

This course follows the liturgical year. It begins with Advent. There are a total of forty-four projects. Each one has an explanation.

***EXAMPLE OF LESSON*** For example the next one we are going to do is "The Grotto at Lourdes" on pg 12. It begins with "Celebrate - February 11, OUR LADY OF LOURDES. February 11 is the anniversary day of the first apparition of Our Day at Lourdes, France. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a 14 yr old girl named Bernadette Soubirous eighteen times between Feb 11 and July 16, 1858. On March 25, 1858, Bernadette asked the beautiful lady to identify herself. Mary answered, "I am the Immaculate Conception." Mary also asked for penance and prayer. Bernadette was told by Our Lady to have a chapel built there and to have people come in precessions. A miraculous spring of fresh wat4er came forth from the ground and to this day, many people have been cured by the healing waters that come from the spring.

The lesson then has suggestions for the parent to find more info on the topic. Then the project is listed. In this case we need Pattern # 10, glue, scissors, green and red tissue paper, brown, green and yellow construction paper, crayons or markers and gold glitter. The instructions are giving in steps. 1. Color the picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Drape glue on the halo and roses at Mary's feet. Sprinkle with glitter.
2. Cut out patterns for the grotto, oval and vine.
3. Place grotto pattern on brown paper, trace and cut one.
4. Place oval pattern on yellow paper, trace and cut one.
5. Place vine pattern on green paper, trace and cut two.
6. Set grotto pieces aside. Glue oval in the center and glue the two vines along the sides.
7. Cut layers of green and read tissue paper into 1 1/2" X 1 1/2" squares. You will need more green than red.
8. Take each individual red square and roll into a loose ball. Glue them here and there on the vines to look like roses.
9. Take each individual green squares and slightly crumble it. Glue them to vine around roses to look like leaves.
10. Cut out figure of Mary and glue it in center of the oval.
11. Using a pen, carefully print OUR LADY OF LOURDES across the top of the grotto. Display your artwork.
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We are excited about this lesson because we just set up a table to use as a home altar and so far only have a few votive candles. We want to save for a nice stature of the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Hearts. So until then the Grotto the kids make will grace our little table.

The other lessons cover all twelve months. There are projects for Lent, Easter, St Pat's Day, Pentecost, Ascension Thursday, Trinity Sunday, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Feast of All Saints and more. We have really enjoyed it. I have no artistic ability and this helps me to give my children art that looks like art ;-). I have also learned alot about the liturgical year from it. Also Cari and David have been able to do it together. I plan on using it again next year for projects for liturgical feasts. It really is a wonderful book.

This is an exciting and fun art supplement that kids are sure to love (makes a great gift for Christmas or a birthday). There are three main parts to the book. First is an introduction which explains a problem the art museum is having with forgeries. Several gangs of artists have copied original works, but made very slight changes to them. The object of the book is to identify who is responsible for the various forgeries by looking carefully for very specific clues.

The rest of the book is split into two books on top of each other. The upper part is composed of the forgeries - which look like real art until you look very closely (and thus the magnifying glass). A small symbol on the forgery will tell you how many changes the forger made to the original work. By studying the lower book - which is an art catalog with prints of the real paintings, the reader will discover the differences and solve the crime. The catalog includes information about the type of painting; the artist and when he lived; and a brief story about the painting and its subject. There are a total of thirty-four paintings and there is a complete answer key in the back of the book.

What a creative way to get kids interested in art and...fear not! You'll find no twaddle here. I was very pleased to see the practice in attention-to-detail that this book requires and encourages. It's enjoyable enough that my daughter has enjoyed working through it with friends on sleep-overs. There is one picture that jumps out at me as being a little on the shocking side. It's a picture of a very ugly old lady in a very low-cut dress. The book explains that it is a caricature of older women who try to dress younger but really make themselves look ridiculous. I don't really like the picture, but I don't think it really detracts from the book (it also offers the idea of additional purpose in art and an unusual way of making a point).

If you are looking for an easy to use art appreciation program that uses beautiful artwork, then you will want to check out the Art Masters Enhance Religion program.

Created by the Enhance Company, this is a unique art appreciation course that can be integrated with any religion program or stand by itself. In addition to their K-8 Grade School Curriculum, the Enhance Company also produces a Home School Series. There are four grade levels.

The Primary program (Gr. K-2) includes a parent’s booklet plus twelve 11” x 14” prints. The theme is Penance and Holy Eucharist.

The Intermediate level (Gr. 3-5) includes a parent’s booklet plus twelve 11” x 14” prints, eight 5” x 8” laminated prints, and rosary booklet. The theme is the Ten Commandments and the Sacraments.

The Junior High level (Gr. 6-8) includes a parent’s booklet plus ten 11” x 14” prints and ten 5” x 8” laminated prints. The theme is Confirmation.

The Junior High/Senior High level (Gr. 6-12) includes a parent’s booklet plus forty-six 5” x 8” laminated prints. The theme is the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Because the 11” x 14” prints are large, they are ideal for “classroom display.” If you have always wondered what to put on that easel gathering dust, now you know! The quality of the large prints is outstanding. They are frameable. Most of the prints are of famous artists such as Michelangelo’s Pieta. There are, however, some lesser known artists because of the message the authors want to convey. For example, Nuner-Segura’s The Breaking of the Bread is used for First Communion. Many, but not all, of the smaller laminated prints are black and white. The authors of this program are looking for another source for affordable, small color prints.

What makes this program so wonderful is the background information and discussion questions. In the parent’s booklet, every print includes an easy to use, concise, one page write up that includes the theme, e.g. The Flight into Egypt; information about the artist, Giotto, when he lived, biographical information and other pertinent facts, such as the style of the painting or the school of art; the title of the painting and description of the painting; questions related to the aesthetics, e.g. Who does the Christ Child seem to be looking at in the picture?; Art Criticism Questions, e.g. How did the artist show movement?; and Projects. Read the Bible message (Matt. 2: 13-15). Discuss.

There is also an overview of the program in each parent booklet that explains general terms such as Art History, Aesthetics, Art Production, etc.

For many of us, we look at a painting or a work of art and we are at a loss as to what to discuss with our children. We know that we like a painting, yet we find it difficult to articulate our reasons why.

With the Art Masters Enhance Religion program, we are given the tools to begin a greater appreciation and deeper understanding of art through beautiful artwork, thoughtful discussion questions and related projects.

This religion program offers an integrated approach to religion and art, making life a little easier for mom. Although each grade level is geared to a particular grade level because of the typical religious topic at that age, this program could easily be adapted by any grade level. You don’t need to be an art critic to use this program. The material is all laid out for you. Except for the discussion questions, which work best with another adult, although the student could write out the answers, an older child could easily do this program independently.

Even if your school year becomes hectic and overwhelming with too many activities, too much curriculum, and too little time, you can still display these beautiful works of art and enjoy them as a whole family. Art doesn’t have to be something extra that never gets done. Art can also be appreciating fine works of art displayed in your own home.