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Teaching online? Going back to the classroom with limited supplies? Overwhelmed with trying to make lesson plans when you don't know what tomorrow will bring? Our SPARK Hybrid Curriculum is adaptable to any learning environment and gives students the art connections they need right now. Check lesson planning off your to-do list and be prepared for all the possibilities. Learn More
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Kids Talk About Art – Henri Rousseau’s The Dream

Henri Rousseau’s The Dream is a fun painting to discuss with children. See how I integrated this book into our curriculum and watch my kids and I discuss this painting together. Then, download the PowerPoint and list of printable discussion questions to use with your students!

The Art Curator for Kids - How to Talk About Art with Kids - Henri Rousseau The Dream

Moving Beyond the Page

As you may know, I homeschool my 4 and 6 year olds. For the last few months, we have been using the curriculum Moving Beyond the Page. I LOVE this curriculum so far with its focus on unit studies and quality children’s books, and it fits with the way I teach very nicely.

I have decided to pair an artwork with each week’s unit in the Moving Beyond the Page’s Age 4-5 Curriculum to add more art to my kids’ education.

Please note, this post includes Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This week I paired our unit on What do you do with a tail like this? by Steve Jenkins with Henri Rousseau’s The Dream. I decided to record our conversation to model to you how you might talk about art with your own kids! Enjoy this video, and then use the discussion questions and PowerPoint download with your own kiddos.

 

Henri Rousseau, The Dream, 1910

This painting is such a treat for kids. I know my kids are naturally drawn to artworks with animals and stories, so this one is a great artwork to discuss.

Henri Rousseau, The Dream, 1910
Henri Rousseau, The Dream, 1910

I know many of you will not be too agreeable with the nudity in the painting, but as I said in my most recent interview, the human body is not a dirty thing, and we can talk about it responsibly with our children. I think this is a great painting to show you how I would address the subject with my own kids in regards to this painting. Watch the video to see how I handle this subject with my 4 and 6 year olds.

I use Moving Beyond the Page with my kids in our homeschool and love it, and I am also a participant in the Moving Beyond the Page Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to www.movingbeyondthepage.com.

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Best Artist Books and Movies for Kids and Adults

Although I don’t think it is necessary to study the lives of individual artist to enjoy and connect with their artwork, hearing stories about artists can make their art come alive in new and exciting ways.

Several months ago, I received a message from a reader. This is what she said.

My number one struggle in teaching art to my kids is making artists come alive. I really want them to grasp art from cave drawings to modern art. To help them understand that there is a person behind each piece that has lived through struggles and joys. I want them to understand that art is an expression of the soul creating it.

~Tee from Wisteria and Worms

I love her statement here, because art is about people and connecting with people. When you are moved by a work of art, you are moved because of the person behind that artwork and what they were thinking and feeling. I believe art becomes more powerful when you recognize that truth.

I will never forget reading The Agony and the Ecstasy about Michelangelo. I read it before I studied abroad in Italy in college. After reading that book, I felt like I intimately knew both Michelangelo and where he lived, Florence, Italy. Going to Florence after reading that book was a magical experience for me.

Here are my favorite biographical novels, movies, and children’s books for both kids AND adults!

Please note, this post includes Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Books about Artists for Kids

The Art Curator for Kids - Children's Books about the Lives of the Artists - Artist Books for Kids

Laurence Anholt’s Books about Artists For Children

This is a great series of books where artists and children meet.

Movies and Books about Artists for Adults

The Art Curator for Kids - Artist Biographies for Adults, Books and Movies - Michelangelo, van Gogh, Vasari, Artemisia Gentileschi, Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock

Books about Artists

Other Books about Artists

Tracy Chevalier and Susan Vreeland write good books surrounding artists but the historical accuracy isn’t as good, so I didn’t put them in the above list. I also really want to read The Private Lives of the Impressionists, but since I haven’t read it, I didn’t put in on the list. 🙂

Movies

 

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20 Great Artworks to Look at with Young Kids

The Art Curator for Kids - Art History Round-Up 20 Great Artworks to Look at with Young KidsI’ve been thinking a lot lately about how to help parents talk about works of art with their toddlers and preschoolers. To help you get comfortable talking about art with your kids, I’ve put together a list of 20 artworks that work well with toddlers and preschoolers.

My two-year-old sat on my lap while I was finding the artworks, so many of these are Zuzu-approved! 🙂  These are in no order, but the first one was Zuzu’s favorite!

I’ve included the pictures below (or a link to them if they are copyrighted).

  1. Henri Rousseau, The Dream, 1910, The Museum of Modern Art, New York

    Henri Rousseau, The Dream, 1910, The Museum of Modern Art, New York

  2. Edward Hicks, The Peaceable Kingdom (1826), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

    Edward Hicks, The Peaceable Kingdom (1826), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC