DaVinci Museum

Time is ticking away...we are counting down to the start of our new school year!! I must confess, it has been very nice to be more relaxed in our days the last few weeks. But, I do notice that there has been a little more bickering of late. A little too much free time on our hands! This is why very short breaks from school are best for the Hibbard family!

One of the things I really wanted to implement in this coming year was more art and music appreciation. To be honest, that is not my forte! I remember trudging through lessons that required me to recognize works of art and recall their creators. I never was greatly drawn to classical music, and have only recently begun to develop an appreciation for it.

My friend Joanna is a natural at such things, and she has given me so many hints and pointers as well as an incredible book list. Unfortunately, neither of the libraries I have access to carry any of those books - or any of the others I have found as alternatives. So, I'm taking her suggestions and have been seeking alternate (free) visual supplements to replace the books.

Some time ago I ran across a blog post that shared a fabulous idea. Make a museum! All it takes is a cardboard box and some small prints or stickers of famous works of art. The idea is to let the kids take their Fisher Price (or other similar) Little People through the museum, giving the kids fun play time and contributing to their recognition of art. I wish I had kept the link to that particular blog post because her museum looked fantastic (and I'd love to give credit where credit is due). But, I naturally didn't. So, here's my attempt...

Okay, so it doesn't look all that fantastic, but here's my first museum. (The yellow is supposed to be a rug - she had drawn designs all over hers to make it look like a Persian rug, and I'll probably do that eventually. But, for now, it's just a plain yellow carpet.) What's important is that the girls are ecstatic and can't wait to play in their museum!
Obviously, we're starting with Leonardo DaVinci. I tried to get a varied sample of some of the things he did to put in the museum, and I printed labels with the titles of each piece and stuck the labels on the "floor" beneath each picture.
I printed out a biography of DaVinci written for kids, and I found a little blurb that explained the difference between a fresco and the tempera methods used by DaVinci to paint The Last Supper. Meanwhile, I found a great Museum of Science link about DaVinci that the kids can explore to give them some more information about the artist and his work.

In a couple of months we'll add a new wing to the museum with a new artist. I have quite a few works by Rembrandt saved and have found some websites, so he'll probably be next!

Comments

Choate Family said…
It's so good to be back and to feel connected through your blog again! Love the museum idea, I'll think we'll try it, too. Have you thought about painting frescos with the kids, it was one of our favorite ways to study DaVinci.

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