Fine Arts in the Park, Friday Feb 19

Last Friday, Emily was able to attend an Arts in the Park Day with our homeschooling group because she was on Spring Break. I was very excited for her to see what it was all about since we have officially decided to homeschool her next year. The artist we studied was Mary Cassatt. We had checked out some books from the library to prepare... so Emily was familiar with her. Cassatt liked to paint mothers with their babies. I really like this one... because Lia always puts her hands on my neck or my face when she wants to be held. It is a very sweet and intimate gesture. Cassatt captures it perfectly here.

I got to lead the discussion for the 1st and 2nd grade table. We looked at this painting. The girls at the table liked the big flower on the Mommy's dress. We all agreed this was a morning scene after a bath. The kids pointed out that Cassatt often used mirrors in her paintings. I had an awesome guide with questions to ask our group and I was really impressed at how much all the kids had to say and how closely they looked at all the details.

David and Lia were more interested in playing... They had a good time too. It was a beautiful day.

David likes to climb rocks. He asked me to take his picture.

We had a picnic lunch and stayed for Nature club. The discussion was on parts of a flower. The kids got to take apart different flowers to find all the parts. It was a great activity for Emily. She was very interested and the hands-on part was great. She was happy to see her friend Grace Ann from choir too.

Here is what they learned:

I believe the talks are given by a master gardener and the kids are on a track to earn their junior master gardener certificates by following a set lesson plan. Everyone really seemed to enjoy it. The teacher led the kids on a nature walk after the discussion on a sort of scanvenger hunt to reinforce the lesson. I was really impressed and looking forward to being more involved next year.