Our summer "Camp Rainbow" theme of the week for June 22-28 was
"Art All Around Us." One morning we ventured to the Georgia Museum
of Art in Athens...
Eli loved that the museum provides kids with an activity bag to use during their visit. There were brochures, children's picture books about art, a sketchpad with pencils, and a small flannel board with felt shapes. Eli worked hard on a sunset image and then sorted the shapes by color to start over on a new picture...
He also loved wandering the sculpture garden. There are six steel plant-filled sculptures by Patricia Leighton called Terra Verte.
He wanted to draw one of the cube-shaped sculptures and spent a lot of time on it.
There was a little frustration because he wanted the lines to be straight, but we talked about how sometimes art doesn't show exactly what is there but rather how something feels to the artist. Eli ended up being happy with his drawing.
Aside from the sheer peacefulness and creative juices of the museum, this visit I particularly enjoyed the decorative arts section and this wonderful old handmade baking cabinet. Now I am daydreaming of teacakes from scratch...
We only stayed about an hour. From my studies in Art Education back in college, I learned that it is far better to give little sips of art that kids enjoy rather than wear them out on it seeing everything. Museums are quiet places where kid joys like touching, jumping, and climbing are rarely allowed, so it can be a little stressful for them. To help with that, we let the kiddos lead us to what interested them most, gave them time to absorb, and then got them talking about what they saw. Everybody had a good time.
Other posts about the how-tos of visiting art museums with kiddos:
High Museum of Art, Atlanta
Legion of Honor Fine Arts Museum, San Francisco
One Mama's Two Cents:
The Georgia Museum of Art was free and there is free parking in a shady deck adjoined to the museum building -- which made it easy to visit with kids even on a rainy day. There is also a cafe area where kids can take a break to have a snack and sit for a bit. The front desk staff and the guards were all friendly and welcoming, which earns the place a gold star in my book. And the Museum offers monthly Family Days that show off portions of the collection along a theme and get kids involved in the creative process with activities. We'll be back often!
Georgia Museum of Art Website: http://georgiamuseum.org
GMA Family Days: http://georgiamuseum.org/calendar/family_days
Explanation of Camp Rainbow
Week One: Careers and Jobs -- Restaurant and Bank
Week One: Careers and Jobs -- Pizza Parlor
Week Two: Native Americans
Week Three: Wet and Wild (water creatures and wetland habitats)
Week Three: Wet and Wild -- Home Aquarium
Week Four: Natural History (mud pies and fake rain count, right?)
Week Five: Art All Around Us -- Georgia Museum of Art
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