Teaching Classical Art!

In the midst of planning art projects centered around the upcoming holiday, I am also making it a point to include classical art in our lesson plan. I am a huge fan of classical literature, and I believe that classical art is just as important. The question is how exactly does one teach young ones this form of art without boring them to death? Well, I am going to share my method for bringing classical art to life for my young learners.

1. Choose a time period.

I try to center the art lesson around a period of time that we are studying in our history lesson. For example, the renaissance period. You can google art from that particular period and build your lesson around that.

2. Choose an artist and view their work.

I always highlight an artist and have them explore some of their artwork. We spend a lot of time looking and discussing the pieces of art.

3. Learn Facts about the artist/ time period.

Of course, learning about the artist and time period is important. However, I have found that long paragraphs and books about the artist can be overwhelming and boring. Instead, I use bullet points or fun facts about the artist. My kids love learning new things about the artist and having small points is easier to understand and to retain.

4. Find a fun worksheet or lesson about the artist or time period.  

Find printables about the artist, their work, or the time period. I have found having them color or paint their own replica of a piece of art is fun. This helps to teach the style and method the artist used to create their masterpiece. I find that this makes the art lesson come alive to the student.

Also, it is okay to repeat the lessons in the future years. You can always go more in depth and make the lessons more challenging to fit the grade level.

I hope that this post gave you some ideas for teaching classical art!

As always, Blessings on your journey!