Art History Kids Philosophy

Why art history?

Creativity is a superpower. And it's one that lives within each of us. It's a skill that will help our kids to succeed in whatever they choose to do... even if it's completely unrelated to art!

That's why learning about art through the lens of art history is so powerful!

Not only are your kids developing their creativity, using their imagination, and tapping into their self expression...

They're also:

practicing observational awareness,
empathy,
conversational skills,
learning cultural, historical, geographical, scientific and literary context that brings an additional layer of understanding to the art activities!

The way we teach art isn't actually teaching at all. That's why I'm always using words like "guided exploration" and "art adventure" to describe what we do.

Rather than teaching, kids are discovering.

They learn through observing, discussing, and doing.

And our hands-on activities are all open ended so their art is actually based on an original thought… it's a product of their amazing imagination.

When we get together at the end of each month to celebrate all of the art that kids in The Studio have made, it's thrilling to see how very different and unique each piece of art is, and to hear about the careful consideration and thought that went into their art.

This is what makes the way we explore art so special, and this is why it's so much more than an art program.

Kids who are immersed in a creative environment like this thrive, and their creativity becomes part of their identity long after the art activity has been finished and put away.

get a printable version of the art history kids philosophy

**Lotus Stewart** || homeschooling mom | graphic designer | art history enthusiast

In case we haven't officially met, let me introduce myself.

Hi! I'm Lotus. :)

I am a homeschool mom to an 10th grader and a 12th grader, we live in the Los Angeles area, and we've been using art history as the central theme in our homeschool since the very beginning.

We've had so much fun on our art adventures, I wanted to share our ideas with other homeschool moms, co-op leaders, and classroom teachers like YOU... and so, Art History Kids was born.

When I started Art History Kids, my son was in kindergarten. As a first-year homeschooling mom, I was searching online for an art history curriculum to supplement the all-inclusive curriculum we were using for our other subjects. Our curriculum had lots of art activities, but no art appreciation, and no art history.

I’d alredy been taking our kids to art museums since they were babies... but the trips were informal and casual– we’d just go and look. It was purely for fun, and there was no agenda, no "lesson," and no discussion outside of me answering their questions.

Once he started kindergarten, I wanted my son to begin to think about the things we’d already seen together, and to do some hands-on activities that would get him involved in a kinesthetic way and help him to remember the things we were discussing.

As hard as I looked… I couldn’t find any good art history studies for kids his age that I liked.

What I did find was either:

Way too simplified (introducing the artist at a level that was so basic, all of the meaningful information about their art was completely lost.) Or...
Totally boring. Like, I'm talking about lesson plans that were supposedly for early elementary, but read like college book reports. Not something my son (or I) would be inspired by.

All I wanted was something that would help to introduce an artist in a fun way that was also somewhat educational... and I couldn't find it.

So, since there didn’t seem to be any resources to help guide kids through the magnificent world of art history that were informational and engaging... I decided I’d create one.

I'm passionate about finding fun new ways to support young artists and to get kids who are new to art history super excited about the fascinating personalities of the artists, and all of the interesting art out there for us to discover and explore.

My background helps me to combine the elements of learning and fun! I have a degree from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena (giving me insights into the endlessly fascinating world of art history), and I've homeschooled our 2 kids for the past 5 years (giving me the real-world experience of knowing how to introduce art with a kid-friendly tone and meaningful content balance that is so important in getting kids engaged, involved, and eager for more!

Art History Kids mission is simple: to introduce kids to art, invite them to come to their own conclusions, and encourage them to tap into their own individual creativity as they make art.

So, what are you waiting for? Start making colorful memories together today! You can get started with some fun ideas from the blog, or come chat in our free Facebook group!