A Five-Minute "ART" Vitamin for the Kids

By chance sometimes, your child may get excited about an unfamiliar subject. What a surprise for me to hear my 8-year old son say, "Mom, I like how that guy lit up the sky with his painting." I was looking at one of my favorite van Gogh paintings, "The Sower" which has an amazing sunrise lighting up the canvas. I quickly turned around to acknowledge his comment and continue talking about the painting.

I've never studied art history formally, but I find enjoyment in learning about art through the rich resources available in print and on the Internet. As a busy mom of four, I look for those 5-minute "art breaks" to help me recharge from my daily happy chaos. These quick virtual museum visits prove to be a welcome energy and spirit boost when I'm feeling especially stressed. 

My children often saunter on by while I'm hunting around for new paintings to discover.  How exciting for me on that day when my son took a moment to share my appreciation of a wonderful piece of art. Since that initial interest, I've encouraged him to stop and take a peek at my latest artist discovery when I'm surfing painting sites. We may have only 5 minutes to talk about the painting, but I'm happy that he shows even a little bit of interest in looking at art as a form of individual and creative expression.

After that five minutes of painting talk, he will happily zoom off to play soccer with his brothers. But isn't it nice for me to hope that he may have gained a lifelong interest in art from these few minutes of connection with me? Surround yourself with literature, music, and art. You may be amazed to find out what your children are noticing and learning!