YMB #151 Five Ways to Do a Picture Study

Homeschool Better Together with Pam Barnhill

In this episode of Your Morning Basket, host Pam Barnhill and co-hosts Dawn Garrett and Laney Homan share insightful strategies for incorporating picture study into your homeschooling routine. This episode discusses the benefits of picture study, such as creating a mental gallery of paintings for children to enjoy as well as highlighting that it's not about learning art history, but rather about observing and appreciating the details in a painting.

Gain practical insights on how to conduct picture study sessions, including the basic method of observing a painting, discussing it with your children, and prompting them to think about and offer their own titles for the artwork. Whether you're new to picture study or looking for fresh ideas to invigorate your homeschooling curriculum, this episode has something for every homeschooling parent.

Key Takeaways:

• Emphasize the value of setting a timer for 5 minutes to draw a painting as an exercise in attention, not about recreating the style of the artist.
• Highlight the importance of dividing a painting into thirds and showing each part to children, focusing on details like colors, brushstrokes, light, and texture.
• Discuss the process of telling a story about a picture to engage with the painting, emphasizing the use of details in the painting to guide the story.
• Encourage the community to share more ideas for picture study and other activities in a free homeschool portal.
• Stress the significance of building the habit of attention through picture study and other activities like nature study, music, and poetry.
• Recommend not revealing the title of the painting initially to encourage critical thinking, and suggest asking questions to prompt children to think about the painting and offer their own titles.

Links and Resources

• Your Morning Basket+
• Morning Time Plans
• Artistic Pursuits curriculum
• The belated Party on Mansfield Mountain by Jerome B. Thompson
• "Impression Sunrise" by Claude Monet
• Angelica Kauffman
• J.M.W. Turner

For full show notes and a transcript of today’s episode, head to https://pambarnhill.com/ymb151

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