Seeking Beauty Through the Arts (Week 4 - Virtual Curriculum Fair)

Welcome to the fourth and final week of the 2016 Virtual Curriculum Fair. This week we are looking at The Arts and Everything that brings beauty to your world and adds something good to your homeschool. This year I am co-hosting with  Kristen over at Sunrise to Sunset and Laura over at Day by Day in our World. Over the last couple of years I have embarked on a journey to learn more about the Charlotte Mason approach to homeschooling. 

"We all have need to be trained to see, and to have our eyes opened before we can take in the joy that is meant for us in this beautiful life." ~ Charlotte Mason

This statement by Charlotte really impacted me earlier this year as I was reading Volume One of the Homeschooling series.  The ability to see and take note of beauty in the every day is not something that is natural and inherent it is something we need to be trained to do. The world around us is structured  to focus on the negative and it takes some work and a little bit of practice to look for and see the good. 

One of the catch phrases in the Charlotte Mason circles concerns Twaddle.  I love that term. It so aptly describes that we need to be seeking quality literature.  One of my passions is directly linked to this.  I feel that often we are hung up on content that we forget to check for beauty when assessing a book.  What's the point of an ugly twaddle free book ?  Children are visually impacted. The images they are given set the tone for how they will look at the world around them. Children are children for such a short period of time before they are confronted with the sin in this world that it is a shame to not surround them with beautiful twaddle free books!

Beauty and the arts are intertwined.  They cover anything that impact us through our senses.  You don't need any fancy curriculum but you do need to be intentional to learn to use your senses in order to appreciate the beauty that surrounds you. 

Books we love
(Libraries are an excellent resource to teach for FREE)

• The Usborne ART Treasury
• Finger Print Drawing Book
• Global Art
• The Usborne Book of Famous Paintings 
• Katie and the Waterlily Pond  
• Katie and the Mona Lisa
• The Children's Book of ART 
• Handel: At the Court of Kings  

Read more of my thoughts on the arts here:

• Joseph Haydn {Composer Study Unit}
• How do you teach poetry ?
• Claude Monet {Unit Study}  
• Nature Journals Resource Page (Over 60 links to FREE resources} 
• Each week you can find links to tutorials covering things to make in your homeschool in the Virtual Fridge.
• Click on any of the graphics below for more information.

For more information on the Arts you can read the posts from past fairs here:

• 2014 Virtual Fair: Language Arts Art and Music Appreciation Resource Lists
• 2015 Virtual Fair: Language Arts @ Every Bed of Roses

 We should always have something worthwhile to think about, that we may not let our minds dwell upon unworthy matters.
Charlotte Mason
(p. 21) from Ourselves

What others have to say on Exploring Our World

• Yvie @ Gypsy Road - Art Museum Staycation & Elements of Art Unit
• Sarah@ Delivering Grace - First Things First
• Laura @ Day by Day in Our World - Add An Element of Beauty with Fine Arts in the Homeschool
• Lisa@ Golden Grasses - What Are We Fighting For?
• Annette @ A Net In Time - Art, art, and more art
• Kristen @ Sunrise to Sunset - The Sounds of Music
• Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break - Music and Other Beautiful Things

If you missed the last three posts from the 2016 Virtual Curriculum Fair they can be found here:

Week ONE - Language Arts
Week TWO - Thoughts on Math and Science
Week THREE - Exploring our World through Social Studies

Blessings
Chareen

 It's YOUR Turn
What are your thoughts on Seeking Beauty Through the Arts?  If you have a blog post on any of the subjects at hand add them below and if not then please leave me a comment and lets chat.

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