Third Thursdays at The Jepson
The Jepson Center has a preschooler morning every third thursday of the month. I have some how always managed to miss it, or be busy (school)… finally took Jackson in March, and again last week. He is so full of energy and enthusiasm about learning, and it really shows when we attend things like this. Also, it is nice to have opportunities to do something together, mommy-and-jackson.
all the little people eagerly waiting to get their hands in paint
what can we make?
mr. roboto, a la mama
Jackson and Mr. Roboto... (there were pictures of "things" to build, the robot was one of them... so yes i built it, but i did not design it)
This last Thursday’s theme was based on collages, and using elements from Romare Bearden. The children were quite enthusiastic about combining figures from other images to create a new story in their own artwork. They were all given a photo copy of The Black Prince of Crecy and “Mrs. Bunny Tea Cup” (as the children named her) from Bearden’s “Falling Star”, from which they created their collages.
hard at work
look of concentration
process
That looks fun. Our little ones are a bit to rowdy for that type of thing here right now, but in a few years they’ll be covered in paint as well.
I grew up attending Saturday Morning Art school at the UIUC. My parents sent us starting when I was six, and I attended Saturday Morning Art there until I was too old… then they had summer programs for teenagers… think I was 14 or 15, I remember riding my bike to campus….. I hadn’t “put my finger” on just why I felt it important to expose Jackson to the arts until the first time we attended the Third Thursday, back in March….. and it was that the questions asked, and the concepts posed to the children required them to use CRITICAL THINKING skills in combination with CREATIVE THINKING! Wow! I couldn’t believe it. I realized at that moment that it is easy to take critical thinking for granted because we spend so much effort trying to get these little people to read, write, count, recite the alphabet, yadda….
I would like, personally, to find more ways to encourage Jackson to use critical thinking skills…
Having children is fun, isn’t it?