art lessons

By the time Camille was “this many,” she knew her impressionists. She could tell a van Gogh from a Monet. She had been to Giverny and stood on Monet’s bridge. Chloe suffers from second child syndrome. We have not exposed her nearly enough to our favorite art, poor thing.

A couple of weeks ago when we were in DC, the girls and I walked the few blocks up to the Phillips Collection. It had been a very long time since I had gone, and I couldn’t remember what to expect. I didn’t know if the girls would enjoy it or not. I was pleasantly surprised.

First, kids 18 and under don’t need a ticket, so it was, I believe, only $12 for the three of us to enter. Photos are allowed (no flash). PLUS, they have a nice “scavenger hunt” booklet for kids to help them discover the art. The book not only has them looking for certain pieces of art, but also helps them to examine the art and think about what they are seeing and feeling as they do. Awesome.

Chloe really got into it and worked on writing down her thoughts. She spent long chunks of time looking at the various pieces and going back to look again. We sat for a long time looking at Renoir’s Boating Party.

Last night, we watched a short film on French Impressionists in preparation for our trip to France. When the Boating Party came up, Chloe went nuts! She was so excited to see something that she recognized. I think I need to make more of an effort to get her to the various art museums as we travel.