Our decision was prompted by two things: with Aidan and Cole in football and Grant in soccer, our schedule was getting out of hand, and sending three boys to art class every week was also getting pretty expensive. Keep in mind that this was before Mary went back to work. It was a hard decision to make, and from what I remember, the boys were all pretty disappointed. I also remember how hard it was to tell the teacher that we were going to take a break, and that we didn't know when the boys would be back. The day the boys took their incomplete artwork home with them was a sad one.
But I knew at least one of our sons would be back. Fast forward to 2012, and the boys have all pretty much settled into their chosen activities. Aidan is sticking with football, and Grant wants to stay in soccer. Cole made it clear that he doesn't enjoy playing sports much, and anyone who knows him knows that it's drawing that he likes more than anything. Needless to say, he was excited when we asked him if he wanted to do Little Artists again. But this time, Cole's on his own. Aidan's got his own thing, and Grant's got his, so why can't Cole?
I sometimes wonder if he's really getting anything out of Little Artists, since there isn't much instruction as far as I can tell. The teachers rotate around the room, giving pointers to the students, but I don't see them talking to the kids about construction, composition, line, value, form, etc. Each week, the students choose a piece from a binder and reproduce it in whatever media they're currently working in. I think the benefit of that for Cole is the copying, since he tends to do most of his drawing at home from imagination. That's a great thing, but the copying also teaches him hand-eye coordination.
The bottom line is, if Cole is enjoying it, I say it's a good thing. It certainly can't hurt. Now if only we could also find a physical activity that he enjoys...
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1 comments:
Just catching up here, and wow, that's really good. The boy's got some talent, just like his father!
I struggle with the physical activity thing, too, Steve, as Zach is now our multi-sport kid, and Zienna had a very tough time deciding between spring soccer and starting softball (and would gladly do gymnastics and other things if we had time and money)—yet trying to get Zoë to do anything (aside from sporadic running, which she loves when she actually does it) is very difficult. And yet, like Cole, she's gifted artistically (you should hear the girl sing!).
I wouldn't sweat over it too much. As I recall, neither you or I were particularly active in sports, either. I played a few seasons of soccer, and I remember you doing anything, right? They'll find they're passions, and we can supplement the physical with unstructured activity. Meanwhile, I'd encourage that artwork. He definitely seems to have found his calling!
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