“Examining art allows students to ask and answer critical thinking questions that apply to progressing in language arts. For example: Who is in the painting? What does the subject feel? Where is this taking place? What will happen next? Identifying characters, determining the setting and making predictions are what we hope readers will do. They can practice this by reading a painting or sculpture. Building descriptive vocabulary through their observations is another reason exposing students to art early on is beneficial,” she adds. Lisa sees the interdisciplinary possibilities of art across her curriculum. “Introducing art and math together provides countless (no pun intended) opportunities for young learners to practice and acquire new skills: identifying and describing shapes, symmetry, size, color, patterns or number of items. Extension activities with manipulatives allow students to demonstrate their thought processes and create their own representations of new and familiar concepts. They also become aware of the fact that math and art exist all around them in nature and architecture, if they just learn to look. Just recently, students created black outline drawings of their bedrooms and labeled objects of importance to them. Many recognized that their beds, books, doors and closets were easy to draw because they were all rectangles.” Lisa's goal is for her students to gain an appreciation for how vital art is in the world around them, to encourage them to make connections with other cultures and to value the historical impact that art has on thinkers of today. “Bringing art to the classroom by creating ARTstor presentations is a wonderful way to expose children to art. Of course, a visit to the Museum is certainly on the list of field trip musts this year.”

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