October's Fine Arts- Picasso, Dickinson, Bach and Audubon

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A couple of weeks ago, I was reading a blog and it dawned on me that we weren't doing any kind of fine arts (artist, composer, poet). I panicked. My children won't be cultured! How did I miss this?! In an effort to put more "culture" in our homeschool, I went on a search for some kind of fine arts outline or schedule. My love for Charlotte Mason and her methods meant one of my first stops was Ambleside Online. While I have gleaned a lot from AO over the years, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. So, In the true spirit of homeschooling, I took what they had and modified it. :)

Alongside our list of Poets, Composers and Artists, I added what I am calling Of Interest. The Of Interests are people who fascinate us; they don't fit into any fancy category but are worth learning about. Our first month is John James Audubon, followed by C.S. Lewis and Beatrix Potter. I haven't scheduled them out for the rest of the year because this group will be one that is made as we go.

For John James Audubon, we are reading these...











For Bach we are listening to a lot of his music and reading these...





Julia plays piano and Oscar plays guitar. Amazingly, I was able to find Bach music for both the guitar and piano at the library.


For Emily Dickinson, we are reading a lot of her poems and these to learn more about her life...






And last but certainly not least, Picasso...







As you can see, there is a mix of picture books and higher reading. Some the big kids are reading on their own, others I am reading out loud. I love to read aloud, don't you?


I really want the kids to enjoy these new additions to the school days so we are also incorporating movies via Netflix and notebooking pages. The notebooking pages I really liked came from Notebookingpages.com and Confessions of a Homeschooler.

There are endless ideas on Pinterest as well.

How do you incorporate culture into your school days?