by Gregory Schmidt
Believe it or not, the majority of Americans get their first meaningful experience with theater, cinema, singing, dancing, speech, music and drawing in their local churches. It's not secular society nor public schools that initially get our kids interested in various art forms. Yes, it's within the safety of our own churches that most of us engage in these areas of human experience.
Having worked for over 30 years with youngsters in Sunday school, high school catechism, Boy Scouts and children's theater, I find that the simplest acts of self-expression do wonders for both self-esteem and academic performance.
Now that school budget cuts are forcing the closure of many of these programs that enhance the skills of youth (considering them "extra-curricular"), thousands of students are missing out or are forced to start later in life on activities that become lifelong resources.
My initial urge for you, though, is that your children/students are allowed to first be simply creative. Being imaginative with whatever materials you have at home is a good start for an aptitude in the Arts.
The key is to not set this activity aside as just leisure or spare time fun. Have your student make a concerted effort at creating something specific. It can be a simple two-dimensional color expression on paper or even a three-dimensional design of an architectural experiment.
The reason for starting out where your child is doing most of the work is to take the pressure off of yourself for feeling that you should be spending more time prepping or being personally more proficient at (for example) a musical instrument, scenic drawing, dance choreography or theatrical accents, etc.
There will come a time when a student wants to specialize in a certain art form with lots of hours doing lessons. This is, of course, when you let a professional in that specialized field take the teacher's position, unless you are blessed enough to be that person. After all, good piano players usually make good piano teachers.
Yet, this new monthly column isn't about calling you to spend more time on something you know you should (but just don't have the energy or resources). It will serve more as a guide to taking your child to new places, right there on the living room floor.
This open door to free-expression and creativity in the Arts leads to a world of undiscovered talents. Both you and I know that our youth need more than formal academics to develop a well-rounded civic character. We both understand that there is great potential at hand - from designing a new Sunday dress of their own to writing their own illustrated book of poetry and verse.
Need specific starting points? No problem; we'll start getting into it all as this column unfolds through the months. For now, check your local picture frame shop to see if they have any throw away center cuts of matt board. I usually can get stacks of it for free from my contacts. One side is poster white for magic marker or crayon work, and the other is colored/textured for chalk or paint and even montage work. Have at it.
Gregory Schmidt designs events for Festivals International and is the writer-director of the Bueno Gang Kids movie series for Teacher Productions. If you want to introduce the Bueno Gang kids to your own children, the first two DVDs are available by contacting info@buenogang.com.
Believe it or not, the majority of Americans get their first meaningful experience with theater, cinema, singing, dancing, speech, music and drawing in their local churches. It's not secular society nor public schools that initially get our kids interested in various art forms. Yes, it's within the safety of our own churches that most of us engage in these areas of human experience.
Having worked for over 30 years with youngsters in Sunday school, high school catechism, Boy Scouts and children's theater, I find that the simplest acts of self-expression do wonders for both self-esteem and academic performance.
Now that school budget cuts are forcing the closure of many of these programs that enhance the skills of youth (considering them "extra-curricular"), thousands of students are missing out or are forced to start later in life on activities that become lifelong resources.
My initial urge for you, though, is that your children/students are allowed to first be simply creative. Being imaginative with whatever materials you have at home is a good start for an aptitude in the Arts.
The key is to not set this activity aside as just leisure or spare time fun. Have your student make a concerted effort at creating something specific. It can be a simple two-dimensional color expression on paper or even a three-dimensional design of an architectural experiment.
The reason for starting out where your child is doing most of the work is to take the pressure off of yourself for feeling that you should be spending more time prepping or being personally more proficient at (for example) a musical instrument, scenic drawing, dance choreography or theatrical accents, etc.
There will come a time when a student wants to specialize in a certain art form with lots of hours doing lessons. This is, of course, when you let a professional in that specialized field take the teacher's position, unless you are blessed enough to be that person. After all, good piano players usually make good piano teachers.
Yet, this new monthly column isn't about calling you to spend more time on something you know you should (but just don't have the energy or resources). It will serve more as a guide to taking your child to new places, right there on the living room floor.
This open door to free-expression and creativity in the Arts leads to a world of undiscovered talents. Both you and I know that our youth need more than formal academics to develop a well-rounded civic character. We both understand that there is great potential at hand - from designing a new Sunday dress of their own to writing their own illustrated book of poetry and verse.
Need specific starting points? No problem; we'll start getting into it all as this column unfolds through the months. For now, check your local picture frame shop to see if they have any throw away center cuts of matt board. I usually can get stacks of it for free from my contacts. One side is poster white for magic marker or crayon work, and the other is colored/textured for chalk or paint and even montage work. Have at it.
Gregory Schmidt designs events for Festivals International and is the writer-director of the Bueno Gang Kids movie series for Teacher Productions. If you want to introduce the Bueno Gang kids to your own children, the first two DVDs are available by contacting info@buenogang.com.
