more activities to do with your child

In addition to advocating for and supporting a strong arts program in your school district, you can help your child enjoy the arts outside of school by participating together at home, taking advantage of your community's cultural resources, or checking out resources online.

At Home

• Teach your child songs and enjoy singing them together.
• Play different kinds of music from the radio or your own collection and encourage them to enjoy singing and dancing along with it.
• A simple paper and pencil or crayon offers children the chance to express themselves—even a scribble is a good beginning—the important point is for them to feel encouraged and to develop the habit of writing and drawing. Their skill will improve as they naturally compare their work to other pictures and words they see around them. Drawing and writing together will help them see that you value those activities as well.
• Have pictures and books available for them to enjoy and value. Your local library can be a terrific source of material at no cost to you.
• Seek out high-quality children's programming that can stimulate your child's imagination and expand his/her understanding of the many different art forms that exist. Public television is available with or without paying extra for cable and offers cultural programming for adults and children. If your child sees you valuing the arts, they will too.
• Practice photography. Buy a disposable camera for your child to practice. Talk to them about composing a photograph—what is included and what is cut out through the choice of the photographer? What are the elements of and their proportions in the photograph? Work together on creating family photo albums or other thematic collections.
• Make videos together. Try organizing the shots ahead of time to tell a story as in filmmaking.
• Read and write poems. Help your child feel the rhythm in poems you enjoy reading and enjoy the fun of writing together within an organized system of verse. If it is difficult to create your own rhythm, practice by borrowing the verse and rhythm structure of a poem you enjoy and make up new words to fit the poem's structure.

In Your Community

• Most communities have arts festivals or craft fairs—even seasonal celebrations that feature music and dancing. The more opportunity children have to see the arts in action, the more ideas they will get about how they can participate and contribute.
• Attend presentations in the arts at your local schools, colleges, and universities. Colleges and universities often produce calendars of activities that you can call and request or look for online. Costs are free or lower than most professional venues.
• Attend presentations at professional venues to help your child experience excellence: children's theater for younger children and adult dramas, comedies, and musicals for older children, symphonies, jazz ensembles, dance companies featuring ballet, ethnic (Irish step dancing, Spanish flamenco, American square dancing), or modern forms including jazz and tap. Museums sometimes offer musical and dramatic programming as well as their regular exhibits.
• Singing practice and instruction through choirs can often be found at no cost through local churches and houses of worship.
• Enroll them in classes that teach drawing, dance, musical instruments, singing, or theater skills. There are some classes that parents and children can take together. Private teachers and studios offer lessons but less-costly arts opportunities can also be found through local Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs, YWCAs, Girl Scouts, and libraries, to name just a few. Contact your local arts agency to ask for leads to community and cultural organizations that offer lessons/classes. Many community arts organizations offer lessons on a sliding scale so be sure to ask (click on "Member Schools" to see if there are classes offered near you).
• Many communities have museums where you and your child can look at art of different kinds. If you don't know of any museums, browse through an art store or gallery just so your child can enjoy seeing a variety of different artistic expression. Feel free to ask museum or store personnel to tell you about the particular works of art you are seeing. Museums often offer special events and classes at free or reduced rates.
• Check out a book from the library introducing your child to the visual arts: painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and more. Knowing what others have done in an art form can inform and inspire your child as they participate in the same activity.
• Check out books from the library that tell stories about visual artists, dancers, actors, and musicians. This will introduce your child to the arts and help them feel like they "know" various artists.
• Encourage your child to read both "classic" and modern books. Compare the styles: how are they similar and how are they different in terms of subject matter and style of writing?
• Help your child understand art forms that were developed by people of your own racial or ethic heritage. Or talk about family members that had a particular talent or interest in an art form; maybe Grandpa loved to sing or Uncle John was a good storyteller. Ask them what art form they enjoy doing the most and encourage them to do it.

Online
If it is hard to find resources in your community, check out exhibits online. If you don't have a computer at home, local libraries offer free access to the Internet. Organizations like VSA arts, the National Gallery of Art, and the Smithsonian Institution offer online exhibits.

The U.S. Department of Education has organized links to many online exhibits and lesson plans developed in the arts. Find the box titled "PreK-12" and choose "other academic subjects." You may then choose "Arts (federal resources for educational excellence)" or "Arts (gateway to educational materials)."

Offer Your Talents
If you are someone with artistic training, volunteer to teach lessons at a community organization so that children who may not be getting and training in music, theater, dance, or the visual arts can benefit from your knowledge and skill.