Fine Arts: Music

I've decided Tuesday and Thursday will be our music days. I will be using Lives of the Great Musicians by Kathleen Krull with illustrations by Kathryn Hewitt. My mom got this for me when I was a kid taking music lessons.

Tuesday
a. Read a biography.
b. Listen to a piece by the musician.
(First we tried to sit quietly and listen. Then we listened again moving. I've been trying to play Vivaldi around the house throughout the day, but I doubt the kids would ever recognize it while we were out and about if they suddenly heard it. Nor would I for that matter. This sort of thing isn't really my strong suit. In any case, it's a start.)

Thursdays
a. Talk about a music concept.
(I'm not sure I have enough knowledge or material on my own to keep this up at my kids' level. Today we didn't have a discussion actually. We just skipped to b. However, adding in an a sometimes would be good.)
b. Sing fun kid songs.
(Today we sang the "Hoky Poky" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes," and we did the little finger play song Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree.)

Fine Arts: Art

I've decided Monday and Wednesday will be our art days. I will be using Lives of the Great Artists by Kathleen Krull with illustrations by Kathryn Hewitt. Conveniently, we already had this because we picked it up years ago at a sale to match the musician book I already had from my childhood.

Mondays
a. Read a biography.
b. Look at works by the artist.
(We browsed the works of Da vinci on the computer because the book I have talks about his life and works, but it doesn't have examples of his work. I would prefer to find a book with examples.)
c. Do something hands-on.
(This week it was play-doh.)

Wednesdays 
a. Talk about an art concept.
(I'm not sure I have enough knowledge or material on my own to keep this up at my kids' level. I used What Every Kindergartener Needs to Know to talk about warm and cool colors this week.)
b. Do something hands-on.
(This week it was painting on the easel.)