The Artful Living Program is now on Facebook! You can "like" their page by typing in "The Artful Living Program" in the search box at the top of your Facebook page or by following this link: The Artful Living Program sponsored by the Massillon Museum.
Have you heard about The Artful Living Program yet? The Massillon Public Library's Children's Department is involved in an interesting outreach program once a week. Every Wednesday we visit the preschool classes in Franklin Elementary to provide a literature lesson, also known as "story time."
The Artful Living Program believes that fine arts immersion enhances creativity, increases academic performance, and stimulates leadership characteristics. You can read more about it on the Massillon Museum's website here: Artful Living Program.
The Artful Living Program (a collaboration of Massillon Public Library, the Massillon Museum, Canton Symphony, Ananda Center, Massillon City Schools, and Ashland University) was initiated in one preschool classroom at Franklin School in December 2008 and has now grown to EIGHT classes. A provider from each of the first four groups listed visits classes one day per week to present programs that support the preschool's curriculum. A Massillon Public Library's Children's Programming Specialist prepares stories, songs, and fingerplays that tie in with the topics that are being currently taught in the preschool. Once a year in December, the preschoolers take a field trip to the library to see our Children's Department Christmas puppet show. Of course, we often see these preschoolers bring in their families throughout the year to use the library, and it's nice to see them showing their parents the books that they've read in Artful Living!
A few weeks ago, Franklin Preschool invited all their preschool dads, grandpas, and special friends to an early Father's Day program held in the school gym. After showing the dads their favorite songs and hearing a couple stories about dads, we were able to talk 10 dads into dressing up and helping me retell the story, Dr. Jean's "My Mother is a Baker." The kids loved seeing their dads dressed as dogs, cats, a cowboy, a baby, and more. Tom Roehlig, one of the preschool dads, is pictured below as a cat.
A few weeks ago, Franklin Preschool invited all their preschool dads, grandpas, and special friends to an early Father's Day program held in the school gym. After showing the dads their favorite songs and hearing a couple stories about dads, we were able to talk 10 dads into dressing up and helping me retell the story, Dr. Jean's "My Mother is a Baker." The kids loved seeing their dads dressed as dogs, cats, a cowboy, a baby, and more. Tom Roehlig, one of the preschool dads, is pictured below as a cat.
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The second part of The Artful Living Program is a Family Component. The evening Family sessions meet at locations in Massillon, such as the Salvation Army. Currently 36 parents and children attend. After a meal, the kids play games while the parents can participate in educational sessions. One month the families took home a packet of family games to share, while another month they received art books and the children got their own hardback book chosen by the library.
The best part of Artful Living each week is hearing what the children have to say. One day, after finishing a literature lesson, one little boy smiled big and said, "You know what? You're awesome!" So are the kids!
Artful Living Program weekly in-class lessons are currently funded through a yearly grant from the PNC Foundation and the Marsha Holden Jennings Foundation. The Family component is funded by an Aultman Foundation grant. We are grateful for the opportunities they have provided for us to bring the arts to Massillon preschoolers.
