It was very nice to have time last night to get settled and get some computer work done. Even better to get some sleep and be refreshed for today.

Took a wonderful walk to the Art Institute of Chicago for our tour. I was very impressed with our guide. She was informational and entertaining. She made excellent selections as to which art work she shared with us, and didn’t overwhelm us with a lot of “artistic” talk. I thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent there. I LOVE Georgia O’Keefe’s work and was very pleased to see some of her art there. I have visited the O’Keefe Museum in Santa Fe before, but the work that was on display here showed a different side; not all florals or bright portraits which you usually associate with her. This, however, was my favorite. I really like the colors and the simplicity with the daisy.

And of course I have to mention “American Gothic”. I never understood why it was called this until today. I think it is interesting that the artist was just driving along and saw the gothic style window on the farmhouse. I also thought it was interesting that the couple in the portrait are actually the artists’ sister and dentist!

Like I mentioned in an earlier blog, I have to incorporate art into my class next year and I purchased a  wonderful book in the museum store. It is actually written for parents and gives ideas on how to share art work with your kids. I loved the activities that were in the book, and am looking forward to incorporating some of that into my class.

Lindsey also gave me a wonderful idea about using the concept that was presented by Bryon Andreasen at the Lincoln Museum in Springifeld. She suggested that I work with the History teachers and have my students create “exhibits” that vary in presentation type / style, like the one that was presented to us on the Lincoln/Douglas debates. Wonderful idea! I’m already brainstorming some ideas and thinking about how I can incorporate them in to the various units that are studied at the different grade levels.