For Veenstra, anything kids see in the painting is good. The district needs more volunteers for its fleet of art docents, who present a classic painting each month to an elementary school class and do a related art project. The halls of Gordon Elementary are covered with the results, including cityscapes, watercolors inspired by music and a Cubist collage. Ideally, kids will be exposed to about 60 paintings by the time they finish sixth grade, said Gladys Parrish, who coordinates the art docent program. With a shortage of volunteers, that doesn't happen at every school.
Prospective docents can call any elementary school to get involved.
No art background is necessary, and docents are provided with training and a curriculum. It's a good experience, and our kids learn a lot. Click here to send your ideas to The Sun.