Book Recommendations

I See. I Think. I Wonder.

October 16th, 2022
Mollie T. Cox

During one set of art classes, I hung a print of The Duck Pond by Claude Monet, and employed a method I learned from Teaching Critical Thinking Through Art. That day, I chose the See-Think-Wonder routine. *

“I see”—which is observation—yielded expected answers. “I think”—which is interpretation—yielded less predictable responses. However, I learned the most about my six-to eleven-year-olds from “I wonder.”

I wonder if the lady would invite me into her house for toast.

I hadn’t noticed the tiny woman by the door

I wonder if the ducks are arriving or leaving.

I thought the ducks were hanging out.

I wonder if there is always that much water.

I had considered the water level unchangeable.

I wonder if the ducks get along.

Hmm …

Am I negligent if I mainly experience art with my students? If I don’t focus on information? I hope not because I teach art appreciation for the love of both my students and the subject. I want children to have accessibility to art. I want their enjoyment of art to take precedence over knowledge.

What do you see, think, and wonder?

*For more information see Making Thinking Visible by Ritchhart, Church, and Morrison.

Book Recommendations, Homeschooling, Parenting

What Makes You Say That?

October 9th, 2022
Mollie T. Cox

Until I took the course Teaching Critical Thinking Through Art,* I asked my students “Why?” Afterwards, l changed my question to “What makes you say that?” and I received more responses.

Children gave ready answers to “What makes you say that?” instead of hesitating over “Why?”

“There has been a fire,” one student stated after examining a print of Romare Bearden’s The Piano Lesson.

“What makes you say that?”

She pointed to something I had not noticed—black spots on the green wall.

What makes students respond more powerfully to “What makes you say that?” compared to the simpler “Why?”

Does the first imply the student has evidence to present? Does the latter imply a need to defend? I decided I prefer to be asked, “What makes you say that?” because it implies a willingness to listen.

For more information about this question, see chapter six in Making Thinking Visible by Ritchhart, Church, and Morrison.

Which is your preference? “Why?” Or “What makes you say that?“

*See here.

Book Recommendations, Family

Reading to Readers Part 2

September 18th, 2022
Mollie T. Cox

The evidence has become so overwhelming that social scientists consider reading aloud one of the most important indicators of a child’s prospects in life.
The Enchanted Hour*

Our family received knowledge, pleasure, common memories, and enhanced relationships from our years of reading aloud and listening to audio books. (See here.) Along the way I learned that we also received something else—changed brains.*

What were those changes? New neural connections in the brain, reinforced neural connections, and optimal patterns of brain development.

What were the results of those changes? The increase of social skills, attention span, language, and imagination to name a few.

The Enchanted Hour ‘s compilation of research—some of which I had read elsewhere or experienced with my sons—has compelled me to continue advocating reading aloud for all ages.

Reading aloud really is a kind of magic elixir.
The Enchanted Hour*

What are you advocating?

*The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction by Meghan Cox Gurdon.

Art, Book Recommendations, Memories

World Letter Writing Day #2

September 1st, 2022
Mollie T. Cox

Because today is World Letter Writing Day, it seems appropriate to share my favorite published letters. (See here)

From October 1951 to May 1952, Juan and Rie Munoz taught native children on an Alaskan Island in the Bering Sea. Their main contact with the outside world was by radio. They received one airdrop and one visit by an icebreaker. Even knowing that their letters could not be mailed until their service ended, they wrote over forty to their families.

These letters and accompanying photographs were discovered in 2005 and compiled by their son. Like the letters of my family, The King Island Journal contains the mundane: bathing, tanning hides, making clothes, gathering food, cooking, and, especially, their dogs’ and students’ antics. Also like my family, their mundane is both revealing and entertaining.

Rie Munoz settled in Juneau and is best known for her artwork depicting native life in Alaska. I love both Alaska and art, and my search for an Alaskan artist led to what I consider an even greater treasure—letters.

Rie Munoz’s watercolors, (See h ere for more)

My husband enjoyed reading John and Abigail Adams’ correspondence. Any favorite published letters?

Art, Book Recommendations, Homeschooling

Art Responders

March 13th, 2022
Mollie T. Cox

“No, Benjamin can’t be in my art class,” I said.

The six-year-old was known for his extremely bad behavior. Not only was the class already crowded, but also he was younger than the average student. Most importantly, I had volunteered to teach, not wrangle with a difficult child.

The next time I saw his mother, she was cool. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“You didn’t give my son a chance. You wrote him off.”

I was convicted. “You’re right. He can come.”

And he did. He behaved. He responded. He was transformed. I was amazed.

Another year, in another art class, another child had a bad reputation. His mother—who was in charge—assigned him to my class because she had “Nowhere else to stick him.”

He participated well. At the end of the semester, I took my students to the National Gallery of Art to see the works we had studied. He begged to go. His mother said, “No.” My class was “Just a place to keep him out of trouble.” It had. Marvelously.

Two examples are not scientific research, but other art teachers confirmed my experiences.

Have you witnessed a child responding to art?