Art Docent

Be a classroom art docent at Wellington!

The Role of the Art Docent

The Art Docent Program functions as an arts enrichment program led by volunteers during the school day once a month for an hour. The program strives to have at least one art docent per classroom every year. Over the years the program has served thousands of elementary students with the support of hundreds of volunteers.

Docents lead a discussion about the artwork and artist being featured, as well as lead an art activity inspired by the artists and their work. This provides students the opportunity to explore the process of art, bring awareness of art elements, work with a variety of art materials, and gain an appreciation of the history of art.
Follow the NSD-provided art lessons or feel free to make it your own.
Typical Framework (format of an art docent lesson):

Spend 10—15 minutes talking about the artist/project/art concept. You can use videos and books to provide information about the artist. Show examples of the artist's work; powerpoint is a great tool to use. Ask the kids questions about what they see, how it makes them feel, why it matters, etc.
Show them an example of the art they'll be making based on the artist/artwork. Then spend 30—40 minutes creating the piece. Walk through the process step by step, allowing their individuality and creativity to show. Give the kids time to complete each step, and encourage and help them as they go.
Spend a couple of minutes giving the kids time to clean up.
Bring a quick and easy activity such as a coloring page or word search for students to work on if they finish their art before their peers.

There is an Art Walk in the Spring and the goal is to display one piece of art from every student at Wellington. This event is open to all students and their families.

Program Goals

To expand children's ability to form definitions of their visual world.
To familiarize elementary school children with artists in history.
To examine elements of art that the children can apply to their own creative endeavors.
To acquaint the children with varied media as a means of expression.
To use volunteer docents from the community as facilitators.
To provide a resource for teachers.
To emphasize that lessons are a springboard for creative exploration rather than being limited to information gathering.
To establish the legitimacy of art as a critical part of the basic curriculum.

Art Docent Program History

The Art Docent Program began in 1969 with equal contributions from Instructional Materials and elementary principals' budgets and an unequal amount of volunteer hours. The program has flourished and continues to be a quality arts literacy enrichment program provided by volunteers for all of Northshore elementary schools.

Volunteers are an important and consistent part of the elementary arts education program. By being an approving, suggesting, challenging, guiding, questioning, and prompting visitor to the classroom each month, volunteers introduce children (and teachers) to the wonders of art appreciation.

No two interpretations or dialogues of a shared experience by children are the same. Students soon learn that their creative ideas are valued and that there are no "right" or "wrong" answers. Everyone appreciates art for different reasons.