What is the Art Docent Program?

The Art Docent program at Wellington is made up of volunteers who bring fine art to our students in grades K-5.  Our Art Docents bring a piece of art into the classroom to discuss either the artist or painting/art or style or all of the above! And then they lead the class in a hands-on project. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY - all lesson plans and supplies are provided! You don't have to be an artist or artistic at all.

The Role of the AD

 The Art Docent Program functions as an arts enrichment program lead 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.

  1. 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 and gain an appreciation of the history of art. Over the years the program has served thousands of elementary students with the support of hundreds of volunteers. 
  2. Format: Feel free to make it your own.
    1. A common framework is to spend 10—15 minutes talking about the artist/project/art concept. Ask questions, ask the kids, what they see in the artwork, etc. Then describe what the children will be working on, (the steps), the give the kids the time to do the work (~30min) answering questions, or helping as they go. Then spend a couple of minutes giving the kids time to clean up if needed.
    2. You will notice in the NSD examples, the slide shows lay this out for you as well.
  3. HAVE FUN I am not artistic at all, but there is something about helping kids with drawing that exercises a different piece of your brain. So much fun!!!

 

 

Additional ideas can be found on the  district website here or Pinterest. 

 

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.

 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.