We live in one of the most charming and stunning parts of the country, and for that we must take great advantage of our King's creation.
Each week we choose one work from the artist (we are currently using a picture study portfolio from Simply Charlotte Mason; it is an absolute must ... money thoroughly well spent) and we study the picture for a few dedicated minutes. We then narrate the picture to one another in detail and with a storytelling atmosphere. I tend to include a short picture book each week that highlights the artists and that pulls my little boys more into the habit of studying pictures and artists. Each week I read for a few minutes from a short biography on the artist and the children listen intently and sometimes color their own Van Gogh from an inexpensive Dover coloring book (especially good for the littlers in my home). All in all, we spend about 15-20 minutes a week enjoying our time with Vincent. Next term we turn our eyes to Michelangelo and then on to Monet.
Nature study. Our most favorite time of each week {or maybe a tie with reading Our Island Story, hard to say}.
Go outside. Explore. Be reverent. Be intentional. Listen and look. Sketch and use field guides and perhaps a nice study with Comstock.
Once a week we dress appropriately for the weather, grab our nature bag that is ready with sketch books, pencils, colored pencils, pocket field guides, insect repelling oil, disinfectant wipes :), a magnifying glass, and a few other odds and ends. Then, we head out. We often have no particular destination in mind ... sometimes we just walk our road, sometimes we head to the riverbank in town, or to the meadow behind our house, or to our town field ... the point is to saturate ourselves in the wonder of God's amazing creation; from the itty bitty water bug to the giant oak to a brambling stream to a nest of Robin's eggs, or better yet, baby birds. Each term I do like to focus, for a time, on something in particular, like a tree or its leaves or bark, or all of it. I try not to dictate or guide my children too much on our walks, but instead I let their delights navigate.