“Children’s Impressions:” A 34-Year Tradition Inspiring Sem’s Young Artists
“A second-grader painted this?” said more than one attendee viewing the artwork on display as part of the “Children’s Impressions” art show at The Kirby Center for Creative Arts on Sem’s Upper School campus.
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As the second graders stood proudly in front of their artwork, family members and guests moved through the gallery, stopping in front of each piece to hear the student-artists share their creative process and the artists who inspired them.
This beloved Wyoming Seminary tradition is more than a one-night exhibit. It is an important milestone of a yearlong immersion in the fine arts that introduces second-graders to painting, music, dance, culture, and artistic history at an early age.
“This is a fine arts year,” said second-grade teacher Heidi Schukraft. “We mostly study artists, but we also do a play about Mozart and they learn about classical music and musical instruments for the first time. Then dance comes in when we go to see “The Nutcracker,” and they also have creative movement dance classes. They’re really immersed in the arts all year long.”
Throughout the year, students explore the lives and works of some of history’s most influential artists, including Renaissance figures like Leonardo da Vinci to Impressionists such as Claude Monet and Edgar Degas, and modern artists including Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Georgia O’Keeffe.
“They can’t wait to be the painter,” said art teacher Eileen Warren. “They study the Impressionists, they write about their work, and they love sharing the stories behind their paintings.”
Students also research artists’ lives, report on their discoveries, study brush strokes and artistic techniques, and even incorporate mathematical concepts such as dimension and scale into their lessons. Through that process, they begin developing artistic styles uniquely their own.
A highlight of the second grade year is a trip to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where students can see many of the works they’ve studied in person.
Schukraft says introducing children to art at a young age helps create lifelong appreciation. “When they learn about the artists and their lives, they have a stake in it,” she added. “When they see the artwork, they know a bit of the backstory of the artist, and it makes them more interested in learning and appreciating the art.” And that lasts a lifetime.
For Wyoming Seminary’s youngest artists, “Children’s Impressions” is more than an evening exhibit – it’s the beginning of a lifelong connection to the arts – and the confidence to express their own ideas through them.