Use Your Imagination!!!

Posted by Vulnadia on Sep 22, 2009 at 11:05 PM In a time where it is quite popular to overlook the artistic things in life, this behavior has become the status quo due to cutbacks in the schools and lack of funding in communities. How do you teach your kids to appreciate art in all its forms and on top of that, teach them how to express themselves? Self expression is a very important tool for children to learn to use within themselves. So, in today's world, what can you do to combat the lack of interest in the arts? We are lucky here in Shreveport to have such places as The Renzi Center on Egan that provides free afterschool programs for children in just these types of areas. But, do you know about them? Do you take your children to Nortons or the La State Exhibit Museum and talk about what you see with them? Do you have markers and crayons and paper and glue & tape readily available for your children to use when they get the urge to make something or color? I know that not everyone can afford to take their kids to see a play on the community theater level even, much less to see the expensive touring companies that come through the Strand, but how do you compensate for this? At this time, we don't even have access to our Symphony, our Opera is struggling to get your attention with eclectic shows, and SRAC, our main powerhouse that helps out within our community is having to rebuild after the fire...so what can we do? This article has a lot of good ideas and things you can do to try and help educate your children and open their eyes to new and innovative ways of self expression.