Think a little culture goes a long way....

Kamden is a very creative minded child.  He marches to the beat of his own drummer as I have mentioned before.   He is adament that he is going to be an artist when he grows up.  So this afternoon Kenna and I picked up Kooper and Kamden from school and headed down to historical Riverside to take in The Cummer Art Museum.  I had mentioned it to Kamden awhile back and he said that we just had to go so he could see "real" paintings.

We drove down St. John's Avenue and I pointed out all the historic old homes on the river.  Each one of us would point out our favorites and which of the large old oak trees we liked the best.  The drive through the most historic parts of Riverside are truly beautiful just along the St. John's River.  All of us enjoyed the houses and the scenary on the drive.  The most votes for favorite houses were the ones with the big white pillars in the front.

We arrived at the museum at 4:00 p.m.  In my quest to share some culture with my children, I did not forget that mommy is still unemployed.  I did some research on-line.  The Cummer Art Museum has free admission on Tuesday afternoons from 4:00 p.m. until close sponsored by The Players.  Points for me being frugal! :)  In my research I also found out that on Tuesday afternoons, there is a "drop-in" art class for youngsters ages 4-11.  The class has a nominal $5 fee to cover the cost of the art supplies, and I assume the teacher.  Both Kamden and Kooper wanted to take the class.  The class was an hour from 5-6:00 p.m.  Kenna and I dropped the boys at their class and enjoyed a quick sit in the cafe.  Then we went down to the gift shop and perused the wonderful handmade jewelry and hand painted glass.

To my surprise, Kamden enjoyed the bronze sculptures more than the paintings.  I never would have guessed it would inspire him more than the paintings.  He loved, loved The Diving Boy by Augusta Savage.  He stared at it for the longest time.  I watched him from across the gallery studying the little bronze boy.  He hunched his shoulders to mimic the stance of the sculpture.  He cocked his head to the right to peer up at the bronze boy's face.  He walked around admiring the craftsmanship of the sculpture.  I watched in awe.  I was proud.  My little artist in waiting was impressed by the work of a local legend. 

He admired many other pieces in the gallery as well, but nothing touched him the way that piece did.  He studied that one.  Up and down, side to side, he took it in, every bit of it.  Kenna, Kooper and I enjoyed many of the works.  I especially liked the Norman Rockwell painting Second Holiday.  Kenna and Kooper were more partial to the abstract artists.  We all had our own personal favorite pieces.  I enjoyed spending a quiet afternoon sharing my appreciation of art with my children.

After we finished our tour and the boys completed their art class.  (They made mini still water colors and placed them in a small booklet.)  We decided to get some dinner.  We made our way over to European Street Cafe.  It is a quaint sandwich shop near the art museum.  There are several art prints on the wall, and the cafe itself has an eclectic artsy feel to it.  We enjoyed our sandwiches and discussed the fun we had early at the museum.  We made sure to get Daddy some dessert on our way out and headed home.

When we arrived home all my children thanked me for the fun date with Mommy.  I thanked them for going with me and we quickly got homework done.  Well, as quickly as was possible.  Kamden's ADHD meds had worn off, and my patience was worn quite thin as we struggled to get 7 sentences completed with spelling words.  Kamden was having difficulty sitting still, and  "See Spot run." doesn't make the cut with him.  His sentences need at least 7 words.  Hand to God, I am not kidding, the child says his sentences must have at least 7 words.  Not his teacher's rule, it is his.  He says anything less is just too easy and he is smarter than that.  So we get the sentences completed and I am hoping to get him swiftly into bed.  He says we have to read for 20 minutes.  I tell him we can just skip it and use yesterday's chapters because tonight we had to start a log, which is new.  He tells me straight up, "Mommy, that is dishonest.  I cannot believe you would lie to my teacher."  I stutter out..."I..I...I was just kidding Kamee, Mommy wouldn't LIE to your teacher."

Four chapters later, we logged his reading of Mr. Klutz is Nuts and off he went to brush his teeth and get in bed.  Kenna had been there for at least 45 minutes and Kooper too.  Other than the painful homework hour, I had the best night with my children.  We made a memory together tonight that I hope will last a lifetime.