online Art Courses

online Art of Storytelling Art Course / 1 credit

Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge." Yet, in the current climate of testing and even our own desires to teach our children “well," we are missing a great opportunity to foster the growth of this vital tool, imagination, in favor of filling our children with information rather than a sense of creativity. For most of human history wisdom was passed down orally, and while the printed word is a most useful and vital invention that has contributed so much to the spread of knowledge, we are hard-wired to hear and imagine; our brains grow and our minds expand as the spoken word falls from the lips of our teachers, parents, relatives and elders, enters our consciousness and joins us to the collective unconscious. If we continue to rely almost exclusively on the book as our primary means to pass on knowledge, especially for young children, we cheat them out of their human birthright, to creatively imagine for themselves the images we describe. Noting the rapid decline of language skills over the past two generations, child psychologists and educators are now actively championing storytelling as an ideal method of influencing a child to associate listening with pleasure, of increasing a child’s attention span and retention capacity, of broadening a child’s vocabulary and introducing a child to the symbolic use of language. As children hear a story they form pictures in their minds to go along with the words, each one different. As their imaginations receive exercise, minds grow, and become more creative and flexible.

Students enrolled in this course will be presented with and practice listening to classic folktales and fairy tales; then, guided by a mentor, students will learn to reflect on and analyze the stories presented, and finally practice storytelling themselves while receiving feedback and advice over the entire duration of the course.

Supplies needed: notebook.
Tools needed: audio recording device (computer, smartphone, etc.)

online Art of Storytelling Art Course / 1 credit

Lesson 1: Getting Ready for Storytelling
Lesson 2: Practicing the Art of Storytelling 1
Lesson 3: Practicing the Art of Storytelling 2
Lesson 4: Advanced Storytelling 1
Lesson 5: Advanced Storytelling 2