Art Appreciation
Things to See & Do in Colorado
Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities was founded in 1976. Offers award-winning, professional regional theater, children’s theater, concerts, classical and contemporary dance performances, gallery exhibitions, a history museum, and over 600 arts and humanities classes each year for students of all ages.
Foothills Art Center
Foothills Art Center is a 35-year-old non-profit arts resource for Golden and the Denver Metro area as well as for the state, the Southwest, and for artists across the nation, through competitive exhibitions and invitational opportunities.
Denver Art Museum
The Denver Art Museum has the largest and most comprehensive collection of world art between Kansas City and the West Coast, with over 55,000 works of art, including American Indian, pre-Columbian, and Spanish Colonial art. Other collections include Painting & Sculpture, Asian, Architecture, Design & Graphics, Modern & Contemporary, Textile Art, European, American and Western painting, sculpture, decorative art, textiles, and photography.
Koshare Indian Museum
The Koshare Indian Museum in La Junta is patterned after the Pueblo architecture found throughout the southwest, featuring the world's largest self supporting log roof and housing a collection of Native American art and artifacts.
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center offers a multidisciplinary focus and includes the Taylor Museum, performing arts theatre, and the Bemis School of Art.
Van Briggle Pottery Factory Tour
Born in 1869, Artus Van Briggle from an early age demonstrated a unique artistic gift. He eventually open a pottery studio in Colorado Springs, using local clays found in the Colorado Springs area. His work earned him many honors. Artus Van Briggle died in 1904, but his wife continued to operate the pottery company. Today, the factory continues to produce many of Van Briggle’s original designs, often in his turquoise Ming matte glaze. The factory offers free tours.
Swetsville Zoo - UPDATE: CLOSED 2016
Located at 4801 E. Harmony Road in Fort Collins, the Swetsville Zoo is an outdoor art gallery filled with metal animal sculptures. Bill Swets, creator of the Swetsville Zoo, built them all from car parts, farm machinery and scrap metal. Admission is free, but they do take donations. To read about the closing and moving of the sculptures, refer to the link in the title of this entry.
University Memorial Center Art Gallery
The University Memorial Center Art Gallery, located in UMC 225, exhibits a variety of visual offerings ranging from student works created on campus to presentations of internationally recognized artists. The UMC Art Gallery seeks to expose the CU and Boulder communities to the role that art plays in understanding the complexity of human experience and culture. The gallery's role is to educate as well as display high quality artwork. The UMC Art Gallery exhibits the work of area and national artists. The gallery presents seven shows per year; three each semester and one in the summer.
Gallery of Contemporary Art
Featuring a selection of contemporary art, the Gallery is located at and operated by the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
Teaching Tips & Ideas
Masterpiece Art Instruction
Masterpiece Art Instruction offers a free newsletter, "Teach Art at Home," along with free projects and lessons, art instruction CDs, and more
How I Teach a Large Family in a Relaxed, Classical Way: Fine Arts
Ideas for incorporating fine art education into a large homeschool family curriculum.
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Featured Resources

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Noah Webster's Reading Handbook
This is the historic text (originally called the Blue-Backed Speller) that has been updated to teach phonics/beginning reading. The blends and words in this reader are arranged to correlate with the sequence in which the special phonics sounds are taught. This reader is an invaluable teaching tool for children who need extra practice in the application of phonics rules. Find out more here.
Easy Grammar Systems
Easy Grammar Systems publishes the Easy Grammar and Daily Grams teaching texts for use through high school. Students use a “hands on” approach (deleting/marking) and learn correct usage and why that usage is appropriate. Review and using information previously learned to teach new concepts help to insure mastery learning. This method is both easy to teach and easy to learn.
The Well-Ordered Home: Organizing Techniques for Inviting Serenity into Your Life
Organizing the home is one of those desirable and beneficial activities that remain elusive for many. This practical guide explains the many benefits - physical, emotional, and spiritual - of an organized home and shows how to attain them. Breaking down the process into 50 steps, the author uses her own experiences as a psychologist and professional home organizer to help readers clear away not only the physical clutter but the psychological blocks that encourage it and hinder organization. She ...
A Child's Story of America
This text reads like a story book more than a history textbook. This book has a decidedly Christian bent. Students are given a comprehensive overview of U.S. history from Columbus to the present. Review questions are included throughout, as well as helpful maps. The text contains numerous pictures and large print. An optional test packet and answer key is available.
LeapPad Game - Mind Wars Jr. Interactive Game
Bring a friend and try this brand new way to play with your LeapPad! Race around the board in this fast-paced, wonderfully wacky game. Be the first to close all five windows and you will become the Mind Wars master and learn important 1st and 2nd grade skills in math, language arts, life science, physical science, and social studies!