I am so jealous! Why is it that every other school out there has great things like this, but not mine? And not for lack of trying either!

Our PTO sponsors an in-class art appreciation program similar to what MichelleB described. We call ours "Art Smart" and it costs us about $500 per year to feature 4 artists for 700+ kids. Our volunteers do the research and come to the classrooms to do a 30 minute presentation/hands on activity. Depending on your situation, you could easily stretch it to 45 minutes or maybe even an hour. The bulk of the cost is the craft materials, so if your budget is super tight, you could cut way back and buy only the posters.

We feature only "really famous" artists so the kids are likely to see the works again. And with the power of the internet, you can order virtually all the supplies and posters you would need online, even with no Wal-Mart nearby! You can also do all the research online if your local library is underequipped.

I have the whole program on disk if you would be interested in adapting it for your school (or just taking a look). Email me your mailing address (snail mail) if you would like a copy of the program.

Hoosier, I am from South Central KY. We are extremely rural. Our school system is our biggest industry since we have no factories. We don't even have a Wal-Mart!!

KMA- grants sound good. I will do some research on that, our PTO funds have been drained this year (that a whole other story!).

nonsequitur- we do several of those things but I never thought of it as being A and H, thanks for putting light on that! So what is the Jr. Great Book Club? I mentioned Pizza Hut to my principal one time and she didn't want to do that because we do AR. I still think it's a good idea. We also do Read Across America in Nov., Christmas Story Reading Day, and Dr. Suess Week, I wouldn't mind having a focus on differnt authors each month. Our reading scores need work district wide. Our principal has a committee going for a History month, I think it focuses on our county, I guess that would count as A and H too. I think it is important for children to know the history of the place they live.

I had also thought of an International potluck at a night meeting. Problem is we are "taters and cornbread" folks. Most of us can fix spaghetti and tacos. Ha Ha. I'd like to see Greek dishes, traditional Jewish dishes, etc., because most are like me and have never been exposed to these kinds of foods. Is there a good website I can find those kinds of recipes?

Also I noticed on www.state.gov they have an International links where you can get e-pals and other things, has anyone ever done this?

We have an Art Masterpiece program. There are several artists hanging in the main hallway- Van Gogh to Faith Ringhold. Volunteers from our PTA run the program and there is a kit put together for each artist. It includes history of the author, a couple of pieces of their work and an activity connected to it. Example- Faith Ringhold does paintings on quilts and Van Gogh is an inspiration to her, so there are sunflowers. She is also an author. So we discuss her life and history. Show her painting from the hallway and others on file, Read the book out loud to the kids and then the kids create their own "Sunflower Quilt" by tearing paper and making the sunflower and then the sunflowers are put together to make the quilt.
That's the Faith Ringhold kit. The programs are growing too with some new funds.

nonsequitur--I'm moving to your town--your school district and PTO do an amazing amount for your kids! I'm printing your list and demanding our kids get the same benefits!

PC, Schmee-C--I think absolutely do it! (Though be careful HOW you ask people!). What could be better than to expose your children to people from all walks of life? I'm half-Japanese, have lived in Japan for a couple of years (in my "pre-children/marriage days"), traveled a bit internationally and dealt with people from all sorts of places, and you know what--99.99% of people love sharing what makes them different, and teaching people how to appreciate where they're from! I know I did when I was the "foreigner!" I remember my elementary school having "International" events--maybe you could do an "international" pot luck, or pick a country, or style of music etcetera each month to focus on and learn about, then have the kids listen to a guest speaker, or cook dishes from that country--something along those lines.

I think in your situation it might pay to write to famous, or quasi-famous people explaining your situation, and how you'd love to expose these kids to things that are outside their normal scope of life. I'm thinking especially musicians--we had a famous Brazilian Jazz musician and his family living a couple of houses from us for a while
(yes--we couldn't figure out what he was doing here either!), and I know he would have LOVED to participate in something like that. Artists too tend to be very sensitive to issues like you're talking about. OH--I just remembered one I read about in the paper a couple of days ago--let me see if I still have it....

YES! I found it--A local school was addressed by a man named Arn Chorn-Pond, who is a human rights activist. He's Cambodian, and spoke about his childhood experiences under the Khmer Rouge :eek: , and land-mine awareness. He was brought to the school by one of the student clubs, which has been raising money and receiving matching grants from the government to rid landmines from villages in places like Bosnia. This man is also trying to save traditional Cambodian music, which was outlawed by the Communist regime, which killed more than 90% of Cambodia's musicians. He was the subject of a PBS documentary called "The Flute Player."

While I'm not sure if this sort of thing is what you're looking for, the fact that there ARE grants out there for expanding children's exposure to the arts and humanities is something you might want to look into. There's nothing like free money--even if you do have to work for it a bit.

If I can think of anything else I'll post!

Cbrooks, I seem to remember that you are in KY.
Whereabouts? I'm in Evansville, IN, and I know of several groups, ie, ballet school and musical storytellers that travel short distances that I could recommend.

In answer to your question, yes, our PTO board supports arts & humanities every chance we get whether it be field trips to see a performance or more recently, money to purchase a kiln for the art classes.