Painting a thousand words

'You are very lucky to have seen this, it's a very famous painting'. 

I'm not sure how many times that sentence came out of my mouth this morning (it seems as inane as the way I keep telling a three year-old she will never forget doing/seeing/tasting this for the rest of her life...she won't even remember it next week).  How else do you impress on your children that this outing is not just about looking at some pretty pictures and statues and that good behaviour will subsequently be rewarded with gelato.

A trip to Musee D'Orsay today has left me pondering the importance of raising children with a global outlook. An appreciation for what exists beyond their current world. It has also reinforced for me how powerful it is from an early age to grasp, even at the most simplest level, the intertwining nature of art, sport, politics and social trends. Take Degas, for example. We are fortunate enough to own a lovely preschool-level story about the incredibly talented little ballerina whom Degas loved to paint but had to give up her dancing to make money for the family at the age of 14.  A tale full of opportunity for teaching the children about history and another way of life. How incredible then to see Degas' sculpture of the ballerina in the flesh. 

And if all my efforts to draw references and ideas were lost on them, they were very excited to see the large clock in the photo as it features in the movie Hugo, which they love. I guess you can always count on television to help your children connect the dots.