How To Raise An Artist or Art Scholar

August 13, 2015

If you are raising a kid in Paris, then you are pretty darn lucky to be surrounded by so much culture, impressive museum collections, buildings and monuments. I studied the decorative arts and was mostly interested in French social and material culture. Naturally, as a history nerd, I hope my daughter will soak it all up too and spew facts to anyone who listens. The problem is I don’t always have the time and energy as a working SAHM to drag her along to all the museums and special exhibitions. And well to be honest (plug your ears professor) I am not sure I can remember 60 per cent of what I learned in Art Survey 101.

Entrepreneur and art lover Delphine Bensimon has partnered with Chloé Petitjean to create Art Kids Paris, an innovative extracurricular activity for children ages 5-15.

Delphine wanted her daughter to truly have a taste for art and analyzing art works. She felt that going to a workshop from time-to-time or sporadic museum visits wouldn’t work. (I mean, will your kids really learn much from listening to you read wall text? Total snooze fest for them.) Learning art can be approached the same way as swim or music classes: developing and nurturing a skill and taste from a young age.

How does Art Kids Paris work differently from the basic museum kids workshop? An Art Kids Sister, a bilingual art history student who is also trained in pedagogy, comes to your home and picks your child up for a history excursion. Of course you have the option to meet directly at the location, but let’s be honest—this convenient little element is major!! You can organize a single visit or set up a thematic session over the course of three trips—such as Greece, Rome, or Antiquity at the Louvre Asia, African, and Oceania-Australia at Quai Branly, Symbolism in Paris at the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. (These topics are also offered in single trips.) There are also longer trips to Versailles and weekend trips to London.

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As a parent Delphine understands over-protective helicopter parents like myself might worry about a PYT taking their kid across town, so a lot goes into hiring and training each Art Kids Sister. (I am sure normal well-balanced parents might be concerned too.) You have the option to meet in person or on Skype before the museum trip. If you sign up for a thematic session and regularly use the service, Delphine makes sure your family works with the same Art Kids Sister so a relationship is formed. Lunch or goûter is served and regular texts with pictures are sent so you know what’s up and can relax.

I know Delphine’s intention is for an experience that offers a deeper understanding of art in a fun way kids can enjoy. After spending a morning at the Musée Carnavalet with Delphine and watching an Art Kids Sister at work, all I could think was—I cannot WAIT for Noomi to turn five!

Imagine the next time you have a lot of work to do at home, want to meet some friends for lunch, or need alone time at the movies!! Why call a babysitter when you can call Art Kids Paris? This is not a babysitting service by any means but the price is just about the same, to have my kid sit at home while the sitter attempts to entertain her with the same old toys and activities. It is also better than slapping the iPad down for entertainment. This is also a useful service and activity for tourists who might like to enjoy a few kid-free hours.

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