Thrive Art School

This is a terrific little art school. I sent my seven-​year-​old to one week of camp this past summer & he (and the friend who went with him) had such a great experience, that I signed him up for a class this fall (the other kid’s mom did, too). The kids are pushed to learn new stuff and create. I don’t take this for granted as my child also attended camp (one week) at another art school (in Madrona) where they seemed to just pass the time. I am truly amazed at the gorgeous and inventive work the children do here. When I arrive to pick him up, the room is quiet and the children finish their work, wash their brushes and clean up. Classical music is playing – such a nice, contemplative, quiet scene. Highly recommended.

We had our daughter’s 9^th birthday party at the Madison location. We had 13 kids that ranged in ages from 4 – 9 yrs old. Cyndee was so awesome with teaching them and I was amazed with how wonderful everyone’s work came out. The art studio was really cute and they did an amazing job with her party. The kids also went home with party bags of art supplies. I would definitely recommend Thrive for a kids birthday party! Thank you Cyndee and Lauren for making my daughter’s birthday such a memorable one!

My 6 year old son has attended two camps (summer and fall break), one weekend session, and and a parents night out at Thrive. Primarily our experiences are at the Madison Park location but one camp was at the Ravenna location. I cannot tell you how many compliments we get from the Cat in the Hat picture he drew on his very first day at a Thrive camp! The teachers are warm and low-​key, the atmosphere at both locations is pleasant (nice music, bright furniture, lots of light) and he has looked forward to every session. The pieces he’s brought home are amazingly technical, bright, and varied (the sculpey bird and mobile balloon house from the movie «Up» are special highlights.) I recommend Thrive for any parents who, like me, don’t have an artistic bent (so don’t do much at home) but would like to encourage their child’s interest. A great experience!

My daughter (who is almost 5 y.o.) just finished the Spring Art Camp at the Madison Valley location of Thrive Art School. She had such a great time and looked forward to going every day. We are definitely going to sign her up for the Summer Camp as well. My only disappointment was that it was only 3 days (M, Tu, W) instead of the full 5!!!

My daughter has been at several classes at Thrive. She really enjoyed the classes. The calm peaceful setting allowed her to tap into her creative side. She was excited to see her energetic teacher each class. This made it easy taking her to class. I didn’t have to drag her out of the house which sometimes I find myself doing with some activities. Before the class my daughter was drawing flowers and stick figures and would often complain when she didn’t know how to draw something. Now she is drawing all sorts of things and comments about the different shapes that are in varias objects as she draws. She has more confidance and complains less when she is drawing and doing other creative things. I can’t say enough about the Thrive program. I hightly recommend it. It has truly allowed my daughter to tap into her creative side and to be more confidant in art.

I have placed both my daughter and son in classes at Thrive over the past 5 months. My 11 year old son has autism and attends each class with a professionally trained autism aide.
Last week he had a challenging day. At one point during the class, he reportedly «stomped and yelled» and possibly broke a paint brush. At this time, his aide took him out of the class and brought him home early. I received a phone call from Thrive telling me that he was not welcome back. And they felt he was «probably not getting anything out of it anyway.» Which is so insulting, since work is beautiful and has been requested to sell at auction.
I have not experienced this type of exclusion and segregation ever in my 11 years of parenting a disabled child. The destructively negative lessons they are teaching children about diversity, tolerance and inclusion far outweigh any benefit an art class can make in a child’s development. I am truly saddened, disappointed and shocked that these prejudicial and exclusionary practices are still active in 2010.

Our 10-​year old son is in his 3^rd year at Thrive. He loves it! He’s taken homeschool classes, beginning classes, intermediate and multimedia, all at Ravenna (with the occasional make-​up class at Madison).
The teachers are great with kids, and they are very knowledgeable. When our son first started, the subjects and media were controlled, so the beginners could really learn fundamentals well. As he’s progressed, he has gained some freedom in his choice of medium for certain assignments. Students are always encouraged to express their creativity, and as they progress in their ability, they are encouraged to develop their own style.
We also like that many of the teachers have the students take turns «teaching» part of a class. The student chooses a subject, and creates a poster with instructions on how to draw that subject. The student then leads the class through a mini-​project. It not only strengthens their artistic abilities, but helps give them confidence and a fun, friendly environment to learn the fundamentals of presentation skills.
Every year, the students have the option to submit two of their works for an art show. The instructors meet and select one of the two, which is then matted and put up for display either in the studio or another of the local businesses. The students have a day when they bring their parent (s), family and friends to the art show. Again, a great experience for kids and proud parents alike.

I have a five year old that I enrolled in Thrive Art School in Madison Valley. The location is nice, the classrooms colorful and teachers seem engaged. I was very excited about this program, from the location to the beautiful student drawn pictures on the wall, especially since my daughter LOVES art.
However, I’ve been a bit dissapointed that at her age, the focus is on classroom teaching rather than on encouraging creativity.
Each class gets a subject and uses the same tools to draw that subject for the class, very much like an adult art class. All these little people sitting in their seats, staring ahead and drawing seems geared perhaps towards an older crowd. Although I realize kindergarten is just around the corner, don’t kids at this age learn through play and creativity?
My daughter is an artist at home and at school, and is always creating art. I guess thats true of most kids at this age… Initially, she was thrilled to take an art class. However, she consistently returned from her Thrive classes complaining that she wasn’t enjoying herself. Its one of the «real» tests of a kids class, does it inspire a love of learning?
Initially, we told her we had a commitment to continue, but after six classes, she was adamant she felt exactly the same. We stopped going and respected her strong feeling that this was not a good fit for her at this time.
In retrospect, given her reaction and my observations of kids in the classroom, I do think there are lots of ways to teach art to kids at this young age, and perhaps they are missing an opportunity to be more creative in their approach, particularly since the goal is to inspire children to love making art.

Anyone can draw. Monart lets you and/​or your children get to experience the joys of drawing. You’ll learn a ton and will be impressed with the results of your efforts… really!
Check out their weeklong summer sessions for kids. They’re themed and are really well run.