EDITOR’S NOTE: This was originally posted on Feb. 8, 2010.

If you have school-age kids who could use a dose of art appreciation, get them over to the Boca Raton Museum of Art for “The Magical World of M.C. Escher.”

The exhibit features several of the master’s drawings and lithographs, including the popular “Relativity” — or “Crazy Stairs,” as our favorite 6-year-old likes to call it.

The kids will likely love the works at face value, given the intricate details, many drawn with pen or pencil – materials the kids can relate to. If you have a third-grader studying tesselations in either art or math class, they may recognize several of them.

The exhibit, which you can thoroughly see in about an hour, has so many great lessons for kids.

Including:

• How the creative process works. Because the exhibit includes many of the preliminary sketches along with the finished works, kids can see that it takes more than one draft. That success comes with polishing and revision.

• Math is everywhere. Some sketches are accompanied by mathematical equations. Of course! How else to fit in all those angles with such perfection? This was a dismaying revelation to a certain 10-year-old.

But the show is fun, too.

A black light gallery illuminates Escher pieces that were made into psychedelic posters by San Franciso hippies in the ’60s - without the artist’s approval.

The show runs through April 11 at the museum, on the north end of Mizner Park. Admission is $14 for adults; $6 for students over age 12; free for kids 12 and under. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; open till 9 p.m. on Wednesday; closed Monday. Call 561-392-2500 or visit its website.

What’s happening

FCAT Time: If you have a fourth-, eighth-, or 10-grader in the public schools, you know what’s happening this week: The FCAT in writing. No matter how you feel about this test as a parent, the kids are no doubt feeling some pressure about their performance. Here are some tips from of our local teachers for how we can help our kids do their best:

• Keep activities to a minimum the night before the test so the kids are not tired out.

• Put them to bed at least 15-20 minutes earlier than usual.

• Have them get their uniform, backpack, socks and shoes together the night before to reduce chaos the next morning.

• Have them wake up a little earlier to start the day calmly.

• Make a healthy breakfast that does not include too much sugar.