Finding Educational Activities in the Most Unexpected Places

 Elementary, Hands On, Preschool  No Responses »
Jun 302010
 

In the daily taking care of kiddos it is easy to forget something that is vital to the lives of our children–fun!  While fun can be had in lots of ways, it is useful to have a tool to aide in inspiring the sometimes exhausted mother.

Angie Kauffman recently sent me a copy of the e-book that she has written, Finding Educational Activities in the Most Unexpected Places, and it fulfills both requirements.  It is fun and it is organized to help a busy mom.

Angie is a homeschooling mom and a therapist.  In her work with young kids she has developed quite a repertoire of simple, efficient methods that encourage the natural stages of development.  The e-book shares those activities with us and our young children.

The book is divided alphabetically by materials.  For example, if we had just purchased a new refrigerator and I wanted to use the box, I could check the table of contents under “boxes” for an activity.  (This section also includes ideas for smaller boxes.)  Once there, I can choose among making our own puzzles, creating a fort, playhouse, or car, playing “What’s in the box?”, and several others.  Some of the activities are old stand-bys, but others are new to me.

There are 26 categories containing over 200 activities.  Other materials include balloons, balls, blankets, bubbles, cardboard tubes, cookie cutters, egg cutters, fabric, laundry, lids, paper bags, plates, and cups, and sponges.  There is even a section entitled “Just You! (No Props Needed). ”

There are some things that I particularly like about the book.

●The activities center on household items, many of which are free.

●The organization makes sense to me.

●The activities are familiar enough to be fast.  There are also a few brand new ones thrown in, but they are not difficult to implement quickly.

●The book does not address specific developmental goals for each activity, but I appreciate that a trained therapist has given her nod of approval for each.

●It keeps us away from the television!

I am busy.  I am often tired.  I have several children for whom to care.  Anything that helps me provide quality activities for my children in a fast, easy, cost-effective manner is a good thing!  Finding Educational Activities in the Most Unexpected Places is one of those tools.

I received this book for free in order to review it; however, I am not lying to make Angie happy. I really do like it.

Most days find Susan on the couch reading to her children, in the floor “playing” math, and generally in the middle of a good-sized mess.  A love for the Lord, a love for her little ones, and a love of learning have led Susan and that  wonderful man she married to an educational philosophy that is Well-Trained Mind-inspired classical and Charlotte Mason, with a touch of the traditional.

Learn Elementary Money Skills the Fun Way with Buy It Right

 Elementary, Hands On, Mathematics  3 Responses »
Jun 282010
 

If you are looking for a painless and fun way to practice many elementary-level math skills with your children, Buy It Right may be an excellent curriculum enhancement for your family.  In this fast-paced and interesting game, children learn and practice:

  • adding and subtracting decimals
  • counting money
  • giving back correct change
  • calculating the highest price and the lowest price from three numbers
  • calculator skills
  • practice in paying for purchases
  • practice in determining if one has enough money to purchase an item.

Two, three, or four players can play Buy It Right at a time.  While the game is targeted for children between the ages of 5 and 9, the game can be played by younger children with modifications that are explained in the game instructions.  When playing with preschoolers, one could choose to play with bills only or with coins only to make the game less difficult.  As well, when playing with older children, one could choose to play without the calculator to make the game more challenging.

Playing the game takes about 30-45 minutes but a shorter game can be played instead.  The game instructions include directions for a shorter game.

The primary goal of the game is to collect two items of each color to fill up one’s game card.  These items are purchased as the game proceeds.  The first person to successfully fill up their game card wins the game.

Unlike many games, players take turns being the cashier so everybody gets to practice counting back the correct change.  The coins and bills are fairly realistic as well – they seem less like play money than the money included in many games.

I purchased Buy It Right several years ago and it has been a popular educational game for all three of my children.  Due to the element of chance inherent in the game, it is a good game for adults to play with a child.  Assuming that the adult is willing to help the child with any math difficulties they encounter, the element of chance levels the playing field so that it is a fun game for both the adult and the child.  Unlike some educational games, the adult does not have a huge advantage in this game.

Practicing math skills with Buy It Right is a fun and painless way to learn, reinforce, and review important math concepts.  I haven’t met a child yet who prefers filling in math worksheets to playing a game with a sibling, parent, or grandparent!

Samantha writes about homeschooling and family life at To Be Busy At Home.

 Posted by at 7:18 am

Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History

 Bible, Charlotte Mason, Classical, Elementary, History, Literature, Uncategorized, Writing  4 Responses »
Jun 252010
 

Years ago, when we first started homeschooling, another veteran homeschooler recommended that I take a look at “the Greenleaf history guides” from Greenleaf Press, and I am so glad that she did, and I did! I ended up buying a few of them and have had no regrets whatsoever! They have turned out to be a perfect fit for us in many regards, at different seasons in our homeschool journey, but today I’d like share with you specifically regarding The Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History by Rob and Cyndy Shearer, “History for the thoughtful child.”.

The Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History: History for the thoughtful child.

When our older kiddoes were younger we had a few favorite Bible and devotional-type story books that we read aloud from to them regularly for the majority of our “Bible time”. However, once we started reading aloud straight from the Scriptures, this guide offered us a helpful tool for making that transition easier and more thoughtful.

Therefore, let the minds of young children be well stored with the beautiful narratives of the Old Testament and of the gospels; but, in order that these stories may be always fresh and delightful to them, care must be taken lest Bible teaching stale upon their minds.
(Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1, Home Education, Part V– Lessons As Instruments Of Education, p. 251)

The Shearers have basically taken the Scriptures, from Genesis through Nehemiah (though they left out Leviticus- which we cover with different resources anyways, and may be a bit laborious for younger students), and broken them down into 196 readings, each from a chapter to two chapters long.

To see a complete listing of how the Bible chapters are broken down, as well as a few examples of what each reading/lesson looks like, click here on this link to see it over at cbd.com and you’ll see some links there to view pdf samples.

One of our favorite aspects of this guide has been the open-ended discussion questions included with each reading. A few years ago, as we used it along-side of our family’s Bible read-aloud time, we used these questions as oral narration prompts. However, as our children are now cycling back through these Old Testament readings again, our son has been using these discussion questions as writing prompts for his own private Bible journal time.

There is some brief commentary and helpful “background information” included where necessary, a graphical timeline of Ancient History, along with references to Bible maps, as well as some brief teaching suggestions mentioned here and there. Overall, this guide provides a wonderfully simple to use, comprehensive study of Ancient Israel’s history, using the best historical document we have, the Bible itself.

There are a few recommended books to go along with this study of Ancient Israel, which though they are not necessary, we have found helpful. This book is just what it claims to be, a simple guide to take you and your children through the Old Testament at a nice, comfortable pace. However, we’ve often broken a lesson into two separate readings. The Shearers recommend that you use their Guide to Ancient Egypt (which we’ve also used and appreciate) alongside of this guide for a more involved, complete ancient Bible history program.

Note: The two primary aspects of this guide that I most appreciated, those being its simplicity to use (as in no projects nor preparation necessary) and open-ended (as in no “answers” provided) discussion questions, are the very aspects that caused a friend of mine to not like it, nor use it.

I am reminded of the wise words of Charlotte Mason in this regard, with which I do concur:

We are probably quite incapable of measuring the religious receptivity of children. Nevertheless, their fitness to apprehend the deep things of God is a fact with which we are called to ‘deal prudently,’ and to deal reverently.
(Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1, Home Education, Part V– Lessons As Instruments Of Education, p. 248)

I have found that our children do a good job of thinking through the Scriptures’ ramifications and implications as they read them for themselves, and have personally appreciated their not being told what to think as they read the Word for themselves, especially during their private devotional reading times in the mornings. When they do have questions beyond me (and as they’re getting older, they DO!) we now find ourselves turning to meatier commentaries and texts together anyways, so this guide has been perfectly adequate for our usage!

The price is nice too, especially for all of the use we’ve gotten out of it over the years!

Written by Beth Brewer, a Charlotte Mason inspired, Spirit-led, relaxed-eclectic homeschooling Mama of 3. She’s also an author at The Homeschool Post and blogs her photos, musings, hopes, fears, faith and falterings as she lives, loves and learns with her family at the brew*crew adventure.

More Reading Comprehension in Varied Subject Matter

 High School  No Responses »
Jun 242010
 

I have four children and have taught three of them to read to advanced levels.  Most of my children have been able to master reading comprehension through reading and discussion quality literature.  However, some have needed more practice in order to do well on standardized tests.

More Reading Comprehension in Varied Subject Matter by Jane Ervin – Level 1is a resource that provides practice for students who need a bit more exercise in various reading comprehension skill areas.

Book One is intended for use with 8th to 9th graders.  There are twenty-five reading passages covering a variety of topics taken from social studies, science, philosophy, logic and math.  The book is secular in nature and does contain occasional references to evolution.  However, because we are using this product with a high school student, we simply review such passages and apply our Biblical world view.  We are in the world, but not of it!

Skills Addressed in Book One:

  • Story recall
  • Sequencing
  • Identifying facts
  • Drawing conclusions
  • Vocabulary development
  • Main idea
  • Extending thoughts in writing
  • Inference

Within each exercise is a test sized portion of text, roughly five to seven paragraphs in length.  At the top of each selection there is a section entitled: “About the Passage,” which helps the student understand what he is about to learn, and another section called, “Reason for Reading,” which shows him why he is reading the passage.

All vocabulary words are bolded for ease in finding them later while answering questions.  After the student finishes reading he begins to answer various types of questions.  A very short essay response is handled in “Thinking It Over.”  This helps me know if he has truly taken in the information and has been able to understand and apply the information in the requested manner.  There are also multiple choice, true and false and numerical order questions.

A special bonus in the program is that it doubles as a vocabulary resource.  Every bolded word can be defined in context as the student reads and then is recalled later within the exercises.

Lastly, the student is asked to develop a longer essay type response to the passage.  “Explain how…,” “Describe…,” “Make up a tale…,” “Write a short mystery…”  The teacher can decide how long or short these written pieces should be depending on the skill level of the child.

We have been very pleased with More Reading Comprehension in Varied Subject Matter.  Having used the book three times a week, we are definitely seeing an improvement both in skill level and confidence.

Highly Recommended

Written by Yvonne Ferlita, homeschooling mother of four, ages six to eighteen. Having home educated for more than twelve years, her purpose is to learn Jesus everyday using an eclectic, yet Christ-centered, learning approach. She blogs about homeschooling and life at Gr8tful4grace.

Geography Games

 Geography, Hands On  5 Responses »
Jun 222010
 

It’s been awhile since I posted about favorite learning games, and since the lazy days of summer break mean more time for games, I’ve been reminded of some favorites.  The 10 Days in … games have been popular with homeschoolers for several years now, and for good reason.  Geography, logic, critical thinking and luck of the draw make these games exciting – and worthwhile educationally!

In our homeschool, geography is one of those subjects that I’ve never chosen to teach outright.  We cover geography and mapping in many formats during Bible, history, projects … and games!  All of these experiences have helped my children to be very well-versed in American and world geography.  And believe it or not, the games we’ve played have probably been the biggest factor in their understanding of geography!

10 Days in the USA, Europe, Asia and Africa are all very similar to one another, but obviously promote learning the geography of one area each.  The goal of the games is to be the first person to plan a ten day trip around the country/continent.  Sounds easy enough, huh?  The trick comes in finding states/countries that allow you to travel in the appropriate order.

In 10 Days in the USA, for example, you may place state cards next to one another in your travel planner if they are border states.  OR, you may travel through one state to another if you are able to locate a card with a car on it.  OR, since each state is assigned a color, you may travel from one colored state to another of the same color if you can locate a card with a plane on it.

I’m sure my explanation sounds a bit confusing.  Really, the game is not at all confusing and the directions are not only clear, but provide photo examples, too.  It took us less than five minutes to learn how to play.  Each game takes about 20 minutes from start to finish, so there isn’t a huge time obligation.

Some other geography game favorites include:

  • Quick Pix Geography
  • Borderline Geography – many continents available
  • Scrambled States of America
  • Great States
  • The Global Puzzle (very hard!)

Some of my favorite FREE geography game websites include:

I’m always on the lookout for other fun board/card/computer games for geography.  What are your favorites?

-Cindy is an eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of three.  You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and find her NaturExplorers units at Shining Dawn Books.

Poetry for Young People

 Charlotte Mason  4 Responses »
Jun 212010
 

Since I began homeschooling, I’ve loved almost every subject.  Really…I have!  Science and all the experiments, history and the wonderful literature that goes along with it, even the quieter subjects like grammar and spelling are great to me because there’s not a lot of prep work for Mama!  After being turned on to the Charlotte Mason way of teaching over a year ago, I’ve tried to incorporate other subjects that she recommends, like nature study, and I love most of those too.  Notice I said most….one subject not included in that most category is poetry.  Not meaning to offend anyone out there at happens to love poetry, it’s just never been my thing.  I’m an avid reader, but that’s just never been something really I’ve enjoyed reading.  But over and over I read how important Ms. Charlotte thought it was to read poetry to children, so I decided I should set aside my feelings and include it in our school anyway.

Part of my problem with reading poetry to my kids was that it seemed like all the books I found were 4 inches thick and completely void of illustrations.  So when I came across Poetry for Young People at Barnes & Noble one day, I was so excited!  Seriously, these books are done so well, they make even a person like me enjoy poetry. :)

Here’s some info about this series and why I love these books:

  • Large Variety of Poets-Each book is a collection of a different poet or collection of like poems and there are many to choose from:
    -William Blake
    -Edgar Allan Poe
    -Shakespeare
    -Edward Lear
    -Longfellow
    -Emily Dickinson
    -American Poems
    -Animal Poems
    -And More!
  • Great Illustrations- Poetry for Young People series are full of excellent illustrations.  I love that on each page, a beautiful picture is painted in our minds as we read the poems, giving us a visual that helps with memorization later or just helps to better understand the poems.
  • Large Collections of Poems-Each book includes many poems.  For example, the Robert Frostbook has a collection of around 30 poems and they are catergorized according to season.
  • Explainations of the Poems-After each poem, there is about a paragraph explaining what the writer was saying in the poem.  This is especially helpful when you are reading more difficult poems that your children (or yourself) don’t understand.  It’s good to help clarify and give you a better grasp of what the poet is saying.
  • Background about the Poets- At the beginning of each book, there is a short chapter on the background of the writer.  I loved this bit because it made us more connected to the poems.  It helped to know where he or she grew up and what kind of  childhood they had.

So, if you love poetry or you don’t love it and you want to give it another shot, I highly recommend Poetry for Young People.  These books have become great additions for our home library and have given me a better appreciation for poetry.  They are available from a number of stores for really decent prices.  I am planning on buying more and using them in our home school next year and I hope you’ll give them a whirl too.

Can You Keep a Secret?

 Bible  4 Responses »
Jun 192010
 

Are you concerned with the clothing styles that are available for young girls today? Do you find it a constant struggle to find clothes that you deem ‘appropriate’ for your preteen daughter? Do you find yourself explaining time and time again to your daughter why she can’t dress like all her friends? Do you long to spend more time with your daughter one on one? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, I urge you to take a look at Secret Keeper Girl: Eight Great Dates for You and Your Daughter Kit 1: Beauty.

This incredible bible study, written specifically for mothers of daughters between the ages of 8-12 and teaches the truth of God’s word in a fun and memorable way.  Designed to teach young girls the importance of purity, by focusing on modesty this study teaches each participant that they are a masterpiece created by God! Oh how I wish I could have learned these important truths when I was a young girl!

SKG is set up to be a series of 8 dates for you to embark on with your daughter. These ‘dates’ include special treats like facials, manicures, a tea party, shopping and a trip to a local art museum while sharing a key scripture on each date and incorporating important biblical truths each step of the way. Each date is written exclusively to moms and daughters, except the final date which is a special father/daughter date that is sure to be a highlight of the study.

If you’re beginning to think that this study is purely fun and lacks substance, let me assure you that is not the case. Each study is written to discuss the concepts of  modesty and purity in a tone and language designed to increase understanding of the importance of finding who we are in Christ and not in superficial beauty, clothes or make-up.  Your daughter’s confidence will be boosted just to have mom’s undivided attention and you will be blessed by the conversations that will be sparked by this study.

The Secret Keeper Girl kit includes the following:

  • An easy to use Guidebook for moms that includes ideas for each date and discussion questions to use on each special date
  • A CD that you play at the beginning and end of each date that features author Dannah Gresh and Rebecca St. James
  • A Diary for your daughter to record her own thoughts
  • Fun Stickers for your daughter to decorate her diary

This exciting study for young girls will teach girls (and moms):

  • The importance of dressing modestly
  • Easy tips for determining if your clothing is indeed modest
  • The source of true beauty , ‘The King is enthralled with your beauty…’, Psalm 45:11

Though the author has suggested free and low cost date ideas, some of them will cost a bit of money so it would be wise to look ahead to each date and budget appropriately.

I realize that some mothers could be overwhelmed because they have several daughters that would truly enjoy spending time alone with mom. These dates could easily be adapted to fit your situation. Though these lessons are ideal for mothers and daughters, there is no reason that a young girl wouldn’t benefit from this study f it were to include a grandmother, older sister, aunt or close family friend.  In fact, this study could easily be used in a group setting for church groups, or with your own homeschool group.

Attending one of the SKG Bod Squad Events is a super fun way to jump start the fun. Each event includes games, a modest fashion show, and special Truth or Bare fashion tests.

So, if you’re looking for a fun, yet ‘meaty’ enough study for your 8-12 year old daughter, where you can create special memories along the way,  why not consider Secret Keeper Girl?  You can buy your kit for $19 at Pure Freedom.com or slightly less at Christian Book Distributors .  Your daughter will thank you and as a mother of two boys trying to raise children that remain pure in body and mind until marriage, I’ll thank you!

Tonya Prater and her husband have homeschooled their three children ages 16, 15 and 13 for the past eleven years using every homeschool method ever invented before settling on what seems to resemble the Charlotte Mason philosophy with an unschooling flair. After traveling for the past four years with her husband’s job, they finally took a huge step of faith and became a Full-time-RV-Living-Roadschooling-Family. You can read about the day to day happenings of their journey at Live the Adventure . You’ll also find Tonya writing at The Homeschool Classroom and the HSB Company Front Porch.

Draw and Tell Bible and Saint Stories

 Art, Elementary, Preschool  1 Response »
Jun 182010
 

I am not the world’s best artist. As a matter of fact, my idea of drawing people usually involves a whole lot of “stick” lines, and perhaps a set of triangles put together to make a bow, as well as some eyelashes, to indicate which of those stick figures is a girl.

Because of this deficit in the area of drawing, I was thrilled when I was in a religious book store one day and found these fabulous books – Bible Stories to Draw and Tell and Draw and Tell Saints.

For every story in the books, there is a step-by-step simple drawing for the reader to draw as they read. For instance, in a story about The Creation (from Genesis), it shows you that you read, “A long, long, long time ago there was nothing, nothing except GOD.” When you read this, it shows that you draw a single circle. The story progresses, and for each passage, it shows you what to draw next. At the end of each story, you are left with the drawing that you have worked on throughout and a question to ask the kids. For instance, with this story, you end up with a drawing of faces of a boy and a girl. And, at this point, the story has progressed to the point when God made people. So, the question to ask the kids is “What do you think God made?” (And the answer is people.)

Each book has a number of stories in them. The Bible Stories book includes 25 stories — starting with And It Was Good (A Creation Story) and ending with He is Risen, with all of your favorite Old and New Testament stories in between.

The Saints book includes 17 stories — Archangels, St. Blase, Blessed Damien of Molokai, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Joan of Arc, St. John the Baptist, St. Joseph, St. Juan Diego, St. Julie Billiart, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Katharine Drexel, St. Mark, St. Nicholas, St. Patrick, St. Peter Claver, and St. Therese of Lisieux.

We really love these books, and have such a fun time drawing them up on our dry erase board. The kids enjoy hearing the stories in a unique way, and I enjoy feeling like I’m not a drawing flunkie.  Another bonus of these books is that the drawings are simple enough that older siblings can do religion instruction with younger siblings through these stories as well.

Do you have any untraditional ways to teach religion to your kids?

-When Angie isn’t drawing eye lashes on stick figures, she can be found writing about faith, family, and household management at Many Little Blessings.

First Language Lessons and Language Lessons for the Very Young 1: A Comparison

 Charlotte Mason, Classical, Elementary, Language Arts, Writing  5 Responses »
Jun 172010
 

It is confession time.

We used First Language Lessons this year for our language study.

We also used Language Lessons for the Very Young 1.

It is true.  I subjected my six-year old first grader to two different language books.  Gasp. 

I had decided to use First Language Lessons when I saw the picture studies in Language Lessons for the Very Young 1.  The gorgeous, full-color reproductions of real art containing child-friendly subjects drew me in.  I ordered it, but I did so with no intentions of abandoning the copy of First Language Lessons that was already in my possession.

First Language Lessons is the first book in a series of elementary language texts by Jessie Wise.  It follows a classical method in line with The Well-Trained Mind, of which Mrs. Wise is a co-author.  The non-consumable, scripted book contains 100 first grade lessons and 100 second grade lessons.

First Language Lessons is complete and methodical, covering nouns, common nouns,

FLL picture study

proper nouns, the four uses of verbs, the four types of sentences, along with several essential topics such as seasons, months, and days of the week.  The text also discusses the use of capitalization and end punctuation.  The lessons are cyclical.  A new topic is covered and then the old ones are reviewed.  In addition, it includes some copywork and a couple of black and white drawings for picture study.  It provides a complete early discussion of grammar topics in an adequate, appropriate manner.

Language Lessons for the Very Young 1 is one of a series of language books in the Charlotte Mason method.  It is written by Sandi Queen of Queen Homeschool and is intended for seven to nine year olds, but is appropriate for children who are reading fluently.  The book, intended to be consumable, contains 180 lessons to be completed in one school year.

Language Lessons for the Very Young 1 is gentle but also complete, covering capitalization in poems and sentences, nouns, identifying the subject and predicate of the sentence, singular and plural nouns, a vowel and consonant review, use of ‘a’ and ‘an,’ common and proper nouns, action verbs, identifying complete and incomplete sentences, and end punctuation.  New subjects are continually introduced, but there is plenty of review.  The lessons are very short, in keeping with the Charlotte Mason method, so though there are 180 lessons the book is easily completed in a year.  The text also contains six poems for copywork and memorization, each taking at least as many days to complete as there are stanzas in the poem, and six pieces of art work for picture study and follow-up discussion.  The lessons are integrated, so that poems, pictures, narrations, and grammar complement and complete each other.

FLL lesson on sentence types

The differences in the two books are subtle.  FLL uses parts of speech to build a grammar discussion, while LLVY begins with the sentence and progresses from there.  There are fewer lessons in FLL, but the length of LLVY is deceiving as it contains several series of lessons in which the student copies one stanza of a multi-stanza poem.  FLL contains a more focused, informative explanation of verbs, discussing the four categories of verbs with precision.  LLVY, on the other hand, covers the creation of sentences and the use of punctuation in more detail.  While both texts use poems for copywork and memorization, FLL utilizes shorter, nursery-rhyme-ish poems and LLVY uses longer, more intense selections.  Both also include picture studies, but LLVY provides lovely, full color reproductions of art, while FLL includes only non-descript pencil drawings.  FLL costs $18.95 and is intended for use over two years of study, while LLVY covers one year and costs $22.95.

Another difference in the two books is that one is a classical text and the other is

LLVY poetry copywork

a Charlotte Mason text.  It is easy to discern Charlotte Mason’s methodology in the poetry, copywork, and picture studies included in LLVY.  It is more difficult to recognize the parts to whole discussion of grammar that evolves in FLL’s continuum from nouns, pronouns, and verbs to sentences, as compared to the use of the whole, sentences, to derive the parts in LLVY.

Both texts complete the objective of teaching grammar gently and completely to a young audience.  Though they use different methodologies and end with slightly different products, these two early elementary grammar texts are both excellent and useful.

Back to my confession:  My daughter didn’t mind using two grammar texts.  As far as she knew, it was what all the cool kids were doing for language.

Personally, though I know that it was not necessary, I liked it.  Because the two books approached grammar from somewhat oppposite directions, I was able to effortlessly review and test her grammar knowledge retention over a school year and with two different approaches.  So, when she demonstrated knowledge, it was knowledge of grammar, not just understanding of a program and how it worked.

First Language Lessons and Language Lessons for the Very Young 1 utilize different methods to reach a common purpose.  I am delighted to recommend both of them (seperately or together) to you for your grammar needs!

Most days find Susan on the couch reading to her children, in the floor “playing” math, and generally in the middle of a good-sized mess.  A love for the Lord, a love for her little ones, and a love of learning have led Susan and that  wonderful man she married to an educational philosophy that is Well-Trained Mind-inspired classical and Charlotte Mason, with a touch of the traditional.

Artistic Pursuits

 Art, Charlotte Mason, Elementary, Hands On  3 Responses »
Jun 162010
 

I am proud to introduce you to Artistic Pursuits.  I will admit that teaching art was not my strong point.  Mostly art classes in my home consisted of activities I looked up online or using my own imagination.  While I came up with some creative and fun ideas, I was not teaching art but allowing my children to use different mediums to express themselves visually.  I needed a curriculum that was solid, informative, taught concepts about art and was fun.  I began to think what I was seeking did not exist until Artistic Pursuits.  In fact, I would have to add that Artistic Pursuits is among my favorite curriculum I have discovered this year.  I had the pleasure of reviewing Book 1 for Grades K-3.

What you will need:

The curriculum is simply one book containing 32 lessons with an associated art project.  You will have to purchase your art supplies separately.  The materials are easy to find and include common items like scissors, tissue paper, construction paper and drawing paper.  You will also need to purchase an ebony pencil, oil pastels and watercolor pencils among a few other items.  I found all my supplies at Micheals.

How much time will you spend:

This book is not a collection of art projects but art lessons with an associated art project to reinforce the lesson and allow for creative interaction.  It is best to take about about fifteen minutes to read through the lesson and art project thoroughly before beginning with your child.  You may also want to take a few extra minutes to prep the lesson to make your time run smoothly.  The lesson can be as short as five minutes with a ten minute art project or you can extend the learning time for a full thirty minute class.  This will depend on how much time you want to spend on the lesson.

How is the book divided?

The book contains 32 lessons with art projects.  Within the book you will have three sections:

  • What Artists Do
  • What Artists See
  • Exploring Ancient Art

Most lessons will provide a picture of a work of art and a picture from the student gallery.  The works of art shown on the lessons can be easily adapted into art study or narration for Charlotte Mason style teachers.

The Ancient Art section is wonderful!  We had a great time exploring ancient art since we had just studied ancient history the year before.  The lessons were through yet not overwhelming for the age range.  I did allow my two older children to partake in the lessons and projects in this section since this was a wonderful reinforcement of ancient history.

Artistic Pursuits will take your child on an journey from color mixing to brush work, to pottery, to murals to bookbinding and more!  Along the way your child will learn how artists imagine, how art is crafted and ancient art history.  I highly recommend Artistic Pursuits for your child’s creative pursuits in education.  You can find books from preschool through high school.

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