Harmony Fine Arts Plans for Art and Music Appreciation

 Age, Art, Charlotte Mason, Elementary, Fine Arts, High School, Middle School, Music  101 Responses »
Apr 232012
 

You are in for a treat at the end. Don’t miss the giveaway!

Dear homeschool parent,

Are you like me? Do you long to enrich your homeschool with studies of composers and artists? Do you wish that someone would just do it all for you? You know, invest the time in research, find the online links, point you to the resources you need? All I really wanted to be able to do was open something up and teach. Have it all right there and not have to pull it all together myself.

It’s done. Yes, really. It’s all done for you. Barb-Harmony Art Mom has created just what you need. She, too, was like us. Here is what Barb has to say about the Harmony Fine Arts (HFA) plans she created:

The idea behind this program came from my own home schooling experience. I was always searching for a plan for picture study and composer study. It seemed simple enough to do myself but I just never did it. I also wanted to use the classical style and Charlotte Mason’s ideas for our art and music. I wanted all the great resources organized in the four-year cycle of history. I wanted it to be flexible and easy to use. I never found what I was searching for so I decided to do it myself!

This is the art and music appreciation program for busy people. We have done all the research and organizing. You are able to open our plan and offer a great program for your children.

As mentioned above, the plans are organized by the four-year cycle of history. They are presented as follows but plans for individual grades are available:

  • Grammar – Grades 1-4
  • Logic – Grades 5-8
  • Rhetoric – Grades 9-12

(First grade plans are a general overview and gentle introduction to composers and artists. Starting with grade 2, the plans work chronologically through the four year history cycle.)

Art Plans:

Offer three options so you can choose what is best for your homeschool.

  • You can simply choose picture study with links to view all the art online for easy viewing.
  • You can add in an art appreciation study with short activities.
  • You can even follow along in certain grades with the formal art program Artistic Pursuits or Drawing with Children or Mark Kistler’s Draw Squad – depending on the grade level.
  • Depending on which option you choose within the art plans – you can allow for one or two 45-minute art periods per week.

Composer Study:

  • Choose to study the composers and listen to their music or
  • Enhance your music study with suggested books

Included: artist and composer notebooking pages, coloring pages of famous art.

How we use Harmony Fine Arts Plans in our home: we adopted Angie and her boys at Petra School’s Wednesday habit of artist and composer study. All this means is that we push back the dishes from lunch. I open up the Harmony Fine Art Plans on my computer. I turn on the music of the composer we are studying. Or I click over to the optional online listening of Classics for Kids. We might work on a notebook page while listening.

Next, depending on the day, I might click over to view artwork of the artist we are studying. We may follow with an artist notebook page or a Draw Squad lesson. This takes 15 to 30 minutes once a week. But building a weekly habit has tuned us all in and made us want more the rest of the week.

  • “Can we play that again? I really like it.” 14-year-old
  • Six-year-old whistling along to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony when I turn on the classical music just for listening fun.

The Many Benefits of Art and Music Study:

Cost: All costs are listed on the order page of the Harmony Fine Arts website. Bundles are available as well as individual year plans. I purchased the Middle School Medieval/Renaissance Plans at the start of this school year for $17.44. A whole year of study for the whole family for less than $20 – one that brings that much learning and enjoyment? What a bargain!

Print or ebook? Harmony Fine Arts Plans are available in both print or ebook format.

In Summary: What I originally intended for my middle-schoolers to study has extended to full blown appreciation for the whole family – all five children.

  • The artist and composer studies compliment our Tapestry of Grace studies beautifully.
  • For this mama, using HFA plans is easy. I just click to open the plans, click to print what we might like to compliment our studies, click to print a coloring page for the younger ones.
  • Not to mention, this type of enrichment is pure delight. It might just be what your homeschool needs too.

“All my music I wrote for God.” ~ J. S. Bach

I shared about our studies on my Hodgepodge site and my friend Kimberly, a pianist and life-long musician, had this to say…

“It warms my heart when I hear children learning about classical music! So many of those composers had such a love for God and were certainly gifted. When you mention Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Debussy, etc. to most children, they have no idea who they are. It’s so sad because these musicians have had such an impact on our world. It’s wonderful that you’re sharing this education with your children!” ~Kimberly

I agree – there is so much history and part of HIS story we can learn from those gifted and Godly. With thanks to Harmony Fine Arts for creating a wonderful tool for just such an education.

Now for the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Homeschooling for over a decade now, Tricia faces a daily dose of chaos with five children. She shares a mixture of free art lessons, recipes and the practical at Hodgepodge. Her husband, Steve, also shares reviews here at Curriculum Choice.

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Playful Learning-Develop Your Child’s Sense of Joy and Wonder

 Art, Elementary, Hands On, Mathematics, Science, Writing  No Responses »
Mar 052012
 

What a treat for the eyes and a delight to the heart! I LOVE this book and any mom who is looking for ways to build on play-based learning, this book is a gem. The book, Playful Learning by Mariah Bruehl, will help you create an atmosphere of learning by building spaces and providing activities that spark creativity and fun. Looking back over my years as a homeschooling mom, I realize the best learning takes place when I could build on my child’s interest in a relaxed and enjoyable way. The trick was to be prepared for those moments.

Sometimes it is as easy as creating a learning environment, introducing your child to the space, and then letting them explore.

Playful Learning is the kind of book that can be referred to again and again and you will always find some new idea to spark a creative activity. It is a visually appealing book that outlines areas of your home where you can set the stage for playing and natural learning.  The author stresses the importance of free and unstructured time for children to explore their interests and Playful Learning gives specific ideas for building on your child’s natural inclinations to play and learn by organizing play spaces and materials to nurture the interest alongside your child.

“Playful Learning gives us as parents an opportunity to play again! It is wonderful to teach the way we wish we had been taught. I have rediscovered my own awe and wonder of the world.”

 

  • Do you want to nurture your child’s love of writing? Young writers will be encouraged to keep lists and notebooks, write stories and letters, and have a try at bookmaking.
  • Do you want to build an art area, a child’s science “lab”, or a cozy reading library? Images and resource lists are included in this book.
  • Has your child shown an interest in learning geography?  Create maps together and learn more about the world we live in using suggestions in this section of the book.
  • Is your child a nature lover? Activities illustrated will help your child better connect the the natural world in your own backyard.

Mariah Bruehl will give ideas in pictures and words, making it easier to provide a richer learning experience at home by showing you activities to plan on and offer as you play through your day.

She explains that the key for parents is to stay “one step ahead”.  I appreciate that this book assumes you want to identify an interest and then build on it, preparing yourself to offer up the space and ingredients for playful learning at home. She outlines in each main section the stages of learning, how to stay “one step ahead”, the process of building on interests, and then more ways to explore with your child. She suggests skimming the book with your child and then refer back to it when they become interested in a particular subject.

The book includes lots of printables in the back of the book as well as from the Playful Learning website. What a great way to get started with your Playful Learning experiences! You may also want to follow Playful Learning on Pinterest where there are many, many wonderful additional ideas for you to implement in your home.

Excellent resource for families with children from ages 4-8 (even older if you extend the ideas). This book will be a perfect supplement to any homeschooling curriculum and can be used with any style of learning. Big thumbs up for this sparkling gem of a book!

Written by Barb-Harmony Art Mom.  I blog at Harmony Art Mom and am the creator of  Harmony Fine Arts. I would love for you to join us for the Outdoor Hour Challenges at the Handbook of Nature Study.

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Birdcage Press Art Ditto Game Review

 Art, Electives, Elementary, Fine Arts, High School, Middle School, Preschool  22 Responses »
Feb 232012
 

You are in for a treat! Not only are we offering a giveaway but you have nine more chances to win at the sites we are teaming up with…
We are all about adding in the joy of art in our homeschool. And what a fun way to view beautiful pieces of art – holding copies of them right in your hand. Playing a game? Even better! As a parent, I am very impressed with the quality of Art Ditto by Birdcage Press. The children are very impressed with the fun factor.

For ages 4 and up (all my children enjoyed it – from age 4 up to 14):

  • Brilliantly-colored cards. Glossy and thick – will stand the test of my rough and tumble household.
  • Simple memory game with benefit of learning famous pieces of art.
  • Includes 48 tiles – so younger ones can play with just a few and older children can be challenged by using the whole set.
  • Easy enough for children to play independently.

For a more advanced way of playing – pretend your are an art collector:

  • Eight (8) art collecting cards that show details on one side and full paintings on the other.
  • Cards include names of famous artists (hooray! A supplement to our homeschool studies).
  • Find the matching tiles and collect them on the cards.
  • The cards give a visual of how different artists depict birds, boats, cats, flowers, horses and more.

Need even more of a challenge? Learn words in 4 languages.

You might be interested to know:

  • Art Ditto won the Creative Child Game of the Year Award as well as the Parents’ Choice Recommended Award.
  • Art Ditto is also available in an American Art version. (Which Rachel at at Finding Joy is reviewing)
  • You can browse all the Birdcage Press art products here.

Conclusion: Playing Art Ditto over and over makes us interested in all the other products from Bird Cage press. Click over to their site for more detail and to browse other games in the art category. We loved Art Ditto so much that we ordered Go Fish for Renaissance Artists to compliment our Tapestry of Grace studies.

Happy faces! Play memory games! Collect your favorite art! And as a homeschool parent, enjoy a high-quality, educational resource for your homeschool.

Find Art Ditto and many more wonderful educational products via the Birdcage Press website.

*Special shipping discount code on all orders: IN12 is good until 3/31/12

Please note: I received this Art Ditto game in exchange for a review. I always give my honest opinion and love to share our family’s experiences when reviewing a product.

Now for the giveaway! The giveaway will only run through Sunday, February 26th. The winner will be announced Monday, the 27th. Birdcage Press is kindly offering one (1) Art Ditto game to our readers.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

More Chances to Win! The Curriculum Choice is joining with these wonderful sites in reviewing Birdcage Press products. Be sure to visit each blog to find out about more of these great resources. Plus enter to win a different game or product at each site!

Spell Outloud — Choice of Egyptian Art Cards or Battle Cards-Military Jets

Finding Joy — Choice of Wild Cards – North American Birds or Art Ditto Game.

Jimmie’s Collage –Choice of Impressionist or Renaissance Art Game

Mama’s Learning Corner — Renaissance Art Game

Handbook of Nature Study — Wild Cards-Backyard Birds

Harmony Art Mom — Choice of Go Fish for Art or Art Close-Up Cards

Hodgepodge — Go Fish for Wildlife – Sea Creatures

The Traveling Praters — Choice of Go Fish for Van Gogh and Friends or 52 Amazing Places-National Parks
Get Along Home — Choice of Wild Cards, Backyard Birds or Renaissance Art Game

Tricia has been homeschooling for over a decade now. She faces a daily dose of chaos balancing the needs of five children from preschool to middle school (and playing educational games) at Hodgepodge.

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Home Learning Year By Year

 Encouragement, Mom Helps, New to Homeschooling, Organization  No Responses »
Feb 032012
 

What’s one of the biggest homeschooling questions you are asked or find yourself asking? I’m not talking about the, “Is this enough?” question, rather the, “What should my child know?” It’s so easy to wonder if you’re teaching your children the right information at the right time, especially if you’re not using standard textbooks.

There are solutions to this problem but my favorite comes in one small book. Home Learning Year By Year by Rebecca Rupp. This book has saved my sanity many times. Really, it has. Home Learning Year By Year breaks down exactly what children will be tested for or are learning in most US based public institutions for kindergarten through 12th Grade. One book. So much information!

How I use it:

I’m sure there are many ways you could use this. The book has an overwhelming amount of information. About once a year, during summer break or before the start of our new school term, I make a list of items I want my child to learn for his grade.

I also go back over the information my child should have learned from the previous grade , just to be sure I covered everything I wanted. You’ll find that much of the standards carry over. For instance, in Grade 2 a child is meant to learn how to use a comma when writing a date, address, or when making a list within in a sentence. By Grade 3 your child will expand their knowledge of commas, so don’t panic if you didn’t teach it in Grade 2. Just teach commas in Grade 3 and expand on it more.

The list making process isn’t complex. I read through the chapter for each of my children’s grade levels. I jot down, in a notebook, the things I know they don’t know or that I’m not sure if they’ll be covered formally in any of our curriculum. From there I type that list out and group things together. All math information, for instance, is tucked under a Math heading. I make sure to make a little check mark box next to each item I put on my list. It’s very simple. I also make sure to put the school year, grade level and child’s name on the top of each paper. I also leave some space for putting notes on my pages. I then print the pages out, and tuck the note into my Teacher/Mom notebook for school. As we go along I can tick off boxes when things are taught or learned.

Not everything has to be taught in a formal way. For instance, I’m really great for making the lists and leaving it laying around so I can bring certain topics up, “Do you guys know what an animal home is called?” If they get the right answer, I tick it off my list. Wrong answer? I plug in a Magic School Bus video and pull out a matching book, then I tick it off my list. Explaining terms like biography and autobiography can happen right at the dinner table. Where as teaching children how to alphabetize is better suited on the living room floor with an alphabet puzzle spread before you.

What I love:

I love that this one small book can guide me through my children’s entire school careers. There’s no need to purchase a new book all the time.

I love the price! Seriously, one book that will last me all 13 years of my children’s schooling and it only costs between $10 – $16 depending on where you purchase it. {Amazon.com has it for $10 + shipping & Book Depository has it for $15.97 with free shipping}

I love that Rebecca Rupp has taken the time to type out resources you can use to teach a variety of the things on her list. From main stream math programmes to lesser known picture books. It’s all right there at your finger tips!

I love that the book is small. I know that sounds silly, but really that’s big! I can toss this in my bag and take it with me nearly anywhere during the summer when I’m making my lists. It’s not much bigger than a typical paperback book!

What I don’t like:

I honestly can’t think of much about this book I don’t like. I think, if you live outside of America, you may not find the book as helpful because it is made to pass the US tests at the end of each grade. I can’t consider this a dislike because I knew that going in. I also don’t teach my kids to pass tests, so that’s not a problem for me.

There’s also the factor that while this explains what US children will be learning for history at different years, there’s going to be huge amounts of US history. Again, not something I dislike about this book for a couple of reasons. First off, I knew that going in. Secondly, my children are both American & Australian so it’s important that they know US history. For those of you not interested in learning US history you could simply substitute your country’s history in it’s place.

Bottom Line:

I love Home Learning Year by Year. I love the treasures inside of it. I love the peace of mind it helps me achieve! When asked what book to recommend to new homeschoolers this is one that’s on the top of my list!

Extra:

Rebecca Rupp has also written a book entitled The Homelearning Source Book. This book is a coffee table type book that is just bursting full of resources for teaching your children anything and everything. It’s very simple to use. And on top of the awesome resources, there’s also notes about which resources The Rupp Family used and how they enjoyed them. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if it’s still in print as neither Amazon or Book Depository seem to be selling copies of it, all though CBD seems to have copies {they do ship overseas as well.} If you can get your hands on a copy it’s well worth it!

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Grapevine Bible Studies

 Bible, Hands On  1 Response »
Sep 082011
 

We’ve been using the Grapevine Bible Curriculum, New Testament, & loving it! The idea is that your children draws the stories & lessons from the Bible as they learn the lessons. The drawings are simple little stick figures, but if your children are like mine they’ll enjoy embellishing them with a few extra details!

They will also write and memorize verses & have weekly reviews. All of which combines together to help your child remember the lessons. In fact, my children’s retention using this curriculum is huge!

This curriculum is made so you can get as much or as little out of it as you want. The Teacher’s Manual comes with information about each lesson so you can pre-study it if you so desire. It’s also suggested you keep a dictionary and concordance at hand incase you need it, but with websites like Dictionary.com & Biblos.com you wouldn’t need to pay for either of those items if you didn’t want to.

You’ll also want to provide your child with a wide range of coloured pencils. The manual also calls for a white board so you can draw the stick figure pictures first, then the students copy them down. They are all very simple to draw and the TM actually shows them so you don’t have to think up what/how to draw on your own. Can I confess that I don’t always draw the pictures thought?

How we use it:

I read the story to them, both from the Bible and telling parts in my own words. I point to the picture in the TM and have them draw each one as I come to that part of the story. Doing it this way means we can take this Bible curriculum anywhere and not have to worry about hauling a whiteboard with us.

Each lesson is very simple, and it’s up to you how much of it you do in a day. The reason this curriculum has lasted us so long is because we started out doing one lesson a week. In the TM it explains that you can do one lesson per week or one per day depending on your needs and desires.

To do one lesson each week we broke it down like this: Monday: Review of previous lesson. Tuesday: Timeline Review. Wednesday: Read new lesson & do page one. Thursday: Do page two of new lesson. Friday: None, OR start the rotation again.

However, we decided to pick up the pace and start doing more lessons in a week so we could move on to the Old Testament. Now we do one lesson per day, but we still save the review of that lesson for the next day to help reinforce what we previously did. This means our schedule now looks like this: M-F: Review previous lesson, timeline review, new lessons.

The Break Down:

  • Let’s take a look at the Student Workbook and how it all breaks down! The book begins with a New Testament blank Timeline. This is basically an overview lesson. They discuss each “story” or event in only a few basic sentences while your child sketches everything on the timeline. The idea being that the children get an idea of what they’ll be learning.

  • Next you have lessons. Each lesson has a Biblical reference, you can choose to read the summarized version from the Teacher’s Manual or you can grab your Bible and read it from there. I’ve been known to do both if I feel like a specific part of the story I want my children to know was missing from the summarized version. I even summarize it in my own words at times.
  • Each lesson is a two page spread, with generally about 8 pictures to draw. The pictures are always based on the lesson, and, as previously mentioned, are always pre-drawn in the TM. At the end of each lesson comes the Lesson Review.
  • Lesson Reviews have a few questions {4-8 generally} about the lesson you just learned. I like saving these for the next day to make sure the kids still remember the previous lesson. After the Lesson Review is a Memory Verse to go with each lesson.

  • We add all memory verses to our Memory Box to work on memorizing them through that simple method. We also say them at lesson times to help enforce why we chose to memorize this verse.
  • Next up you’ll find a page with Character/Event Cards & a space to write out your memory verse. I will confess that we haven’t filled out the cards. The idea is that you write down the key factors from the person or event so that you can use them as quick reference points. My children retain the events and stories well enough that we’ve chosen to skip this part of each lesson. I’ll also confess we don’t always write our our memory verse as we might be working on something else for copywork.

  • Then you come to the Timeline Review. This is where you’re meant to remember the three previous lessons you learned before jumping into the next one. You simply draw your stick figures on the timeline and jot under it what they are. There’s also a space for writing out the two previous memory verses. We always do the timeline reviews, but sometimes I’ll just have the children tell me the verse rather then write it.
  • Last, but not least, every 6 lessons is a Big Review. When we come to a Big Review it’s the only thing we do that day for Bible. My kids love Big Review Days. We turn them into trivia style games.

What We Love:

  • My kids love everything about this curriculum. Anytime I move away from using this as our main Bible there are cries of, “When do we get to do drawing Bible again?”
  • I love that it’s simple to teach! It did take a little bit of time to “figure it out”, but once I found my groove we were set!
  • It’s non denominational. It was not written from the view point of any one religion. You can read any story/event from your own personal Bible getting that view point.

  • I also really love that my kids adore this Bible Programme. Let’s be honest, anything that gets my kids excited about the Bible is usually top notch in my book!
  • I was also really excited that I could buy this programme as a download from either Grapevine directly or from Currclick.com. This is a big factor for international homeschoolers. It completely eliminated the need to pay for shipping! It’s also nice if you have more then one student using the student book.

What we don’t love:

  • While I love that I can buy this product as a download it’s big. I’m talking 200+ pages for students & the same for the Teacher’s Manual. Now, the downside there is the amount of paper and ink you’re going to use when you print it out. For US based homeschoolers, I suspect buying the hardcopy would be a wiser and more economical choice. This is not the fault of the programme, as they do offer hard copies of their books.

  • I’m also going to give a few thoughts that might be factors for some people.
  • It did take a little bit to find my feet with this curriculum. I don’t fault the programme, you are encouraged to contact them if you need any help. I don’t think it’s a difficult programme to use, but, like most curriculums, it took me a bit to find my feet.
  • If your children do not like to draw they probably won’t enjoy this programme.
  • If you’re nervous about drawing for your kids you might feel turned off by Grapevine Bible, but may I just say that you do not have to draw! Stick figures are really simple, and if you don’t have the confidence to draw them, just show your children the pictures directly located in the Teacher’s Manual. We do this like when we school outside, at the library, or in the park.

Bottom Line:

We love this programme. My kids retain so much information that I know we’ll be sticking with this programme for quite a while!

Kendra lives in Tasmania Australia with her husband, the Man From Down Under, two curious boys, a dog, & a bird that constantly talks back. Creator, and avid user, of the Homeschool Book Of Days & The Nature Game she can be found retelling tales from The Land Down Under over at the Aussie Pumpkin Patch.

Artistic Pursuits for the Junior High Student

 Art, Middle School  No Responses »
Jun 262011
 

I previously introduced you to Artistic Pursuits for the K-3rd crowd. Now I would like to introduce you to Artistic Pursuits for the Junior High crowd. Artistic Pursuits will be highly appreciated by those who teach from a Charlotte Mason or Classical method. However, this art curriculum will enhance any homeschool.

The focus in Book One is on World Art. The student will gain an understanding of how different cultures impacted the world in different ways through their art. The book places equal emphasis on art history, art appreciation and techniques making this a complete art course for your junior high student. The lessons will cover one full year of Art. The course can also credit the student with Art Appreciation and Art History as each lesson focuses on these aspects. The student will gain a full understanding of how cultures interpreted art, what mediums were used, and how art was influenced by history and cultural aspects. Students will learn the techniques of the lesson before completing the art project to ensure proper reinforcement and understanding.

If you are concerned with your ability to teach art or you have too much on your plate to add in an involved art curriculum, do not turn away from Artistic Pursuits. This book is written to the student and no teacher preparation is needed. A list of materials is given in the beginning of the book and can be easily found at your local craft or art store. Once your student is equipped with the textbook, supplies and time, he can successfully complete this course. If you enjoy art and want to share the experience with your child this book will be a delight to your homeschool.

Artistic Pursuits is my favorite art curriculum based on its emphasis on art appreciation and art history. This is not a book full of projects with no purpose or a perfunctory glance at the roots of a technique. Artistic Pursuits is a course that your student will appreciate regardless of his talent, skill level, or interest in creating projects. This course will reinforce your history lessons by giving them a flavor of the people of the time.

Disclosure: This book provided by the publisher/creator for the purpose of review. Thoughts expressed are solely my own and from my experience.

Richele is a homeschooling mom to four reflections of God’s love whose greatest accomplishment thus far was teaching physics, folding laundry, and playing Candyland simultaneously.   Find her blogging at Under the Golden Apple Tree.

Art with A Purpose

 Art, Elementary, Hands On  3 Responses »
May 262011
 

I love art and even considered making it my career.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on which child I’m talking to), I never seem to get around to teaching art as a hands-on, let’s-get-creative-and-make-a-mess activity.  I don’t know why; it’s just one of those things.

So what do my children do for art?  Well, we do Charlotte Mason style picture study every few weeks, and each of my children works through the entire Art with A Purpose curriculum, doing about one lesson a week for eight years.

Art With a Purpose is an easy-to-teach curriculum that covers everything from coloring and pasting in the younger grades to lettering, color combining, perspective, and pen and ink drawings in the older grades.  It does not, however, teach art history or appreciation at all.  (Hence the picture study lessons.) 

Each year’s Artpac contains 36 simple, step-by-step art lessons.  Materials are usually simple to obtain.  In fact, the only ones we’ve had trouble finding are the brass fasteners needed to allow movement in a monkey’s limbs and the hands of a clock.

Using this curriculum, moms have little teaching to do in the younger grades and even less as the children get older because the instructions are clear and easy to follow. Although classroom teachers are encouraged to work through each Artpac to provide their students with examples, this was not necessary for us at home.

Rod and Staff breaks down each year’s skills as follows:

  • Artpac 1 Simple coloring skills, color-by-number, cutting and pasting.
  • Artpac 2 Simple coloring skills, cutting, pasting, simple perspective drawing.
  • Artpac 3 Coloring, shading with crayons, simple grid drawing and painting.
  • Artpac 4 Coloring, shading with crayons, drawing stick figures, simple grid drawing, and perspective drawing.
  • Artpac 5 Shading with colored pencils, drawing faces, painting and paint mixing, lettering, and grid work.
  • Artpac 6 Shading with colored pencils, drawing faces, lettering, grid work, freehand and perspective drawing.
  • Artpac 7 Advanced shading with soft lead colored pencils, grid drawing, calligraphy, paint mixing and painting, and sketching.
  • Artpac 8 Shading with pen and ink.

View detailed outlines of each course, with samples.

Most weeks my children spend between 30 minutes and two hours on their Artpacs, depending on the effort they are willing to expend. They are usually pleased with their work, and often give the cards, pictures, or crafts as gifts.  Many of them also adorn the bedroom doors.

We’ve encountered very few problems over the years.  Some lessons in the early years are much too difficult and take too long.  We don’t skip those, but I allowed the child to work on them for a long time, pointing out that it was a lesson in perseverance as well as in art.  I also allowed children who struggled with motor skills to progress slowly, with the beneficial result that they were able to do a better job at the upper levels as well.

Published by Rod and Staff, the Artpacs feature a few pictures that are obviously Mennonite.  Wording, where there is any, is inspiring and often Christian.  Although the Artpacs have no projects about Halloween, Easter bunnies, Santa Claus, or baby Jesus, I have received several wonderful Mothers’ Day cards.

Each year’s worth of lessons is well under $10.  This is a very good deal, especially for the grade 8 Artpac’s pen and ink pages that would retail for several hundred dollars at my local art supply store.

If you’re not the kind of person who thrives on doing hands-on crafts with your children, but you still want them to learn the basics of art, it’s worth checking out Art with A Purpose.  It’s thorough, easy to use, Christian, and inexpensive.

Written by Annie Kate, a Christian homeschooling mom of five, who reviews and blogs at Tea Time with Annie Kate.

Disclosure: Having used Artpacs for a dozen years, I love telling people about them.  I receive no compensation for this review.

Art Murals for Kids

 Art, Elementary, Middle School, Unit study resources  4 Responses »
May 232011
 

Last February my family spent several days creating murals to hang in their bedrooms.  Coordinating several children to produce something beautiful to hang on the wall can be challenging.  We used inexpensive downloads from Art Murals for Kids as our guide for several reasons:

  • They’re easy – even my 2 year old can color.
  • They’re printable – which meant if a piece got messed up and bothered the children they could just print again and redo it.
  • They make beautiful final products.

My sons chose to use Oil Pastels to color their version of Van Gogh’s Starry Night.  They decided to try following the original for their colors.  This came from the Mini Impressionist Mural Set, which is only $5.00.  In this set the murals are small – our Starry Night printout was 6 pages, measuring 23″x 19″.  It was just right for a family to do together instead of a classroom.  There is a larger version of Starry Night available for download that is 24 pages and measures 48″x 36″.  I really like how the colors of the oil pastels are bold.  The only drawback to oil pastels is they are a bit smudgy – mostly on children’s hands!

My daughters used crayons with this mural for their bedroom.  They chose this one for the animals.  Their file was also $5.00and included two sizes to use: a 36-page version measuring 45″x 45″ and a 9-page mini version measuring 22.5″ x 22.5″.  I think the crayons looks all right, it just does not stand out as much as the oil pastels.  We may try painting a mural sometime for a change.

There are quite a few other mural possibilities to choose from at Art Murals for Kids.  She even offers coloring books of famous paintings that would be a fun addition to an artist study.  Be sure to check out her companion site, Art Projects for Kids for tons of art project ideas to use with your children.  I’ve found some real gems as I’ve explored the archives!

Tristan is a happily homeschooling LDS mother to 6 blessings age 9, 6, 5, 3, 2, and 5 months old.  You can drop in and visit anytime over at her blog, Our Busy Homeschool.  Read her other Curriculum Choice posts here.

{Disclaimer: I purchased these products on my own.  This is not a sponsored post in any way.  And yes, we hope to purchase more murals in the future!}

Drawing Basics by Thomas Kinkade

 Art, Bible  3 Responses »
Apr 182011
 

I count it a benefit of homeschooling when one of the masters can step in and teach my children. Thomas Kinkade has led my children in Drawing Basics several times already. That is with the Alpha Omega DVD Lifepac. An Alpha Omega Lifepac is a full subject of study “built upon the principle of mastery learning.” Drawing Basics is an elective Lifepac.

Our two eldest children went through all the lessons with the accompanying workbooks. We just added drawing tablets, pencils and erasers. Drawing Basics is truly the basics. The study begins with line and shape and leads all the way to art history.

The five units each include three sections. Thomas Kinkade teaches the concept at the beginning of each section, encouraging students to sketch along in their drawing tablets.

Next the student is directed to pause the DVD and to “return to your workbook” for practice in the concept.

Also included:

  • 18 weeks of study
  • extra enrichment activities
  • review questions
  • tests
  • teacher guide
  • 5 unit workbooks
  • instructional DVD

Unit workbooks and instructional DVD can be purchased separately. Alpha Omega Publications offers the DVD for purchase by itself for $13.95 here.

Intended for:

Grades 3 to 5 but can be adapted for up to grade 8. (Guess what? My 5-year-old, 3rd grader and two middle schoolers all enjoy it).

Plus:

Thomas Kinkade teaches from a Biblical worldview and includes a Bible lesson in each section.

This resource is great to use as an elective, a unit study and/or to compliment history studies. Plus when you’ve already enjoyed his lessons several times, the DVD is so nice to pull out on a sick day. There is always something new we didn’t notice before. And that day, not long ago, when I was on the couch, it was sure fun to tell my fellow homeschoolers, “Oh Thomas Kinkade taught school today!”

For more information on all Alpha Omega Lifepac Curriculum, visit their site.

View a video sample on the AOP website by creating an account here.

How about you? Wouldn’t you like the ‘Painter of Light’ to teach your children?

~Tricia faces a daily dose of chaos homeschooling five children. She contributes a blend of writing at parenting and homeschool sites as well as her own daily Hodgepodge.

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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