Probably the most overlooked subject in our homeschool is Art. I know, that sounds so silly doesn’t it? It’s not that we never do anything artistic. It’s just that most of our art projects are centered around other subjects and not solely meant for the purpose of being artful.
I suppose up until now we’ve just randomly learned interesting bits about art along the way… but without real intent. We received a neat little book from Artistic Pursuits to help us get serious about our art studies. Artistic Pursuits is a pleasant deviation from traditional instruction, though. While keeping the focus on the technicals, AP makes lessons fun and interesting by giving students more freedom in their choices of what and how they draw ( or paint, or sculpt).
We received the Artistic Pursuits Grades 4-6 Book One: The Elements of Art and Composition ($42.95). This book focuses on drawing skills while Book 2 moves on to cover color and painting. Through an exploration of American art, students are taught the elements of art and composition. The material in the spiral bound book is written directly to the child and encourages independent learning, which any homeschool family can appreciate.
Considering this curriculum is a first serious effort into art instruction for us, I’d give Artistic Pursuits an A.
The Pros:
- simplicity: the program is super easy to implement w/ little to no prep needed
- incorporation of history: book one covers American Art appreciation and history which goes right along with our early American studies
- no expensive materials needed: just your basic drawing items and a little scratch paper
- the many illustrations offer further explanation of concepts
- final projects in each unit help to solidify and ensure understanding while giving students the freedom to pick their own subjects, encouraging even more creativity.
The Cons:
- cost: $42.95 is a hefty amount to pay for one book (at least for me!)
- book quality: if the quality were higher, I could maybe justify the $43. As it is, the books are spiral bound (which I love) but look to be printed on a plain old home printer or perhaps at Kinkos. Again, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but it should be reflected in the price!
I love the curriculum. It gives me a little more freedom while giving the kids a little more responsibility and independence. The lessons are interesting, entertaining and really fun! I just can’t get over the cost. I would love to see this same curriculum either produced in a better quality for the same price or the price just lowered with no change to the book.
If you’d like to take a peek at Artistic Pursuits, you can see some sample pages on their website at http://www.artisticpursuits.com The Book One for grades 4 – 6 can be found here.
-Sara O’