A Review of ARTistic Pursuits

My daughter loves to draw. Often times she's sketching out an illustration for a story she authored or just keeping her hands busy while listening to a book on tape. Recently she's taken an interest in improving her drawing independently. We own a variety of step-by-step drawing books, but they have an emphasis on following directions rather than art understanding or application. Drawing technique books have been rejected for looking too technical and outside art classes, while enjoyed, have been too group and project-oriented. Nothing seemed to fit an independent and creative art student in need of some direction. So, it was quite timely when I had the opportunity to review an art curriculum that was not only comprehensive, but directed at the student.

ARTistic Pursuits, authored by Brenda Ellis, is an art curriculum created for homeschoolers by homeschoolers. For review, I received the Junior High Book One, The Elements of Art and Composition. Designed to be a full year of instruction, there are 16 units which can easily be divided into weekly two lessons, one hour each. Through pencil, ink and wire projects, students learn various art techniques in addition to exploring world history and examining art work by the masters. The curriculum is directed at the student, involving them in the creative process.

Each unit has four unique lessons: Building a Visual Vocabulary, Art Appreciation and History, Techniques, and Application. Each lesson introduces either an element of art or a principle of design, giving students the exposure and practice to automatically incorporate it into their thinking and drawing. Through these projects, students will learn to apply the secrets of the great artists:

1. Learn to observe the world around you – to really see it.
2. Learn what to look for.
3. Learn to focus on one element of art at a time, while drawing, and block out the others

An element of art or composition is singled out in each lesson. Concepts are arranged so that they build on each other with opportunity for earlier concepts to be applied in later projects. Click here to view a full lesson and also see a list of contents for both the Junior High One and Junior High Two books.

Inspiring student work is shown throughout the book. Encouragement to create a personal work, rather than copy step-by-step instructions, gives students a sense of accomplishment. The emphasis in ARTistic Pursuits is to develop skills through the student's own observation and creativity. You can read about the instructional philosophy of the author here.

There is a lot to be appreciated about ARTistic Pursuits. It is extremely user-friendly. The layout and organization of the lessons is nicely done. A list of supplies is included on the first page, divided by semester. I had most of the needed supplies already, but all of the supplies can also be purchased as a kit directly from ARTistic Pursuits. From a practicality of use standpoint, the comb binding allows the book to lie flat when doing the lesson. I also appreciate that the book is non-consumable.

In terms of content and instruction, I like that art history and art appreciation are integrated into the lessons. Pictures of master works are included right in the lesson, in color. The introduction of single elements in each lesson makes this program approachable to beginners yet not overly simplistic for more talented students. However, my favorite feature is that students can work through the book entirely on their own, taking full ownership of their art instruction.

Being able to work independently was also a favorite feature of my daughter, age 12, and she enjoyed going through the lessons at her own pace. She also positively commented the following,

“It allows you to use your own creativity, but gives you examples to guide you. It also gives background information on the art, like history, for example.”

Below is A Horse under a Willow by Utagawa Kunisada and my daughter's "rough sketch", used as an exercise in observation of line. Students works from the work of other artists to better understand what they did, not to make an exact copy or complete and precise work. After a quick study or sketch, students can then apply the same techniques on another project.

My daughter is looking forward to continuing with ARTistic Pursuits, making it a thumbs up from both of us.

If you are looking for a user-friendly and comprehensive art curriculum, ARTistic Pursuits is definitely a program to consider. Books leveled for preschool, K-3, 4-6, junior high and senior high are priced at $42.95. You'll find order information, articles on art, sample pages, FAQ and more at the ARTistic Pursuits website.

**For those of you with younger kids, click here for an opportunity to win a 5-lesson sampler of the ARTistic Pursuits Grades K-3 Book One.

Visit the TOS Crew's Official Blog to read more review on this product.

A Review of Core Learning Software Products

I've shared before that I much prefer hard copy products to digital, but software is a different story. I love software products. I think my software collection is second only to my piles of books. Much of what I own could be placed into the category of edutainment, where my kids can learn while playing. There is something about those silver compact discs that contain so much information and take up so little space. When a package arrived from Core Learning containing four of those shiny discs, I was anxious to see what treasure of information and activities they contained.


Core Learning is an educational publisher of software, books, multi-curicular projects and online learning applications. They offer a variety of products, designed to meet state curriculum standards, for K-12 learners. Titles in the areas of mathematics, creativity/art, health, language, and critital thinking focus on skill development in both higher order thinking skills and important life skills. I received a variety of full version and demo titles from Core Learning. The style of the products varied greatly and I'll admit to having my favorites.

Health for Kids Series
Explore Your Body
Explore Your Health
Ages 7-10
$29.95 per volume

Volume 1, titled Explore Your Body, provides an introduction to the human body, its parts, and functions with 9 short animated clips. Information is presented in a storyline through the adventures Doc, Sari, Emma, Hu and the Chicken. I would describe this series as a blend of Magic School Bus and CyberChase episodes. Each clip is approximately 5 minutes long and interactive with short quizzes and prompts. Volume 2, Explore Your Health, is a continuation of Volume 1 with the same presentation format. My 9-year-old son was really engaged by Explore Your Body and completed the entire disc in one sitting.

Family Health Series
The Body
Illness and Injuries
Staying Healthy
Becoming An Adult
Emotional Health
Grades 2 -10
$39.95 per volume

This series follows the same set of charaters as the Health for Kids series. However, the presentation of information is set up such that the user can explore different areas instead of following a series of clips. After selecting a topic, the user reads the information provided and reinforces the information through animated activities and games.

Math Course Series
Math Course 1: Fractions
Grades 5-6
$49.95

I was able to explore Unit 1 for this program. The full version has 7 units. Unit 1 had 5 lessons with an accompanying worksheet and quiz for each lesson, ending in a unit test. The presentation was straightforward and more textbook-like than the health series. One nice feature is the tracking for multiple users. Each lesson tracks the time taken, last status, last date launched, last score, times attempted and detailed summary for each lesson.

Language Arts Companion
English Grammar II
Grades 4-6
$49.95

This program is similar in layout as the Math Course Series. There are 7 units total, each having 4-6 lessons each. I had access to Unit 6, which covered parts of speech. The tracking features are identical to the math program.

Art & Creativity
Creativity Express
Grades K-8
$30

Sixteen art lessons are provided through animated movies, activities and projects. Art principles and history are taught through three categories: sayART, seeART, doART. My children went through this program several years ago as an online subscription under a different title. It is nice to see it being offered as a reusable cd-rom and at a cheaper price. It is fun, educational and sound art instruction. This is one you can view for yourself by checking out a free demo lesson.

Now for my favorites...

Crayola Art Studio
Ages 4 and up
$24.94

corefx
All ages
$59.95

I've included these together because they are both digital art programs with a similar feel but serving different needs and users.

Crayola Art Studio allows children to artistically create using a variety of tools without the mess. Not having anything to clean up was my favorite feature of this software! While there is much to be said of sitting children down with a variety of media to touch, explore and create, reality is that mess, time and expense prevent me from doing this as often as I'd like.

The Crayola Art Studio has a selection of 12 realistic art brushes, e.g. colored pencils, oil pastels, paints, markers, and crayon. The program can be opened in one of two levels, Begin to Draw Level and Art Studio Level. I was impressed with the computer representation of the medium. For example, the water colors would become less vidid as you continued to use your brush without "reapplying" more color to your brush and the oil pastels and chalk had the appropriate visual texture. Children can create strictly from the imagination, alter digital images of their own or start with special Crayola images.

Below you will find a creation of my daughter's using the symmetry tool, a favorite feature.


Crayola Art Studio is a simplified version of corefx. Your artist will have many more features at their disposal using the powerful corefx program. Not only can the user draw and paint, but photo-editing and animation features are also included. Artist tools can be used individually or mixed and blended, with realistic and unique results. Basic, Junior and Advanced Levels are all included in the package, making this a program for differing abilities. If you have an older child interested in graphic design or if you'd like a digital art program for a wider range of abilities, you may want to invest in corefx rather than starting with the Crayola Art Studio program.

Programs such as Crayola Art Studio and corefx appeal to me because their use is endless. Instead of taking the user through a series of activities, these sort of programs are a platform for creativity and development of thinking skills. The potential and limits are largely with the user, rather than the software.

Rather than just take my word for it, check out the 3-day demos available on both of these products. You will not be able to save or print your masterpieces created using the demo, since these features have been disabled, but you will be able to explore all the other features that are available on the full version.

3-Day Demos

Visit the TOS Homeschool Crew's Official Blog to read other Crew members' thoughts on these products.

A Review of Spears Art Studio, a K-8 Art Curriculum

What do you get when you have a closet full of art supplies, two kids, and a homeschool mom with an engineering degree?

Lots of child-directed home art projects and outsourced art lessons!

Honestly, I really do appreciate art. In fact, I spent quite a bit of time drawing in my younger years. However, my approach to art isn’t exactly, well…artsy. I’m great at copying things, my mechanical side enables me to see how things go together and I have strong spatial awareness. However, I’m just not that great at coming up with ideas on my own and I certainly have an aversion to the mess some art projects create. I’ve looked at a few homeschool art programs, but they either seemed too complicated or too crafty. As a result, art has always been an outsourced subject in our homeschool. Unfortunately, art classes don’t come cheaply. Spending over $50 or more a month in weekly art lessons for one child is not unusual, certainly not an expense that could be done on a permanent basis for most families. Because of cost and lack of ability, art has often been put on the back burner in our homeschool. After all, aren’t the 3Rs much more important?

The Spears Art Studio for K-8, designed by Diane Spears Ed. D, has really forced me to rethink my position on art instruction. I’ll admit that I was skeptical when my review package arrived. First of all, the program is on a CD-Rom with PDF files which isn't my favorite format for materials. Without being able to flip through pages, the small package was a bit deceiving.

Secondly, the first few projects I scanned appeared to be busy work, crafty and revolve around holidays. It shouted of my mediocre public school art experience as a child. However, I’m glad I was forced to dig in to complete this review. Otherwise, I would have missed out on a real gem.

Spears Art has impressed me on several levels.

The Mission…

My first attitude adjustment came when reading the first page of the 24-page introduction, which started with the Spears Art Studio Mission Statement:

1. in everything recognize the hand of God and to give Him glory;

2. to provide resources for the Christian educator that:

a. help students make connections between the Creator, creativity, and personal maturity;

b. are organized for natural learning progression;

c. provide experiences for higher order thinking skills;

d. “stretch” academic and manipulative skills

The introduction continues with skills addressed in the program, the importance of art instruction for all subjects, art concepts, how to teach and analyze art and more. Once sentence in particular caught my eye.

"Solid art instruction promotes creative thinking, problem solving, discernment, comparison, and learning how to see accurately. These are life skills needed for success in any endeavor.”

Oh.
These aren’t just craft projects about the holidays.
I dug in deeper…

The Christ-Centered and Depth of Instruction…

First of all, this is a high-quality Christian art curriculum. Each lesson is tied into Scripture, making this a Bible and character development tool as well. However, it would not be an accurate statement to say this is just a Christian art curriculum. Also integrated into the lessons and projects are language, science, social studies, math and even music. For example, the first week of April’s water theme has the students learning some natural facts of water, relating earthly water to the water of the Spirit, and interpreting forms of water artistically. The related Scripture verse, Psalm 119:9, is about purity. Biblical stories about water, e.g. Jonah and Jesus calming the waters, are introduced. Vocabulary words, art and otherwise, are discussed, e.g. tempest, turbulent, pitch, refraction, and abstract. The privilege of Western society to have clean water and the importance that other societies have this same basic need prompt students to consider how they can assist ministries helping in this area. This is quite a bit of meat that is outside of the actual art project.

The Bulk of Content and Ease of Use…

Not only is Spears large on substance, it’s massive in the sheer size of 497 pages, 269 projects, and 137 reproducible patterns, posters and examples. Thirty-five weekly themes are provided with at least one project per grade level. Since the different level projects are based on the same theme, Spears is a great curriculum to use for teaching a group of multiple age children. Additionally, this is a program that you can use year after year for the same child.

Do not let the thoroughness of this program intimidate you. While the projects for each grade level are different, much of the prep work for the lesson, e.g. Scripture references, art history images, topic information, is the same. Spears does the legwork for you by detailing the objectives, listing images to retrieve and including a teacher inspiration section for discussing related topics. Patterns needed for a project are included, though art supplies do need to be gathered. I found that I had acquired many of the needed supplies already from years of taking 10-12-week outsourced art classes and gifts to one of my artsy kids. Some of the projects require planning for materials (e.g. baby food jar lids) and you may have an initial expense of buying some supplies. However, a complete supply list is provided in the appendix and each week's lesson lists supplies needed for the projects to aid you in planning. These lists are also available to view at the Spears website before purchasing.

Complete K-8 Supply List by Grade Level and Category

Complete K-8 Supply List by Month and Activity

At first glance, those lacking artistic talent may feel overwhelmed with the art instruction portion, but the lessons are really presented in such a way that almost anyone can have success. The use of images, along with a sample picture of a completed project, will help your students tap into their own artistic talent, even if the teacher is a bit lacking.

The Value…

Spears Art Studio K-8 can be purchased for $39.95, shipping included. Cost is not nearly as important to me as value. This price equates to a mere 15 cents per project. Or, if you prefer to break it down by year, only $4.50 per school year for only one child, less for multiple children. WOW! Even when you account for the added costs of materials and printing, this is still an exceptional deal. A combo package with the cd-rom and printed manual is available for $134.95, but you’d be better off printing off a personal printer, which I'm guessing will probably cost around $30. Otherwise, just printing what you need reduces the print cost significantly. Also available at the Spears website are a high school art program for $29.95, a calligraphy package and literature guides.

My initial reaction was to recommend this program for a co-op situation. Spears Art would be fabulous tool for group teaching for your local support group. However, you really can’t go wrong purchasing this for your own personal homeschool, whether you have many children or just one. It's Christ-focused, complete, organized, and a great value.

Diane Spears has shown me the importance of art instruction for both academic reasons and personal growth. Look around at the creation of our Father, the ultimate artist, filled with unique, intricate, and balanced creations. In His likeness, He placed within all of us the ability to express and experience in a variety of ways. Some of us just need to stretch a bit more…

So, I ventured out. We had our very first at-home art lesson. Below you will find the results of the January Week #1 lesson with two children, ages 9 and 11. I used the Grade 4 project for both kids. The theme was "Winter and Snow" and the project was to create a monochromatic snow scene using a punch technique. Not bad, eh? I think we have more projects in our future.




Visit the Spears website to view FAQ, an article on the importance for art instruction, 2 FREE weeks of sample lessons and to make your purchase.

To hear what other Crew members had to say about this program, visit the Official TOS Crew Blog.