I remember taking Art History in college and even though it was something I didn't really want to take, I'm glad I did. As I progress with teaching my own children, I want to ensure they have an introduction to artists as they proceed through each grade. My favorite time period was the Italian Renaissance so when I had a chance to review Artists that Shaped the Italian Renaissance, K-3 Vol. 4 from ARTistic Pursuits Inc. , I couldn't wait to get started. ARTistic Pursuits Inc. offers a series called K-3rd Grade Level, Volumes 1-8 which provides a complete art curriculum across a variety of ages and grades. For our review, I made sure I studied the book, which provided a host of artists that shaped our views of art, to ensure we had all the necessary supplies. I also wanted to see how the lesson's history matched my memory from many years ago when I was in college. I wasn't disappointed either as the book, although more concise compared to a year at college, it covered some of the main artists and techniques.
The book provides twelve lessons and the six video lessons. First, I'm going to cover the video lessons and what we thought of them:
- They were our favorite part of the curriculum. They did such a great job starting out each video with a scene first and then they moved on to the lesson. The only drawback I would give is the music was a bit too loud. Other than that, we give the video lessons an A+! They were charming and captivating.
- The video lessons were just the right length. They were not boring nor did they cover too much material.
- The tips and tricks were done in a speed slow enough to allow us to grasp each tip and suggestion. They also repeated the key parts to each lesson to ensure the child(ren) retained the pointers.
- The video lessons were projects that were not too difficult and were fun to try.
The ARTistic Pursuits book is nice and colorful and has a smooth cover which allows for easy paint removal if one should happen to have it too close to the budding artists. I found the book very helpful and engaging and will list out the details:
- The comprehensive Contents page allowed for an easy reference point to see which artist was going to be covered, the major works of art to be featured along with instructions.
- Another page provided all the materials needed for every project contained within the book and the video lessons.
- The section on Teaching Simply explained how the curriculum was designed to "activate thought and creativity throughout every part of the lessons." The video lessons are used to teach each new art medium. It's a simple to use curriculum that will provide a thorough art education in my opinion.
- Each lesson included questions for the student such as Lesson 15 in the painting A Game of Chess by Sofinisba in 1555: The table tilts towards us. What does that help us to see? Not only is history taught but they also learn about watercolors, fresco, scratch art and oil pastels.
- The reproduction of the artwork is beautiful too!
This curriculum was a hit in our house! Everyone started to paint and we had so much fun!
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| Photo capturing one of the lessons from the video lessons. |
Overall, the curriculum is done really well and I love how comprehensive it was. The different grade levels offered provides me a resource to turn to as my children advance in their lessons. The ARTistic Pursuits Inc. book was an asset to the curriculum and together with the video lessons, it was perfect. Our review really reflects what ARTistic Pursuits Inc. states:
Even the youngest student is creating art that is personal. Art is far more than imitation; it is a language that allows the doers, our children, to speak for themselves and to express their own ideas and interests through pictures.
Check out what others on the Crew thought about ARTistic Pursuits Inc. and the various curriculum from the K-3rd Grade Level, Volumes 1-8 series:
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