Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
My oldest son, Daniel has loved drawing since he was little and regularly asks for more art curriculum to be added to our homeschool routine. He has wanted to learn more about art techniques and drawing for a while. Therefore, I have been looking for art curriculum that would challenge and teach him. We were excited to have the opportunity to use and review ARTistic Pursuits Middle School Book One, The Elements of Art and Composition. This curriculum is everything I’d hoped it would be and I am excited to tell you more about it!
All about Artistic Pursuits Inc.
ARTistic Pursuits Inc. provides full art curriculum that teaches art history and appreciation, provides instruction in techniques, and increases creativity and thinking skills. It is perfect for homeschool moms, like myself who want teach our kids art, but are not artistically gifted! ARTistic Pursuits Inc. has art courses at preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels. The elementary courses have video lessons, along with the texts. The middle school and high school courses are completed by reading and working through projects and instruction from their course books. Each course provides a materials list at the beginning of their books, or gives you the option to purchase complete material kits that go along with your course. I love how ARTistic Pursuits Inc., provides us as homeschoolers with options for ready to go Art Curriculum for any age!
How we used ARTistic Pursuits Middle School Book One
I decided that ARTistic Pursuits Middle School Book One The Elements of Art and Composition would be just right for my upcoming 6th grader this year. My son Daniel, was extremely excited to receive his own art curriculum that he could learn from and work through.
Daniel and I decided he would complete the first unit during our last month of school. We would then review it, and see how much he liked the curriculum. We now plan to complete the rest of the book for one of his electives for his 6th grade homeschool year. Daniel was excited to dive in. We began by looking over the contents and reading the getting started pages.
ARTistic Pursuits, Inc. did a great job of introducing the curriculum and explaining how to work through each lesson. The book recommends 2 classes per week. There are 16 units, with 4 lessons for each unit. Therefore, this curriculum could easily be spaced out to fill the entire school year.
How it works
ARTistic Pursuits Middle School Book One is set up so that you can first easily plan out what lessons your child should complete each week. Then they can proceed to read the lessons and complete the assigned projects. If you prefer to read the lessons and work through the lessons with your child that is definitely an option. As a homeschool mom of multiple kids, having an art curriculum at my son’s level that he can easily understand, learn from, and complete on his own is a huge bonus!
Each unit introduces and teaches a concept in art, relates it to art in history, helps the student apply a technique, and then gives them the chance to apply what they have learned with a final project. Each lesson in the units usually take less than an hour. The contents page clearly outlines each unit covered. It also lists all the art supplies needed for each semester. We already owned basic drawing pencils and supplies listed for the first semester. It will be easy to purchase what is needed for the pen and ink lessons for the second semester later this year. The supplies needed for the course are not expensive, and ARTistic Pursuits Inc. gives you the option to purchase an entire kit directly from them.
What we enjoyed about ARTistic Pursuits Inc.
Daniel and I both loved using ARTistic Pursuits Inc’s Middle School Book One. Daniel completed the unit on Space, began the unit on line and we looked previewed all the other lessons. The unit on space taught about using the entire page, and sizing your drawing to fit the space on the page. It challenged Daniel in planning out his drawings for the space and to fill the entire space on his paper. Daniel is excited to move on to the next units. He will be learning more about concepts like line, shape, form, texture, symmetry, and proportion.
The lessons in this curriculum are thorough and provided variety in practice. The book provided examples of art in history, that connected to the topics of the unit. It also had art history and appreciate readings for students in each unit. Daniel loved learning about art history at the same time as he was learning about the techniques used. Daniel also enjoyed how the lessons had him practice drawings with quick rough sketches, and then work up to completed projects. He also enjoyed that some assignments gave him a specific topic, while others gave him the freedom to draw what he things he was interested in. Daniel’s favorite thing to draw is his dog!
Recently ARTistic Pursuits Inc. has added video drawing lessons to their blog to encourage learning and creativity throughout the summer. I know we will continue to enjoy these lessons over these summer months!
Artistic Pursuits, Inc. was just what we were looking for!
I am thrilled that we found Artistic Pursuits, Inc. and can definitely say that it will be a regular part of our homeschool curriculum. If you are looking for a easy to use, full art curriculum to use with your middle school child, I can definitely recommend checking out ARTistic Pursuits Middle School 6-8 Book One The elements of Art and Composition. I look forward to trying Book two of their Art curriculum next year. With the attention to detail I saw in their middle school curriculum, I have no doubt that their preschool, elementary, and high school curriculum would also be excellent.
Do you want to hear more about each of these different courses available from ARTistic Pursuits, Inc? Be sure to click below and read other reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.
