in search of an art curriculum

since we had to stop maeven’s art classes (due to not being able to afford a fee increase), i’ve been concerned about continuing to provide her with art experiences, and art education. so tonite i got to googling and found a couple homeschool art curriculum possibilities. one that i’m getting more and more excited about as i explore their website.

what i’m looking for is some art history…studying specific artists and art throughout history and such…and also art experiences where she will get to create her own original works of art (vs coloring or otherwise filling in someone else’s drawings)….in a variety of mediums (painting, drawing, sculpting, etc…)

so here’s the curriculum i’m excited about.

i read through the example pages of the K-3 guides and REALLY liked what i saw!

then i read the “how we teach” page. and i found this:

“What you WILL NOT find in Artistic Pursuits: 

•  NO Exercises that have no relationship to anything in the real world, such as drawing a page of straight lines, circles, cones, and cubes. The development of eye/hand coordination happens just as easily when children are drawing objects that they like and enjoy drawing.
• NO Step-by-step copy exercises typical of How-to-Draw books. This teaches students to copy shapes on a flat page, but does nothing to help them draw  real objects which they find in their own world- a practice used by all artists and one they will need to develop in order to mature as an artist.
  
• NO Tiny boxes in which students are asked to sketch into. Artists don’t work in 2″ x 2″ squares and we won’t ask your students to do so, but will have them work on a normal size sketch book so that they practice the type of whole hand and whole arm motion needed to make art. (Handwriting requires the use of the small muscles of the fingers. Art most often requires the use of the larger muscles of the hand, moving at the wrist, and arm, moving at the shoulder, and  uses small muscle groups less often, therefore large sheets of paper are needed, 9″x12″ or 11″ x 14″.)
• NO Kids sitting in front of the TV or computer screen. One mom writes, “My son took his Artistic Pursuits book and art tools out to the pasture. He’s been sitting there with his dog for quite a long time, drawing something in the distance. I couldn’t be happier!” The stillness of a natural setting revives our spirits. To be in nature helps us to become keen observers of our surroundings and active in our participation. Whether in a busy park, a hotel balcony, or in a field, children benefit from their time spent observing, and learn to “focus in” and “ponder” rather than “tuning out” to harsh sounds and fast paced visuals that TV and computer programs present them with.

that’s pretty much right on what i wanted! awesome!!

on that same page i really like what they said here:

“While learning the skills of drawing or painting they work with composition, choosing their own scenes and subject matter.  Creating truly personal work gives students a sense of accomplishment that cannot be attained by copying from a book or watching an adult do it for them. “

i think we may have a winner here. now i just have to find the moolah to buy the first book. its only $42, but that’s not something i have right now so we’ll have to wait til adam gets paid for some of the recent jobs he’s done. sigh i hate waiting.