As a member of the TOS Crew, I have had the opportunity to review An Introduction to the Visual Arts, the Grades K-3 Book One from Artistic Pursuits. This, in my opinion, is a quality art curriculum for the lower elementary grades. It's made up of 32 lessons, which we are pacing at one a week. So, we basically have a year-long art curriculum when taken at that pace. An Introduction to the Visual Arts is broken into three sections, What Artists Do, What Artists See, and Where We Find Art. Each section provides insight into the mindset and habits of an artist without squelching the child's natural skills or interest. There are numerous examples of the masters' works throughout the book, as well as those of other kids. I like that because I want the kids to have high goals and be exposed to those works which were the result of years of hard work, but I also want to stress that what they do now is art and worthy of being proud of, too.
Each lesson encourages the students to really open their eyes and other senses to elements of art around them. For example, in lesson 1, they are encouraged to take a walk, just observing the detail all around. When I did this with my kids, I was amazed how much more they then included in their art. And the lessons really do teach good art practices, as well, such as how to properly use the supplies called for in the lessons.
Probably my favorite thing about this course is the variety of art supplies the students get to use. I comparison shopped and was able to get everything we needed for just over $30 online. As we go through this course, my kids will get to work with sketch pencils, oil pastels, soft pastels, watercolor crayons, and clay, as well as a variety of papers and surfaces.
Each lesson takes about 10 minutes to present, and you would want to allow up to an hour for the students to create. I like that I can use this same book for all 3 of my kids, ranging in age from pre-k to second grade. What we do is focus on the same lesson for a week, but each day I add a little twist to it to keep it fresh for them.
I really encourage you to head over to the Artistic Pursuits website to check out the sample pages for this book here. The cost for this book is $42.95, and I think this one is worth it. This is way more than what I have seen in elementary art books in terms of really teaching techniques and how to use elements of arts. It really provides a framework in which they can practice correct methods of using media, discover the elements of art all around, and practice expressing their own imaginations and emotions through art. I know I am learning right along with the kids in our house!
Artistic Pursuits offers several other products you may want to check out, as well. Their home page is http://www.artisticpursuits.com/index.html. From there, you can see what else they offer.
No comments:
Post a Comment