Can you recommend an art curriculum?

I want to add in an art curriculum for my son next year. I would like to use a something that gives directions on how to do the projects.

I have looked at a few of the video art curriculum’s and they seem really expensive and they don’t have a lot of projects in them.

I already have Draw Write Now but I am looking for something that is not just drawing.

I was hoping to find something that is actual art projects: glue, paint, structures, etc.

Any suggestions?

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I have been looking for something like this as well - so I can’t wait to hear what others have to say! I know that on another thread someone recommended this awesome website called Deep Space Sparkle: http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/blog/
Where she basically posts every couple of days about an art project. She also has free lessons and free downloads, plus some that you can buy. But I have been using it for a couple of weeks now and I love it! She does lots of painting, gluing, and all sorts of things! It is pretty neat - I think you might enjoy it! :slight_smile:

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Artistic Pursuits is fabulous! We love it! :slight_smile: We don’t buy the supply kits–we have just bought the supplies at Walmart and have only needed a few so far (we’re still in the first book) and everything has been really reasonable so far (a few dollars per supply). Highly recommend this! So far we’ve been doing painting, etc. But today’s lesson is a 3-d structure. End lessons in this book are sculptures, etc. I would highly recommend you check out their Web site.

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You could go in so many directions! Sharon Jeffus is a wonderful art teacher. She has online videos, books and dvd’s (through Rainbow Resources), for all different ages. If you like a variety of projects, I have to say that Kiwi Crate has been fantastic for us over the past year and half. Every single thing you need comes in the box (no scrambling for supplies!), plus extra activities and further suggested reading and topic info. It comes once a month and integrates nicely with other subjects if you want. Other than that, I’m not sure. I was a fine art major in school, so I tend to teach what I know. I have to share this though: free printables on the Elements of Art! Offered at awesomeartists.com, designed by M.C. Gillis. You can print individual elements as you study them, or you can print them as a whole “book”. I just downloaded all of them and filed them in our Art Appreciation Book. Fantastic info and fun, concise visual examples for young one’s to understand all the elements of art and color and design! For free! I love how generous some people are, and feel so fortunate when I find them. These printables provide a wonderful jumping off point for plain 'ol creativity!

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Here is a link to a post Erica did last year on art curriculums that may be of some help:

I can’t actually recommend an art program - I’ll be keeping an eye on this post to see other responses. We use the K and Grade 1 Home Art Studio DVDs. Honestly, I expected more from these. My kids DO love them (they love art, and they think it’s neat to do it while watching a DVD). It is cheaper than an art class, so that’s a bonus. However, most of the projects aren’t very exciting to me. That’s not to say that my kids haven’t done some cool stuff, but the program just isn’t as great as I had hoped. It’s not as “professionally” made as I would have thought - sometimes the artist seems to be at a loss for words. Sometimes it feels like she’s in a basement art studio (nothing wrong with this!) video taping it herself. I doubt this is true (and it doesn’t truly matter) - it’s just not what I expected. I’m not sure we’ll continue with it next year.

I have heard good things about the deepspacesparkle website, and it looks neat, but I chose the Home Art Studio because I figured I’d be less likely to forget with a disk staring me in the face, as opposed to logging onto the computer.

I just bought the home art studios dvds for my kids. We haven’t started them yet but I have reviewed them. I like them so far. But I think it depends on what type of curriculum your looking for. I wasnt really looking for a rigorous program just something to help bring out their creativity. I would agree that the teacher does lose her train of thought sometimes but I am not looking for perfection especially since the dvds are cheap.

Oh and she does explain how to do the project step by step

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I am not sure how old your son is (so my suggestions may not be age-appropriate for you!), but I have found some interesting art project books that are technically not a curriculum, but you could make one or two projects a week?

  • Art Lab for Kids by Susan Schwake
  • The Artful Parent by Jean Van’t Hul
  • The Artful Year by Jean Van’t Hul