Artistic Pursuits--tell me what you think

[lindsrae]

I'm especially interested in the guide for younger grades, but would like to hear feedback from users at all stages. Do you have the new edition which incorporates artist study? Do you think the curriculum does a good job of helping kids actually produce art (not just a "how to draw Mickey Mouse" kind of book).

[HollyDay]

Funny you should ask.....We did AP today! I love it. We have the Intermediate and the Jr. High books. It does incorporate artist studies. It is not heavy on art appreciation. For us, it is a good amount. The artist is discussed and his/her work is also used as an illustration of whatever technique is being taught. Today's lesson was on balance. Student works are included as well.

 

The supplies are not difficult to find. I purchased all of ours at a local Hobby Lobby. I would think you would need more than a WalMart for supplies, but at Michael's would do fine.

 

The lessons are easy to teach (I'm certainly not artist) and do not frustrate the dc. I think you can see samples online. If you call the company, they will answer any questions. I've found them to be very helpful.

[Dana]

I've got the current editions, Book 1 & 2 of K-3. We're moving much slower than I'd like - only on Lesson 12 (of 32, I think) in Book 1.

 

I'm liking the books. It's very open and go. Most of the lessons have a picture of an artwork (famous) and some information about it, then art for the child to do. Book 2 has 2 lessons each on an artist - one biography page, then one artwork. Each lesson has a project for the kids to do.

 

I've been very happy with Artistic Pursuits.

[lindsrae]

I've read other reviews on line that were very glowing, and I just wanted to make sure all of the hype was true. I think I looked at the program last year at our local homeschool convention, but I looked at SO many things... :) My daughter will be 5 in July, so we plan on started K'er in earnest this fall. Thanks for your input!

[diaperjoys]

I'm going to be the stick-in-the-mud here. We bought Artistic Pursuits with high hopes last year...and it is not currently working for us. For us there isn't enough how in the program. We look at a picture together, and that is fine. But then, the instructions go something like..."and now make up something of your own to draw, and use the techniques illustrated by the picture we just looked at". My son can't make that jump - he doesn't know how to draw, and has no idea how to use a pencil to achieve anything like the the picture we studied. This program frustrates him to tears, which isn't a problem I see with any other curriculum we use. We've shelved it for now and we use Mark Kistler's online drawing lessons, which he loves - Mark shows him how to draw, and he thinks it is great fun.

 

I really like the program...but I think it is best used after kids have had some other instruction so they have an idea where to start.

[mom2boys030507]

When we have used it, it works okay. I have seen much more joy and since we have used Draw Write Now quite abit. The first few lessons my son also had a hard time making the jump from "Here is the technique now create" For us Draw Write Now gave my son enough of the how to draw so he can make that leap.

 

The best lesson that we have done was the landscape lesson, however I modified it so they were drawing on the road with chalk. My boys thought it was great that they were drawing on the road and were going to be able to leave their art work for Grandma and Grandpa to see.

[at the beach]

I'm going to be the stick-in-the-mud here. We bought Artistic Pursuits with high hopes last year...and it is not currently working for us. For us there isn't enough how in the program. We look at a picture together, and that is fine. But then, the instructions go something like..."and now make up something of your own to draw, and use the techniques illustrated by the picture we just looked at". My son can't make that jump - he doesn't know how to draw, and has no idea how to use a pencil to achieve anything like the the picture we studied. This program frustrates him to tears, which isn't a problem I see with any other curriculum we use. We've shelved it for now and we use Mark Kistler's online drawing lessons, which he loves - Mark shows him how to draw, and he thinks it is great fun.

 

I really like the program...but I think it is best used after kids have had some other instruction so they have an idea where to start.

:iagree:

[Classically Minded]

We have been using it and enjoy it! :D

[Angel]

I have been using the K-3 Book 1 for two years now in a co-op setting. I'm guessing it's an old edition since I've had it for a couple of years. Last year the kids were 6,7,8 and this year 7 and 9.

 

I love this book! I am in no way an art teacher, just fyi, but this book has given me an appreciation for art in a new way. I like that it doesn't "teach" you to draw "this" or "that" specifically. I very much encourage the kids in their imagination. Here is my experience...

 

Last year, we began with lesson 1. The youngest in the group said she wanted to draw her own thing. I gently encouraged her to do what the book said. The boy, well they don't always like to draw, and he was hesitant at first too. It took a few weeks of co-ops and then they couldn't wait to see what they were supposed to draw about next. Sure, my youngest girl DID incorporate her kitty whenever she could slip it in, but she did it within the context of the lesson :D I was so proud of their results by the end of the year. We did a little "Art Gallery" and had all of their art work on the wall for the parents to look at. The progression from the beginning to the end was amazing. My book didn't have an artist study, so if it was a famous artist, or one I could find works easily, I spent some of class showing other works from that artist or in the same style of the lesson. We took a week out from the book and studied Van Gogh and I had the kids recreate his "Starry Night" picture. We also took a field trip to the Art Museum.

 

This year, those who took the class last year really get what they are supposed to do with the lessons.

 

I notice that your dd is going to be 5. I didn't have a 5yo, but I did have a 4yo join in sometimes and she did not grasp the lessons. If your dd is artistically inclined, you could give it a shot, if not, I might wait till 6. It might be more fun and less frustrating. It really is a great program, though.

[dee67p]

This is our 3rd year of homeschooling. Art fell by the wayside prior to my finding AP on the Harmony Arts Mom website. If she uses it, I figured I would try. I chose the issue that went along with my HISTORY curriculum, that is the last of SOTW2 and the beginning of SOTW3. Yep, I've done art with these 3 children weekly since August 2009. I enjoy allowing them the time to notebook about an artist and then cut/paste info or paintings of that artist in our own made up notebooks (stored in the history binder). You might find a few of their works on the blog. Art is not falling by the wayside this year. It uses supplies found in common stores and often displayed for a week at a time on the art wall, but then I try to scan the "work" and say good bye to it afterward. There is a record of the work, but I don't have to store it for the next 20 years. And it reinforces history.

[robsiew]

We have used AP for a little while. We dropped art altogether this year, but I realized just this last month that we need to get back to it. I like the curriculum fine and the kids respond well to it. I don't have high expectations of them, though. I'm no art teacher and I'm sure someone else who loves art could get a lot more out of my kids than I can... but, they enjoy seeing the work of art and then creating something of their own with the different mediums. I don't think it teaches technique well. I do like it because it can reach across the ages easily so I don't have to teach different art. It's definitely better than what I was using!

[MelanieM]

I really like the art appreciation in AP, but I agree with others that it doesn't teach technique really well. Like diaperjoys' son, my daughter has been brought to tears of frustration trying to copy a technique that is simply beyond her skillset. (She's a bit of a perfectionist and can get overwhelmed by this type of thing.)

 

Overall, we prefer Discovering Great Artists for actual project ideas, and there's some artist biography information in there as well. I also second the suggestion for the Draw Write Now books. My daughter has had a lot of fun with that series and other similar how to draw books. We've found this approach to be very rewarding as far as producing art goes.

 

We're also considering Drawing with Children as it gets great reviews, and Mama and Daddy really want to learn to draw too!

[kalanamak]

My son can't make that jump - he doesn't know how to draw, and has no idea how to use a pencil to achieve anything like the the picture we studied. .

 

I have a son like that and what I've done to work around it is to go over the lesson and in the next day or so, arrange that he comes in from play to the supplies set up, and then I leave him alone. It took the spotlight off him.

 

At this point, I'm mostly trying to get him to enjoy doing art. When he is a bit older, I will probably get a video instruction series or classes. For me, as a glaring non-artist, I wouldn't rely on the program heavily when a child is older. But, my goal, as far as art is concerned, since we are not "naturals", is to appreciate art, know some history and recognize some famous school of it, and the DRAW a decent map, sketch, etc. that communicates something, like how an opened seed pod looks. That is my goal, and anything above it gravy.

[dee67p]

Isn't it the goal that the kids are not afraid to create? Maybe I'm justifying my absence of art here, but until they were in 2 &3rd grades, my kids just sketched the best they could nature or their pets they loved the most. But when we can read a 5 minute piece about Durer each day that I've found online and tie it to the Renaissance history from earlier in the day, that's a win! I'm a science teacher. I tried Draw with Children and will try it again next year, but for today, Artistic Pursuits is working just fine. We actually try to read something about Durer every day this week and then on Friday, when there is more time, the 3Gs go at the task, this week, of making a wood print with wax paper, paint and paper. Maybe we'll try a second attempt when the first doesn't work out just right, b/c I do have perfectionist who get very frustrated, but in doing so, we've learned about the technique AND about ourselves.