Stellalarella Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Have you used ARTistic Pursuits as your art curriculum? After reading about it in the nifty "little" Rainbow Resource catalog :001_smile:, I was definitely intrigued. We like art around here. Let me know your experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle My Bell Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I have the K-3 program, the 4-6 program and the high school program. It has been a hit around here. I purchased all my art supplies up front and keep them divided up by book. I store them in a tote. It is so easy to grab and go. Art gets done and the children enjoy it a lot. I also appreciate how it covers art history, picture study and technique. Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsiew Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Have you used ARTistic Pursuits as your art curriculum?After reading about it in the nifty "little" Rainbow Resource catalog :001_smile:, I was definitely intrigued. We like art around here. Let me know your experience. I am not artsy and neither are most of my kids... one won't even tolerate **anything** project or art related! That said, we use Artistic Pursuits and I really like it, as do the kids. The projects use varied medium that I wouldn't even know existed, thus would have no idea to use. I love the little bit of art history in it and a bit of learning about the art work. The projects are quite open ended, which for me is a plus. I don't feel like I need to be able to create a "perfect example" and my kids don't feel like they have to create a perfect copy. I have heard some people who don't like this aspect though because it doesn't teach exactly how to do something. I'm not excellent at getting art in, but hope to improve this next year. We are about 3/4 of the way through the first K-3 book and will start the 2nd one sometime this next year. I did look at some other art programs, but for us, this one really fits the best. Someone who wants more direct instruction may not like this the best though. However, I'd argue that young children need to feel free to explore... and this curriculum does a good job of letting them do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mrsjamiesouth Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I am not artistically inclined at all! Neither is ds9, but ds5 loves to draw. We bought K-3 book 1 and really enjoyed it. We didn't finish it last year so we are going to do it next year too. I didn't see any reason why an older child couldn't do the K-3 book, especially one who does not draw well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 We started the first book for 4-6 this year and we love it. I am not artistic but my dds are - I have had no problems so far. They ask to do it more often than I have scheduled (which is 2x week) so we will probably finish early. We all look forward to the lessons and I really like how they have included some art history. ETA: A big bonus is the supplies needed are much less expensive than what I saw for other programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mrsjamiesouth Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 That's a good point, you can get the supplies even cheaper by looking at Hobby Lobby and Michaels. I got everyone between the two stores for less than $30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieD Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 We're doing the first K-3 book. I'm not artsy, so I really like the planned projects because I can't think of things like that myself. The kids really like it. We do art class last thing Monday afternoon. The kids are usually eager to get going Monday morning so they can get to art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted June 20, 2010 Author Share Posted June 20, 2010 How far up the kid ladder can I stretch this curriculum? I will be schooling a K, 2, 4th, and 6th (with two toddlers running about.) The 4th grader, in particular, has strong drawing abilities. RR catalog reviewer says that the 4th grade kids can stretch to the 7th grade books. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I love Artistic Pursuits. It isn't a cookie cutter thing that makes your child copy other pieces of art, or copy an adult. It really brings out the creativity. Also, I love the parent notes in front of each lesson (at least for the PreK one), it has really changed my perspective on art. I look forward to using more of this program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Jessica* Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I've also been trying to decide whether or not to use this program, and I have a related question or two. I hope the OP doesn't mind! Do we have to start with book one, or can we start anywhere we please? Has anyone using this used Discovering Great Artists? We already have DGA and I don't want to buy a curriculum that is going to mostly replicate what we are already using. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairytalemama Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I might be alone on this one, but I decided not to buy Artistic Pursuits after seeing it at a homeschooling curricula fair. I thought it was a little pricey for what you got so I passed (and trust me--- I was ready to buy it. I had my money in hand). Since then, another woman in my homeschooling group showed me this book --- http://www.amazon.com/Making-Amazing-Art-Activities-Williamson/dp/082496795X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277037725&sr=8-1 I thought the projects and the instruction were superior to Artistic Pursuits and at a quarter of the price. This book is next up on my buy list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pageta Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 We love artistic pursuits. I am not an artsy person and the books have been well worth every penny I have spent on them. Neither my husband nor I enjoyed art in school, but my boys love it. You don't have to start at the beginning - you can pick up with any book you want. The books go through the various media and are grouped at various levels. So you could do the grades 4-6 books in reverse order if you wanted and be just fine. Just start somewhere in the appropriate group of books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I might be alone on this one, but I decided not to buy Artistic Pursuits after seeing it at a homeschooling curricula fair. I thought it was a little pricey for what you got so I passed (and trust me--- I was ready to buy it. I had my money in hand). Since then, another woman in my homeschooling group showed me this book --- http://www.amazon.com/Making-Amazing-Art-Activities-Williamson/dp/082496795X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277037725&sr=8-1 I thought the projects and the instruction were superior to Artistic Pursuits and at a quarter of the price. This book is next up on my buy list. I read reviews on art books here for quite a while and got a few different books. I still didn't do any art until I got Artistic Pursuits. I'm still not doing it enough, but it makes a huge difference to me. So if you've got a bunch of art books already and aren't using them, you may find Artistic Pursuits helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Jessica* Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 You don't have to start at the beginning - you can pick up with any book you want. The books go through the various media and are grouped at various levels. So you could do the grades 4-6 books in reverse order if you wanted and be just fine. Just start somewhere in the appropriate group of books. Thank you! I hope someone has used both Discovering Great Artists and Artistic Pursuits and will chime in. I think Artistic Pursuits looks wonderful, but agree that it seems a bit expensive! It seems to have more info and activites, but I don't want a book that is going to replicate what we're already doing with DGA with only a little added. Does that make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krisperry Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I have DGA and just bought Artistic Pursuits (first jr. high book). At a glance, there is one glaring difference. Artistic Pursuits includes copies of art pictures. There are actually studies of those pictures and some true art history to go along with it. DGA doesn't have that. I'll be able to give a more thorough review in a few months once I've used Artistic Pursuits rather than just glance through it ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted June 20, 2010 Author Share Posted June 20, 2010 Anybody else have thoughts on ARTistic Pursuits? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kprow5 Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 We looked at buying it for this year. We are doing Story of the World Ancient times and Medieval and I saw a couple of the books deal with those time peiods so I thought we would try them out. They look like fun. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Jessica* Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 I have DGA and just bought Artistic Pursuits (first jr. high book). At a glance, there is one glaring difference. Artistic Pursuits includes copies of art pictures. There are actually studies of those pictures and some true art history to go along with it. DGA doesn't have that. I'll be able to give a more thorough review in a few months once I've used Artistic Pursuits rather than just glance through it ;) Thank you, this is very helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee67p Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 (edited) This book was expensive, but art got done all year. The children recognize the various artists' works when we see them in books and at the museum. 3rd year of h-sing and this is the first year that art got done. It also went along with the SOTW3 and that helped. The Ambleside Online art print group at Yahoo didn't hurt either. Barb at Harmony Art Mom got me started on the materials and it was worth the money. I'm looking forward to K-3 book 3 for this fall with my 3rd and 4th graders. See the "art" tagged entries on our blog listed below. See if any of the work looked doable for your kids. I'll continue to use Artistic Pursuits because it fits into our schedule for 5-10 minutes each day and project on Friday. The kids like it. I'm a junior high science teacher by training. Art wasn't my first choice to teach my own kids when I brought them home from the classroom. Edited June 21, 2010 by dee67p spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted June 21, 2010 Author Share Posted June 21, 2010 One of the other things I am trying to figure out is which one book to get or if I should get more than one level. I will be schooling k,2,4,6th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee67p Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 I chose k-3bk2 b/c we were finishing SOTW2 and slamming through SOTW3. With k-3bk3, I'll do SOTW4 with the kids. Impressionists are a big deal in that period. Take a look at the list of artists that are covered and then decide how they correlate to your other subjects. Continuity may play in your favor with the kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted June 21, 2010 Author Share Posted June 21, 2010 I chose k-3bk2 b/c we were finishing SOTW2 and slamming through SOTW3. With k-3bk3, I'll do SOTW4 with the kids. Impressionists are a big deal in that period. Take a look at the list of artists that are covered and then decide how they correlate to your other subjects. Continuity may play in your favor with the kids. Good question. I am doing SOTW 2 with the little kids and the 6th grader will be studying the same time period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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