Penelope Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I'm ignorant about architecture and wonder if there are any upper elementary or middle school resources the children and I could learn from. I'm talking about discussion of architectural styles, maybe going along with historical periods, maybe an integrated study of the two. Not so much the construction/drafting/young architect types of books. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amie Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 :bigear: This sounds like something I would really enjoy! (Brings back memories of being a little girl at my Granny's house and trying to read a huge, old, dusty book about the history of architecture. Wonder what ever happened to that old book...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poke Salad Annie Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 (edited) I don't think this is what you're looking for, as it may not fit the ages you've described. It is kind of a neat introduction to architecture, and it's free for the printing. It is a coloring book, but has a description for each page. You can find it here. It is the Architecture Alphabet, courtesy of Louisiana Main Street. Editing... You could start by printing the coloring pages, then take a camera and see how many things you can find locally. Print the photos, then look them up in a resource book. Edited September 24, 2011 by Poke Salad Annie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Calvert has "A Child's History of Architecture". I believe it's scheduled in their 7th grade curriculum, but you can buy it individually (or as part of the complete "Child's History of Art" -- Painting, Sculpture, Architecture -- program). There's a narrative text (think SOTW-style), a book of postcard-sized illustrations (photos, drawings, etc), and a lesson book (with some very, very simple lesson plans and additional activities). I think it's a good late-elementary program. Another good option is The Annotated Arch (same author as The Annotated Mona Lisa). It's less narrative and more textbook-ish, but also very good, and the integrated text and illustrations (as opposed to separate texts) is much more usable. I prefer to work through A Child's History of Art and then do Annotated (Mona Lisa and Arch). These are both good resources for the age group. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poke Salad Annie Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Calvert has "A Child's History of Architecture". I believe it's scheduled in their 7th grade curriculum, but you can buy it individually (or as part of the complete "Child's History of Art" -- Painting, Sculpture, Architecture -- program). I have two books which are part of the Young People's Story of our Heritage series. They are Architecture--3,000 B.C. - Gothic Period, and Gothic - Modern. They are rewrites of the above books by V. M. Hillyer and E. G. Huey. You can find them inexpensively on the used market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted September 24, 2011 Author Share Posted September 24, 2011 Thank you both! :) I've never used anything from Calvert. It sounds like their course might be easy to schedule and accomplish. I should probably do the whole History of Art series. We've been doing CM style picture studies of a few artists per year, but I think something more systematic would also be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amie Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I don't think this is what you're looking for, as it may not fit the ages you've described. It is kind of a neat introduction to architecture, and it's free for the printing. It is a coloring book, but has a description for each page. You can find it here. It is the Architecture Alphabet, courtesy of Louisiana Main Street. Editing... You could start by printing the coloring pages, then take a camera and see how many things you can find locally. Print the photos, then look them up in a resource book. Thanks for sharing! I'm saving this one for us to try soon (my kids are younger). And I love your idea of looking for the architectural elements locally (I love to go sight seeing in historic neighborhoods). I'm off to check out the books suggested. Thanks for the thread, Penelope! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osaubi Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Steve Caney's Ultimate Building Book is a good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Someone recently recommended The Annotated Arch on the Logic board. It's a history of architecture. We have it out of the library and it looks very nice - may have to buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoVanGogh Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I plan out an engineer/design unit study every year for my DS. This year we are studying architecture. My favorite resource so far: Hillyer's Child's History of Art/Architecture. It has been awesome! I bought the set (reading book, postcard/art book, lesson plans) from Christian Book Dist. It may be listed for seventh grade, but I think an interested child can use/appreciate the book at a much younger age. (For more info: search this forum by this book's title, as I have posted info on the program recently.) I planned on basing our study around "Architecture is Elementary" by Winters. DS liked the book so much, I finally caved and let him run off with it to read on his own. I am also using and/or reading: Draw 50 Buildings and Other Structures by Ames Frank Lloyd Wright for Kids by Thorne-Thomsen 13 Buildings Every Child Should Know by Roeder (Another book DS ran off with) David MacAulay has some wonderful books and videos. Our horribly small library had an amazing number of resources. I simply searched their catalog under 'architecture' and came up with a number of books, such as "There goes the neighborhood: 10 buildings people loved to hate" by Rubin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Just to let you know, I once contacted an Architect whose info I found online when looking for one in my area, and emailed him, and asked if he'd be willing to talk to our homeschool group about his job, what he does, what architecture is and so on, and he was happy to do it. He talked about his job, he had the kids build with legos and blocks, he showed them blueprints and his computer software and so on. I don't know whether he would also have known much about the history of architecture, but it may be worth a shot seeing if someone will let you visit them and talk about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 What are the David Macaulay books on architecture like? Building the pyramids, building a Roman town, building a Cathedral, etc. I have been curious about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 What are the David Macaulay books on architecture like? Building the pyramids, building a Roman town, building a Cathedral, etc. I have been curious about them. They're fabulous. The DVDs are great too. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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