jersey girl Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 for my 8th grade dd. She definitely has some art ability and knowledge. She's been taking art lessons from a lovely woman, but she's very eccentric and unstructured. I'd like her to get more substantial teaching, but I can't do it myself!!! Atelier looks good but it gets pretty pricey by the time you get the supplies and teacher's manual ( necessary?) Can anyone give me any feedback on their experience with this curriculum?? thanks for any help or suggestions of other art appreciation programs, deb :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy in NJ Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Since I'm a fellow Jersey girl I feel obligated to respond. :-) I'm using level 4a over the summer with dss 9 and 11. We've only completed the first 3 lessons, so my experience is pretty thin. The video presentation is professionally done, the lessons well explained. The teachers manual helps in that it is really specific regarding goals and evaluation. I don't think it's absolutely necessary, though. I wouldn't buy the art supply kit. At the beginning of each lesson the teacher shows briefly all the supplies needed for that lesson. You could easily preview the lessons and make sure you already have the supplies on hand or make a shopping list. The kits were a bit pricey. I think I could of easily got the materials alot cheaper at Michael's. I'd also just get one section of one level to see if you and dd really like it before buying a whole level. I'd say skip the supplies kits, get the video and for the first section get the TM. See if YOU really need it. HTH, Stacy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy in NJ Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Just wanted to add since you're located in NJ, there are alot of really great art associations that offer very good quality classes for kids and teens. In my area the Somerset Art Association (Bedminister) is one. Another is The Markeim Art Center in Haddonfield. Sometimes these classes are quite inexpensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jersey girl Posted June 23, 2008 Author Share Posted June 23, 2008 thanks so much Stacey....that helps, ALOT! I was leaning toward getting the supplies together myself, so just knowing that is do-able with this program is great. I'm definitely going to give it a try. One more question- I was hoping to find something that had some art history/appreciation in it. The website gives the impression that this does, but it's not specific at all. Can you give me some idea of what/how much is included?? thanks again! deb :-) btw--thanks for the art class info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy in NJ Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 One more question- I was hoping to find something that had some art history/appreciation in it. The website gives the impression that this does, but it's not specific at all. Can you give me some idea of what/how much is included??thanks again! deb :-) btw--thanks for the art class info! Yes, the program is called The Great Art Appreciation Program. It was included at the back of our TM, but I believe I purchased it as a separate component. It includes program goals, background for the program, and a brief description of "What is Art Criticism?" This is about 4 pages of info. The content of the program is a page (front and back) of 10 seperate art pieces. The front include a small photo reproduction, a paragraph about the artist, then a discussion of the work. The back includes discussion questions, about 10, then some suggested extention activities. A seperate envelope contains the 8"x10" art prints. I can't really comment on the quality of it, as I haven't really used it. I took art history/appreciation as a freshman undergraduate and this looks to me to be a good middle school/introductory course. If you wanted to count it for high school credit I think it would need to be "beefed up" at bit. Although, combining it with a Sister Wendy program would probably do the trick. HTH, Stacy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jersey girl Posted June 23, 2008 Author Share Posted June 23, 2008 thank you again Stacy! deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Theophan Academy Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 We are using it this summer (I was just watching one of the DVD's a few minutes ago :) ). We are really loving it, and I agree, skip the supply kit. It is easy to gather most of the supplies for very little - and you probably have some of it. As for the manual - do you mean the parent manual? There is only one of those. As for the other manual, I did not realize you could just buy the DVD without the lesson manual? If you can do that, you really could save money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jersey girl Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 everytime I get on the website I get confused. They don't present it very well!! I am going to use it, I"m just trying to decide how. I'm wondering Stacy if what you called the Great Art Appreciation program are the art packs?? It looks from the pictures like what you described. Are there 2 manuals?? Only one is listed seperately on the website, the one that you use for all levels. I wish they showed a sample or said more specifically what was in it so I knew if I needed it. I would love to just get everything but it adds up so fast!! I guess the other comes with the module?? thanks guys for taking the time to help me with this....ugh! deb :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Theophan Academy Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 okay - the parent manual is a one time purchase. It contains basic info about the program - I accidently ended up with 2 of them, so I could mail you my extra one (no charge) if you want. It contains an overview of the whole program (scope and sequence), what lessons each level contains, a master supply list (detailing for each level the exact # of pages of each paper size etc for each student) and a series of art terms and their definitions. PM me and I will be happy to mail it to you. As for the other manuals, they come with the DVDs, and they give detailed info about each lesson. The module price includes both the manual and the DVD. In each level, there are several lessons which focus on art appreciation. Example, in level 5 module c you will study a work by Raoul Dufy, and create your own piece in that style. If you did not want to purchase the art packs, you could print the work of art off the internet easily I imagine. The art print packs are separate, they include the prints you will focus on in the regular lessons, but also give several pages on how to study a piece of art, ways to ask questions and guide students in "art criticism" and then gives a full page with bio of each artist, info about the particular piece,a series of discussion questions, and a few extension activity ideas. You can do the program without this part, but it is a nice addition. Also, the art prints are used for 2 levels, so if you plan to do more than one level, you would only purchase 1 set of prints. For example, Modules 4 and 5 both use art print set 2 (I think that is the right number off the top of my head?) Hope that was not too confusing :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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