EmilyGF Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 The HSBC deal on Home Art Studio got me thinking about art projects and doing them consistently... If you've used either or both of these, which do you prefer? We generally don't watch much (any) TV, so our screen would only be 8", which is non-ideal. However, it is a real treat to watch TV for my kids! I'm pretty non-artistic but of course my kids love doing projects. Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I've done both. They are a bit different . Artistic Pursuits is more Art Study. Meaning there an amazing piece of work, you look at it with child, have a conversation about it, point out features (instructions in the book), and then do a art project in that same type of theme/art motif. I did not like AP. I didn't feel like it gave enough instructions in HOW to do the projects. That's key for a non-artsy mom, and a perfectionist child. The art you look at for study/examples are masterpieces, thus very hard to do anything similar/replicate, and quite honestly not all that appealing to young children. HAS has a much different vibe. First, a real teacher who is sweet and vibrant. Then it's not so much Art Study. She does show and discuss other artists work and methods, but she seems to have picked projects that are appealing to children visually. For example, Georgia O'Keefe and large flower prints. She also gives step by step instructions in how to do each project. We watch the whole lesson, then Go back to each step and pause it while we are on that step. So while its not a completely free-realm, do whatever comes to you type of art class, it gives enough instructions to create a project to be proud of, with enough choices to make it an individual piece. Foe example, the lesson we did this week, the teacher read a story about a king and watermelons. Then the project is to draw and paint watermelons, using a layering effect, so some pieces of a watermelon can not be seen due to other pieces in front of it. So they learned about layering. Both boys will have a work with watermelons, but how they chose to place the watermelons, how many seeds, the size, etc, what color they do the background, brings in the individual part. I've used a few different art curriculums, signed up for various art classes, and this HAS is hands down one of the easiest to implement, that gives clear instruction and produces good projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 We LOVE Home Art Studio, but I haven't tried Artistic Pursuits. I ditto everything that Samiam said above about it. I add in art appreciation on my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I haven't used HAS, but I do use ArtPur. My kids like it. I do agree that it seems thin to me. Not enough focus on elements or technique and too redundant with the use of the same media. A bit expensive for what it is too IMHO.I also use DWC and HFA. I want to do something else next year if I can persuade my kids to drop ArtPur. I don't try to have my kids replicate the art introduced in ArtPur by the way. We just talk about that style----portrait, still life etc. I'm annoyed at how tiny the art pictures are. There's definitely room on the white spaces of the page for ArtPur to make them bigger and easier to see. ArtPur is easy to do. I just take it out on Fridays and we do the next lesson. I like what we're doing in art this year, but honestly ArtPur is not the reason why. HFA has made art fun for us. ArtPur is just an interesting addition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess4879 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 We are switching from AP to HAS. This is our second year using the K-3 AP book and we are all tired of it and unispired. I agree entirely with what Samiam said in regards to both programs. We haven't received our HAS Dvd's yet (sadness) so I can't comment on my personal experience with them. After viewing the samples, I am so exctied to get started though. Since I have the K-3 AP book, and we haven't finished all the projects, we *may* look through at the other paintings, but if we have to do one more project with watercolors or pastels, I will scream. Seriously, this is a quick breakdown: Lesson 4 & 5 - watercolor, Lesson 6 - oil pastels, Lesson 7-9 - watercolor, lesson 10- pastels, Lesson 11-12 - mixes it up and uses construction paper and scissors but you're back to watercolors by lesson 14. To be fair, there are also a couple clay projects. Apparently Book Two in the K-3 series is the same. I'm glad I didn't order it and find out. They are pricey books too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 If you have 2 kids doing HAS, do you pick a level for both of them to do together or have them each watch a separate video for their grade? If you go with one level for both, how do you decide which to do- the level of the oldest, youngest, or one in between? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeghanL Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I felt the same way about AP...but then I saw their 4th grade book. If you look over it long term it focuses on a more creative approach in the early years and then technique in the middle grades. They might have had an experience or two with home educators and decided we would expect our kids to draw exactly like they suggested regardless of fine motor skill development so went the creative way instead of giving us all complexes on how adept our kids were at technique. :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 If you have 2 kids doing HAS, do you pick a level for both of them to do together or have them each watch a separate video for their grade? If you go with one level for both, how do you decide which to do- the level of the oldest, youngest, or one in between? Both of my school age kids (Kindy and 3rd) are doing the first grade level. To be honest, it is a great fit for each of them. The videos do not have a classroom of children, so there is no one to "compare". Of course my 3rd grader's projects are better, but they both enjoy it and I feel they are learning. Next year, we will probably go back to the Kindergarten level, then jump to 2nd grade the year after that. Honestly, my 3rd grader loves to do any kind of art, so she wouldn't care what we did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 The HSBC deal on Home Art Studio got me thinking about art projects and doing them consistently... If you've used either or both of these, which do you prefer? We generally don't watch much (any) TV, so our screen would only be 8", which is non-ideal. However, it is a real treat to watch TV for my kids! I'm pretty non-artistic but of course my kids love doing projects. Emily I have both. Definitely HAS is the better choice, imho. If you aren't already doing art projects consistently, then I'd venture to bet that you still won't do art projects consistently with Artistic Pursuits.....because you'll have to pull the book out and read it to them. Sounds silly to say that....who doesn't already do that with everything??....but for some reason, art kept getting put off for us with AP because I dreaded having to read all of that. With HAS, you just pop in the dvd (even if it's a tiny screen, that's fine) and get the art supplies for that lesson out. Let Ms. Volin teach the lesson for you. We love HAS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Both of my school age kids (Kindy and 3rd) are doing the first grade level. To be honest, it is a great fit for each of them. The videos do not have a classroom of children, so there is no one to "compare". Of course my 3rd grader's projects are better, but they both enjoy it and I feel they are learning. Next year, we will probably go back to the Kindergarten level, then jump to 2nd grade the year after that. Honestly, my 3rd grader loves to do any kind of art, so she wouldn't care what we did! :iagree: My 3rd grade dd is doing the K dvd and loves it. I feel the same way that there isn't a classroom of kids to make our kids feel like they are too old for it. My dd wanted to start right at the beginning so she wouldn't miss anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tearose Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 For those of you who use HAS, do you do any art history separately? Or do you figure that your kids have plenty of time to be exposed to art hsitory when they're older? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 For those of you who use HAS, do you do any art history separately? Or do you figure that your kids have plenty of time to be exposed to art hsitory when they're older? I think I'm going to add in Picture Study Portfolios next year along with HAS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 We use 2nd grade HAS for a 1st and 4th grade. I would have started at 1st grade level just to begin at the beginning of the art process, as she says in the intro video that the years build upon each, but 1st grade is art based on world geography and cultures, and we just studied all that last year so went with 2nd instead. I saw pics on the site of various ages of children all holding up the same project so I assume they all did the same level regardless of age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Both of my school age kids (Kindy and 3rd) are doing the first grade level. To be honest, it is a great fit for each of them. The videos do not have a classroom of children, so there is no one to "compare". Of course my 3rd grader's projects are better, but they both enjoy it and I feel they are learning. Next year, we will probably go back to the Kindergarten level, then jump to 2nd grade the year after that. Honestly, my 3rd grader loves to do any kind of art, so she wouldn't care what we did! Thanks! It sounds like we could just start at the beginning. Good to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeterbug Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I have AP sitting on my shelf collecting dust. I just never pull it out, it has never seemed interesting enough to go to the trouble to do. I keep thinking I should give it a chance! This year we are planning to use HAS. I bought the K and 1st grade dvds. We are going to do it with friends, and I think we will start with K. My kids are 8, 5, and 3, so I think that it will work for my mix of ages. My oldest will be able to put more detail into it. We haven't done much art, so I think he will just enjoy it even if the projects seem easy. I'm looking forward to just gathering supplies and letting Ms Volin teach! To supplement I'm planning to do World's Greatest Artists Vol 1 from COAH. We also have various art books around, like several of the Come Look With Me series, Usborne Lift-the-Flap Art, and others. I hope to read from these once a week or so. Hoping art will get done around here this year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelmama1209 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I haven't used HAS, but I do use ArtPur. My kids like it. I do agree that it seems thin to me. Not enough focus on elements or technique and too redundant with the use of the same media. A bit expensive for what it is too IMHO.I also use DWC and HFA. I want to do something else next year if I can persuade my kids to drop ArtPur. I don't try to have my kids replicate the art introduced in ArtPur by the way. We just talk about that style----portrait, still life etc. I'm annoyed at how tiny the art pictures are. There's definitely room on the white spaces of the page for ArtPur to make them bigger and easier to see. ArtPur is easy to do. I just take it out on Fridays and we do the next lesson. I like what we're doing in art this year, but honestly ArtPur is not the reason why. HFA has made art fun for us. ArtPur is just an interesting addition. what are dwc and hfa? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 what are dwc and hfa? Drawing with Children and Harmony Fine Arts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted January 25, 2013 Author Share Posted January 25, 2013 Thanks for the review! It sounds great. We definitely want step-by-step instruction and I thought Artistic Pursuits offered that. If it doesn't, HAS is definitely the way to go. Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 AP is okay. My kids like it. But like a pp said it is redundant. I don't want to watercolor again!!! I'd rather have more variety. I may piece together an art program with Usborne books etc next year. Also I don't like how AP "taught" my kids to draw a picture and then to color with watercolor crayons and then paint. I'm trying to unteach them to just paint only to make a better looking watercolor piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeschoolingHearts&Minds Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 My son used AP book 1 for grades 4-6 last year (he was in 6th). Both he and I were unimpressed and he ended up not finishing the book. He found it to be much too light in teaching techniques and too much about "encouraging creativity." He's already a creative, artistic kid. He wanted to learn better drawing technique. I found the art appreciation aspect at that grade level to also be lacking. In retrospect, I wish we'd gone with the junior high or even high school level (the art appreciation of those books seems meatier, anyway), but the samples for those levels still seem very "fluffy" in terms of actual instruction in techniques. I need to look at Home Art Studio for the younger kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hottater Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Love this thread- I have ap- I agree with walking iris about the watercolor crayon use. And almost having to reteach them. I think k-3 does a great job of introducing lots of mediums pencil drawings, watercolor, clay, construction paper, pastels, textured work, etc. I was hoping that ap2 was a tad more technique oriented - especially with the renaissance. Ap is definitely situated for history cycling. But does HAS or DWC or HFA continue with history sequence? I love that ap somewhat follows our 4 year history cycle. There was a big gap between certain eras. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Ap is definitely situated for history cycling. But does HAS or DWC or HFA continue with history sequence? I love that ap somewhat follows our 4 year history cycle. There was a big gap between certain eras. HAS doesn't follow history at all, that's not her intent. It's an art curriculum so no thought of history in there, other than perhaps some history background on a certain artist. Different Grade levels may have "themes". I know the 1st grade level has the theme of "World geography/culture" so you get a bit of info about a country/area and then do an art project based on that country. One grade level, I believe it is 3rd, is based on Fairy Tales....so you learn a bit about that fairy tale and then do the project about it. Haven't look at other levels too much to know. But related to a historical era, no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 One more chiming in about AP, we have the K-3 book 2 and I am SO sick of watercolors! We'll finish it because I already went and bought all the supplies for it. I wouldn't buy it again though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest turkeyburger Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Has anyone tried the Art Class DVD's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 I thought I would love HAS.... just hand over the reins to a dvd instructor and voila! Art is done! But honestly, I'm not loving it. The projects are ... not what I'd choose to do to teach/practice the different concepts/elements of art. They're a little too craftsy for me. I will say, my kids have loved the lessons they've done, but I'm still thinking I'll sell the set (geez, and I got them all, K-5, sure we'd love 'em). I think I'd much rather just do our own thing (so probably any *curriculum* would fail for me....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 I thought I would love HAS.... just hand over the reins to a dvd instructor and voila! Art is done! But honestly, I'm not loving it. The projects are ... not what I'd choose to do to teach/practice the different concepts/elements of art. They're a little too craftsy for me. I will say, my kids have loved the lessons they've done, but I'm still thinking I'll sell the set (geez, and I got them all, K-5, sure we'd love 'em). I think I'd much rather just do our own thing (so probably any *curriculum* would fail for me....) And see, I don't get "crafty" at all with HSA. Which is always one of my pet peeves when I paid for an outside class, I felt a lot of it was crafty, ie glue tissue paper on paper, paint a face mask etc and it irked me that I was paying for craft time, lol while they learned nothing of real art value. But with HSA they are making real art. last week we drew and painted blue dogs based on the work of George Rodrigue. They turned out so good I could frame them and hang up. That's the kind of stuff I want. What grade level did you do that was crafty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenDaisies Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 I thought I would love HAS.... just hand over the reins to a dvd instructor and voila! Art is done! But honestly, I'm not loving it. The projects are ... not what I'd choose to do to teach/practice the different concepts/elements of art. They're a little too craftsy for me. I will say, my kids have loved the lessons they've done, but I'm still thinking I'll sell the set (geez, and I got them all, K-5, sure we'd love 'em). I think I'd much rather just do our own thing (so probably any *curriculum* would fail for me....) Take a look at Atelier. I have been trying to implement AP for the last 2 1/2 years, but have only made it to lesson 6. I really want to like it, but it's just okay, and it doesn't get done. As others have said, there isn't enough instruction and many of the projects seem repetitive. I started using Atelier this year, but when I saw the deal on HSBC, I was tempted to purchase HAS because it is so much cheaper than Atelier. I compared the galleries on the Atelier and HAS websites and was more impressed with the upper levels of the Atelier projects. The HAS projects looked cute, but too crafty for me. I wanted a little more, and decided to stick with Atelier. My kids and I are loving Atelier and I am pleased with the technique presented and projects that have been completed so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 What grade level did you do that was crafty? We're only on K because I have a 4 yr. old who is doing it with my 1st grader. Maybe I should have a look at some of the later years... (I know K isn't going to produce great works of art :p ... I just wasn't hugely impressed with the projects in that level.) Take a look at Atelier. Ah, but it's so pricey! :o There is no way I could justify spending that much on an art program (not when I feel I'm somewhat artsy and could teach many techniques myself...) But thank you for the suggestion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyh Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Well, I love AP. Since it is just a quick read/study, it's not hard at all to do. My dd has gained enough instruction and begs to do it all the time. It does use watercolors a lot, but it's just because it is teaching different aspects of art - one might have the students focus on the background, another expression, etc. I actually really like the program, however haven't tried HAS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewe Mama Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Has anyone tried the Art Class DVD's? I decided to order the Art Class dvd's in March for my elder children to work through. I bought the HAS dvd's this month, so need to wait for the hs budget to recuperate. :) I worked through the Art Class sample lessons and really enjoyed them. I think they will be great for learning proper drawing technique for more disciplined, serious students, whereas the HAS dvd's look like more fun projects for my less artsy kiddos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maplecat Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Well, I love AP. Since it is just a quick read/study, it's not hard at all to do. My dd has gained enough instruction and begs to do it all the time. It does use watercolors a lot, but it's just because it is teaching different aspects of art - one might have the students focus on the background, another exp<b></b>ression, etc. I actually really like the program, however haven't tried HAS. I feel the same. AP gets done at our house and my boys look forward to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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