Is this enough for my Kson or am I missing something??

[kjdkek]

My son is officially doing K work now and I am wondering if I am missing something. THis is what we are using:

 

ETC 1 - I expect to be through book 3 by January

Teach 100 ez lessons - On lesson 70

Math-U-See primer - just started last wk on lesson 7

HWT for writing

flashcards, flashcards, and more flashcards

 

He also does family devotion time, science, history, poetry, music study and weekly mem verse with my older kids and I.

 

What would you recommend for art with him. I need something that I can do in about an hr each wk and something that maybe a 2yr old can "do" along with us (or so she thinks she is). My older 2 take art lessons once a week and he is dying to do something "cool" like them. No baby stuff he says.

 

Thanks so much in advance for your responses. They are greatly appreciated!!

 

Erin

[Chris in VA]

For art, I'd get a few nifty materials and teach him to use them, even without a curriculum. Try oil and chalk pastels, really nice pencils, a big and dark thick pencil, various paints, and different kinds of watercolors--liquid, watercolor crayons, etc. Keeping a nature journal provides a purpose for using colored pencils and paints.

 

Don't forget clay--littles can use it if you warm it up and make it malleable. Same with beeswax, although the fine motor required for that may be beyond a K'er.

 

Crafts tied to history might be nice--I tend to shy away from crafts, preferring process over product based activities, but you can certainly do things like plaster casting, mosaics, "cave" painting, etc.

 

Evan-Moor's Teaching Art to Children is a wonderful, el cheapo resource. You can adapt it to K by picking the easier exercises. They go thru the elements of art and offer several projects for each. I also offer a taste of the art elements to my preschoolers--

 

For Line--

Use cooked spagetti to make designs on cardboard. You can paint it or color it with food coloring as it cooks (it will be pale), or leave it natural.

Use a thick black crayon to make a squiggle on white paper, leaving spaces. Color in the spaces with bright crayons, then cut it out and mount it on other paper--like stained glass.

Take a 2 foot or so piece of yarn, dip it into tempra (poster) paint, then lay it on one side of a piece of construction paper. Fold the paper in half, put your hand on top, hold firmly, then pull the string out. Leaves a cool design.

Tape various flat textures to the table. Do a rubbing. Corregated cardboard shapes, courdoroy fabric, leaves with good veins, etc., work well.

 

Texture

The above is also a texture exercise.

Texture collage--gather things from home that are bumpy, furry, soft, rough--make collage.

Draw with crayon on sandpaper--how does the texture of the paper affect the drawing?

Use cross-hatching techniques to add texture to a picture.

Add sand or salt to paint.

 

Space

Give child a piece of paper with a hole in the middle. How does that affect their picture?

 

Color

Blend fingerpaint.

Blend dry jello.

Take one color, like blue, and see how many tints you can make by adding varying amts of white. How does it change if you add black the same way?

 

These are just some simple ideas. There are many, many great activities out there that go beyond just learning how to draw. Check out Barb at Harmony Arts, too--she uses Artistic Pursuits. But imo, there's no need for a formal curriculum at this point.

[LadyAberlin]

I like the Watch me draw books that Rainbow resource sells.

[kjdkek]

Thanks for all the wonderful ideas. I think I may put some to use.

 

Thanks again, Erin

[gandpsmommy]

For art, we love Artistic Pursuits. I don't know if your 2yo would be able to do it, but it definitely would be good for your ds to feel as if he is doing cool projects, not baby stuff. Maybe you could get some washable art supplies for the 2yo and allow her to use them at the same time as your ds does Artistic Pursuits?