The K-3rd Grade Level, Volumes 1-8 from ARTistic Pursuits Inc. is making makes art instruction at home much easier! We recently had the opportunity to review Art in America, K-3 Vol. 8 and all the kids love it!
How does it work
Art in America is a great beginner art book featuring 12 text lessons and 6 video lessons. Geared toward Kindergarten through 3rd grade, the lessons are quick, easy to
ARTistic Pursuits K-3rd Grade Level volumes recommend the following:
Start with Volume 1 and follow history in chronological order through Volumes 2-8 or start with Volume 1 and then skip to any other volume featuring the historical period of your choice.
We have not completed Volume 1 but we had no problems jumping in and learning art with Volume 8. I did not find that having NOT done any of the earlier volumes caused us any issues in working through the lessons. However, Volume 1 likely teaches some foundations of art that might be helpful. Both my children had had some art instruction so that may have been why jumping into Volume 8 was not a problem.
What is Art in America
Art in America lessons includes 12 book lessons and 6 video lessons. The lessons focus on pencil drawing utilizing graphite pencils and colored pencils.The lessons feature drawing and paintings by American artists working from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The lessons feature American artists like:
- John Singleton Copley
- Rembrandt Peale
- Robert Henri
- John Federick Peto
- Charles Burchfield
Video lessons art concepts and techniques such as:
- Drawing is Moving
- Drawing a Good Line
Idenifying Light and Dark- Colored Pencils
- Layered Color
- Ruler and Compass
The lessons in the book correspond with video lessons which were very detailed and made for the younger elementary kids; however, older elementary kids can learn from them too and we didn’t feel that they were too “little” for the older kids to participate. They didn’t seem to have any issues with the lessons being too “young ” or anything like that. I thought they were great.
The book and videos begin with an explanation of pencil grip, which I think is important and indicates to me that you could begin at any level. The book lessons average to be 2 pages and the video lessons are about 15 minutes, making it
We read the lessons in the book together and then watched the video. My son isn’t a huge art fan so he did the assignment and was off. However, my 5 year old daughter is my artsy one and loved the lessons. She was excited to watch the lesson again and work on the concepts.
My little one was SOOOO happy with herself working through the lessons. She loved learning to draw and was quite happy working through the lessons with me and her brother or on her own. She would ask to watch the videos again and then practice drawing. Always showing me her products.
My son did a pretty good job working through the lessons as well but, as mentioned, he liked that they were short so he could be one his way. But
What we Thought
Overall we were very happy with the ARTistic Pursuits Inc. K-3rd Volume 8 art lessons. All the kids loved them, they were easy to use, and even I learned something. The lessons were easy for me to guide and the book was colorful and engaging. The video
I loved that there was a Materials list included as well as some guidance on how to teach the book/art lessons to my children. Since I’m not an artist or even a artsy person, having this guidance was helpful as well as the demonstrations on the video.
We definitely are enjoying our arts lessons and will continue with them. I would certainly recommend ARTistic Pursuits Inc. K-3rd, Volume 8 to anyone interested in developing pencil drawing, finding some good art lessons for their elementary children, or anyone wanting some great art lessons to coincide with their study of American history.
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