We have used may products from ARTistic Pursuits Inc. in our homeschool. We have found their art instruction to be easy to follow even for non artsy people, and we have produced wonderful artwork while using this curriculum. It also has instilled a love of art in my children. I was very excited to see that ARTistic Pursuits Inc. was releasing a new video curriculum for grades K-3 and even more excited when we were chosen for the review. We have had an opportunity to use and review ARTistic Pursuits Art Instruction Books with DVD and Blu-Ray , Art of the Middle Ages.
ARTistic Pursuits Art Instruction Books with DVD and Blu-Ray for Grades K-3 will have 8 books in the series. Six are available right now and the other two will be released over the summer. Each book has 18 lessons, 12 of which are text lessons and 6 are video lessons. Each book is 64 pages and is designed to be completed in a semester. The 8 books in the series move chronologically though history after Vol 1, Building a Visual Vocabulary. This series will cover 4 years of art for grades K-3. Each volume comes with a hardcover text, DVD, and Blu-ray discs. Books in the series include:
Vol. 1 Building a Visual Vocabulary
Vol. 2 Art of the Ancients
Vol. 3 Art of the Middle Ages
Vol. 4 Artists that Shaped the Italian Renaissance
Vol. 5 Art of the Northern Countries, Renaissance to Realism
Vol. 6 Art of the Impressionists
Vol .7 Art of the Modern Age
Vol. 8 Art in America
In addition to the curriculum, ARTistic Pursuits also sells Art Supply Packs for each of the volumes if you prefer to buy everything together.
Art of the Middle Ages begins with a list of materials needed to complete the projects in the book and a note to the teacher. In each lesson there are prep notes for the lessons for the teacher to read through along with a page or two for the teacher to read to the student. Colorful works of art are included in the lesson part along with some questions to ask the students about the artwork. There are 6 video lessons that give step by step instructions for making the artwork. For the lessons that do not have a video lesson there are instructions in the book and an example of artwork that was made by a child.
Lesson 1 starts with a video lesson on Paper Loom Weave. After creating a simple loom students can then make a woven crown. In lesson 2 students use their weaving skills to weave beasts. Lesson 3 is on Art in the Monasteries and students make an initial page. Lesson 4 is on Art in the Basilicas and they make a mosaic. Lesson 5 has students watch video lesson #2 on Panel Drawing. In lesson 6 they make a panel relief. Lesson 7's project is make a collage. In lesson 8 they view video #3 and do stitching on burlap. In lesson 9 they use oil pastels to color on burlap and stitch the fabric. They watch video #4 in lesson 10 and do straw loom weave and in lesson 11 make an outdoor picture. They view video #5 in lesson 12 and do book binding. In lesson 13 they make a bestiary picture. They view video #6 in lesson 14 and make a low-relief. In lesson 15 they make a treasure bound book. Lesson 16's project is to make a raised picture. Lesson 17's project is to make colored glass windows. The last lesson, lesson 18 is to make a statue.
I have been using Art of the Middle Ages with my 7,9, 11, and 12 year olds. I knew the projects were designed for grades K-3, but my boys wanted to join in with what we were doing too. We have been working on one lesson per week, except for the first lesson. We did two weeks on that one because the first week we did the simple weave and then the next week made a woven crown.
I have been a big fan of ARTistic Pursuits Inc. and was very excited to see the new books coming out. I love that they are designed to go chronologically through time so that if you wanted to you could match up your art lessons with what you are studying in history. I was very excited to see video lessons! Although the previous books did a good job describing how to do the projects, some times it is just better to see an example of it being done. I am very thankful that they did this through a DVD and Blu-Ray. Many companies have started streaming videos but that is very difficult when you have slow or no internet. DVD is a much better option for us. I thought the DVD lessons we very well done and age appropriate. We love the history that is included in the books and the beautiful artwork. I also love that on the project page they always show a piece of child's artwork so that the children do not feel like they need to produce something that an adult would.
The books are wonderful. They are hardcover and sturdy. At only 64 pages they are thin but packed full of beautiful color art and instruction.
Some of our projects
Lesson One Paper Loom Weave
Lesson 2 You Weave Beasts
Lesson 3 You Make an Initial Page
Lesson 4 You Make a Mosaic
We were very impressed with Art of the Middle Ages. In looking ahead we cannot wait to get through the rest of the projects! My children were especially excited about the stitching projects and the book binding. I can't wait to see if ARTistic Pursuits Inc. will do something similar for the older grades as well.
Members of The Crew reviewed a variety of the books in this series. To see what my Crew Mates had to say, stop by the Crew Blog!
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