The Easiest Homeschool Art Curriculum to Use for Grades K-3
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Artistic Pursuits. I was compensated for my time and honest review of this homeschool art curriculum.
When it comes to art, my talents lie elsewhere. That’s why it’s important for me to have a homeschool art curriculum that is easy to use.
I was pleased to discover ARTistic Pursuits Art Introduction Books with DVD and Blu-ray for our homeschool art curriculum. We are using Art for Children, Building a Visual Vocabulary from ARTistic Pursuits, Inc., and are loving it.
Overview of Artistic Pursuits Homeschool Art Curriculum for K-3
The Art for Children text comes with both a DVD and Blu-ray disc in plastic sleeves inside the front cover. This makes storage nice as they are all in one place. And if you have a device that plays both, a backup, just in case. At the beginning of the book is also a list of all the art supplies you will need. We did use their suggestion for the watercolor crayons set, but the rest was whatever was cheapest at our local craft store.
At the beginning of a unit, there are prep notes for the parent. Sometimes, the lessons will suggest an outing that will help the children to visualize or internalize the concept they will be learning about. Such as observing things around your neighborhood, taking a nature walk, or even looking around the room. They come with questions and tips you can use to help draw the children’s attention to what they will be learning later. Project lessons also list the supplies you will need to gather for that lesson.
Artistic Pursuits Video Lessons
Not every lesson has a corresponding video. Of the 18 lessons in the book, only six have videos. The videos are short enough to hold the attention of young children, while also completely explaining the new technique or objective.
The first video also teaches proper care for the brushes, which I appreciated.
I was skeptical after watching the first video (which you can view below) about whether or not my five-year-old would be able to complete the project. I wasn’t sure I could complete it. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see it wasn’t a problem and all three of my children completed pictures of their favorite objects they then hung on their bedroom walls.
Artistic Pursuits Full Video Lesson Grades K-3 from ARTistic Pursuits Inc. on Vimeo.
Variety of Art Lessons for Your Homeschool
The lessons vary between video, learning about different things artists do (compose, imagine, see texture, etc.), studying famous paintings, such as The Birthday by Chagall or Flower Day by Rivera, and completing the art projects themselves.
I liked the variety and the incorporation of all the different aspects of art within the lessons. Also, I appreciated that the focus wasn’t solely on completing art projects, but also included age-appropriate education on what artists do and exposure to famous paintings. I never felt like I needed to add more to make it a “complete” homeschool art curriculum or that it was too much and I needed to leave things out. We did alter one of the outings because it called for a nature walk and we live in southern Arizona where temperatures are already in the three digits, so we did a “run outside quick and grab something nature-y” instead, which was still fun.
How We Liked Artistic Pursuits Homeschool Art Curriculum for K-3
These lessons were enjoyable for our whole family. At one point I had all of my children (sans the baby) sitting at the table doing that day’s art project. The younger ones had started it, and then the oldest two thought it looked like fun and joined in.
The book was easy to navigate from a parent’s perspective. Everything was laid out for me and I just had to follow along. This is easily one of my favorite homeschool art curricula for children. I highly recommend it.
