TOS Crew: Artistic Pursuits

We love anything artsy.  My kids love to draw, color, paint, and all the other fun and messy things that art can be.  This year I have kind of slacked a bit with a true art curriculum, the kids do so much coloring, cutting and drawing on their own that I haven't really worried about it.

Once we were given the opportunity to review Stories of Artists and Their Art, by Artistic Pursuits, I realized how much we had been missing!

I really like Artistic Pursuits and the way it is laid out, the lessons are a mixture of art history as well as an art lesson.  Each lesson starts out with a factual story about an artist or a particular piece of art (think Mona Lisa).  Next the student gets an lesson on a project similar to the the one they just learned about. 

Here is an example, after learning about Michelangelo the students are taught how to do a Carving of their very own, OUT OF APPLES!!  The girls are doing this project, but we aren't quite finished yet (the apples take a while to dry out).  I would love to post a picture of the process that they are making but I am having computer issues again, so I will have to post the pics later.  Sorry. 

We also learned about the artist Cimabue, and then we painted just him, with water colors.  Again, I would love to post the pics but, I have issues.  Computer issues that is : )

The kids really enjoyed learning about the different artists, as well as their famous paintings.  I think even more than reading about these masterpieces, they really enjoyed trying to recreate them.

 

Artistic Pursuits offers 10 different books that take students from Pre K to 12 graduation.   We reviewed Artistic Pursuits - Stories of Artists and Their Art, grades K-3 Book 2, which has 32 Lessons/ Projects which would take you through the whole school year if you did one lesson per week.  

The materials that are introcuded in Book 2 are:

• Pan Watercolors
• Tempera Paints
• Oil Pastels
• Printmaking
• Stamping
• Papier-Mache
• Mixed Media

  The Artists/ Masterpieces that are studied in Book 2 are:

1. Cimabue
2. Madonna Enthroned, with Saints and Angels
3. Giotto
4. Lamentation of Christ
5. Limbourg
6. August (Departure for the Falcon Hunt)
7. Van Eyck
8. Jean Arnolfini and His Wife
9. Leonardo da Vinci
10. Mona Lisa
11. Michelangelo
12. Delphic Sibyl
13. Raphael
14. Portrait of a Young Woman
15. Anguissola
16. Three Sisters Playing Chess
17. Durer
18. Flight to Egypt
19. Bruegel
20. Hunters in the Snow
21. Parmigianino
22. The Conversion of Paul
23. Rembrandt
24. Abraham's Sacrifice
25. Vermeer
26. The Artist in His Studio
27. Fragonard
28. A Young Girl Reading
29. Turner
30. The Fighting Temeraire
31. Millet
32. The Gleaners


The Artistic Pursuits books cost $42.95.  They are non-consumable, meaning once you buy them you can use them over and over again.  Many of the books can be used for multigrades, like the book we got is for K-3, but my 4 year old, 2nd and 4th graders can all use it. 

I would recommend this art curriculum.  It is much more thorough and far beyond the standard arts and crafts taht we are used to.  Children get to learn art history and how to do art like the pros! 

If you are interested, you can purchase your own Artistic Pursuits book directly from Artistic Pursuits. 

Please take a moment and check out what others on the TOS Crew are saying about Artistic Pursuits.

We recieved Artistic Pursuits free of charge for review purposes.  The opinions expressed here are my own and I was not influenced by the company or the free product.