Time for an art curriculum review…
My kids LOVE art! They’re very creative and always coloring, drawing, or making something out of paper. And while I have good intentions of actually teaching art as part of our homeschooling journey, it’s always one of the first subjects cut when life gets crazy. That’s why I was thrilled to be able to review ArtAchieve. I wanted something easy to help art happen. After reviewing the topics covered in each level, I knew that the Entire Level I was the product that’d work best for us.
No Streaming Required
What I loved most about Art Achieve is that I didn’t have to blow through all of my metered internet to let the kids stream art lessons. There are plenty of online art curricula out there where you have to watch long videos to view the instruction.
But, with ArtAchieve, there’s also the option to view PowerPoint slide shows for each. A slide show requires significantly less data than videos, so that was a huge plus for us!
By the way, if you have unlimited internet and prefer video instruction, that’s also an option with ArtAchieve! But for those of us living in the boonies, we’re super thankful it’s not required! 😀
What’s Included?
The Entire Level 1 currently includes 12 high-quality art lessons, inspired by different things from around the world. I have access to each for an entire year, which means we can do them over and over again, improving each time.
Each lesson includes:
- Art Standards Met by the Lesson
- A picture of a finished sample
- Some cross-curriculuar material, providing additional facts about the lesson–perhaps a map about the country that inspired the art, or some cultural connections
- A goal/objective for the lesson
- A Supply List
- A Warm-up page
- tips for relaxing while drawing
- Simple rules for art success
- Tips for imagining your drawing
- A step-by-step guided draw
- Tips for coloring/finishing the drawing
- Reflection questions
- An Artist’s Challenge
What Supplies Are Needed?
You will need art supplies for the art lessons, but this lesson didn’t require any expensive or uncommon supplies. Since each of my kids do art for quiet time one day a week, we already had almost everything we needed. Those supplies include:
- paper to draw on (we just use inexpensive printer paper)
- construction paper
- Sharpies for outlining
- Markers
- watercolors
- Pencils
- Crayons
- oil pastels
We did need a white charcoal pencil for one lesson, which was easy to find on Amazon. 
How We Used ArtAchieve Entire Level 1
I found it super simple to implement this curriculum. I had the kids gather a pencil for drawing and paper, and come to the living room. Everyone found a spot to sit, either on the floor, or around the coffee table.
Then, I started the slides on my computer. We watched each, and I read aloud where needed.
Each lesson included step-by-step directions, so we just waited until everyone was ready before moving on. We also watched the tips for coloring slides, but didn’t actually color right then.
Once everyone was done drawing, we found what we needed to color. Later that day, after everyone had a chance to finish, we had a brief sharing time. That was my favorite part! I enjoyed seeing everyone’s final product.
Our Final Products
The lessons were so much fun, and the kids enjoyed doing some more purposeful art. It was fun to take pictures of their creations!
Ellie’s favorite was the Hungarian Insects lesson, which really surprised me. She’s since used this technique to draw bugs on a card for Grandma, and on other free drawings.
Here’s her holding one of her recent bug drawings, before she colored it.
Here are Jeffrey’s finished bugs:
Jeffrey’s favorite lesson was the Czech Cat.
Sydney’s favorite was the Chinese Dragon:
What I Liked about ArtAcheive
I really enjoyed the warm-ups, even though I didn’t really see the point of them at first. But, the kids really paid attention to detail during this step, and practiced all the types of lines they’d be using in the actual lesson. It really set them up for success.
I also enjoyed the variety of lessons that were included. We drew suns, dragons, cats, and more.
My favorite part though, was that it was simple. I never felt stressed about trying to fit art in, because I didn’t have to worry about anything. I could send the kids to fetch their materials and hit print on the warm-up whenever we were ready for a lesson.
We did art before breakfast once. Another time we did it after quiet time. We even did one lesson right before bed. Whenever I decided we had time for a lesson (typically took about 20 minutes), I just opened the computer and everything was ready for me. I didn’t have to try to make my own sample beforehand. There was no wondering what I’d teach next.
Easy! That’s what I loved.
The kids also enjoyed their lessons, so I imagine we’ll be looking into the next level when we start school again in the fall. There are four levels currently, and I can see us going through them all over the course of a few years.
How Does Art Happen in Your Homeschool?
I’d love to hear how you fit art into your homeschooling!
Wondering if ArtAchieve is for you? You can find some lessons available for free on their website, so you can give it a try before you buy! See what other families had to say by clicking on the banner below.
