Most of my kids love art! They enjoy drawing, coloring, and creating. So when I had the opportunity to review another product from ARTistic Pursuits, I was thrilled!
Last year, we were introduced to this text and video based art instruction series when we reviewed Volume 1.
This time, I selected Volume 8 in the K-3rd Grade Level, Volumes 1-8 series. This book is titled Art in America, and it focuses on pencil drawing.
Why did I pick Volume 8 instead of Volume 2? Good question! These books can be studied in any order, and since we’re studying American history, I thought it’d be the best fit!
What Is This Product?
I received a hardcover book and a DVD to review. There was also a Blu-ray disc, but I can’t play that so it stayed in the book. The DVD is missing from the picture below, because it’s currently in my DVD player…but, it goes underneath the Blu-Ray in another plastic slot.
The book contains 18 lessons. Twelve of them are text-based, and six are video lessons on the DVD.
Supplies Needed
I needed to purchase some supplies so we could dive into the lessons. There’s a helpful supply list at the beginning of the book, with recommendations of the brands to use. You can do what I did, and order items individually on Amazon or someplace, or you can purchase a corresponding supply pack from ARTistic Pursuits.
Here’s a picture with the supplies I purchased. You also needed construction paper, a ruler, an eraser, and a pencil sharpener, which we already had.
The Lessons
The lessons are presented well. There are prep notes for each one, which was helpful for me to read over before we started. that way I knew what to expect or what I needed to do.
Then, the lessons dove into an American artist. There was a picture or two of a work of art by that artist. This made an amazing addition to our history studies, giving us a look at art in America.
Then came the student instruction part. These were always very clear to follow, and used a step-by-step format that I appreciated.
The Video Lessons
My younger kids especially appreciated seeing the videos. Many art skills are visual, so you were able to get a better sense of what was going on when you watched them as opposed to merely looking at static images in a book.
The video lessons were engaging, and well done. I thought they added to the experience, rather than serving as a distraction.
How Did We Use This Product?
We followed the recommended pace of one lesson a week. Fridays are our fun days in school, so we typically do art then.
While this product is recommended for children in grades K-3, the majority of my kids joined in. They love art, and do it whenever there is opportunity!
And, I’m happy to report that everyone participating learned something new. We also all enjoyed the opportunity to practice skills we may have already known, but didn’t use consistently.
The Projects
The early lessons in this book focus on lines and how to draw what you see. It talked about looking for shapes, shading, and edges.
My five-year-old learned a lot from the shapes focus. Here’s a picture he drew in one lesson. He was using a Luigi picture as a model to study.
He worked hard on finding the shapes. This book helped him tremendously, he was previously drawing only stick type figures, with fat bodies and stick legs and arms. So, I’m so excited by this progress!
Another lesson presented techniques with colored pencils. Here’s the project my oldest did for that one. She also worked on practicing the shading lesson.
What I Thought of This Product
I really enjoyed using Art in America with my kids. We were introduced to new artists, learned new skills, and practiced lots of drawing.
The format is simple, yet it’s powerful instruction to help improve pencil drawing skills.
We will be continuing to use this book, and I highly recommend it!
I was only one of 55 reviewers. We did not all review volume 8. To learn more about the other volumes, please click on the banner below.
