Bob Jones Press is one of the leading Christian school/homeschool publishers today. Their curriculum is Bible based, challenging, and made with high quality materials.  The books are often printed in hard back versions, making the materials last for decades.  High quality color pictures and text also add interest to the BJU press materials.

Strengths:
Bob Jones University Press has always made great curriculum resources, and With Art in Mind is no exception.  With Art in Mind is a comprehensive art curriculum with 60 lessons that give step by step instructions to the basic principles and elements of art.  Each lesson is interesting and easy for students to follow, and includes an example photo of each lesson.  This is a great … Read the rest of this post…

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is the definitive drawing book of the twentieth century, if not of all prior centuries as well.  Through the techniques in this drawing book, art teachers were enabled to communicate this skill to any student even those who thought they could not possibly learn to draw.  The art of drawing became accessible to many more people.  Additionally, Betty Edwards has accumulated a fascinating synthesis of information on how the brain works and how some of the techniques used in learning to draw can be used in other areas of life as well.

Now a familiar and beloved text in beginning art classes, this drawing book has influenced methods used in elementary schools, … Read the rest of this post…

Usborne Complete Book of Art is a great book of ideas on several various art techniques and lots of topics, something for everybody!

Strengths:
When I first purchased this Usborne children’s book my thought was to use it with a group of homeschooling children ages four to eight.  I myself am not a very “artsy” person naturally so I depend upon books such as this one to explain every detail  in a way that I can then explain it to the children.  This art book does an excellent job of both written and detailed pictures at each step.  Also, it does a great job of explaining the differences between the different tools that you use as an artist and how … Read the rest of this post…

Looking for something exciting and educational to do with preschool students?  Try making macaroni mosaics!  This fun preschool art project lets kids get creative with noodles of different shapes, sizes, and colors, to make a beautiful picture.

This preschool art project is easy to put together – the supplies are simple (and inexpensive).  All that is needed is construction paper, glue, several different kinds of dry noodles, and a few different kinds of dry beans.  A black marker for writing each child’s name on his project is a good idea also.

When purchasing the noodles think of shapes that will be easy to glue down onto paper – smooth elbow macaroni is better for instance than the big corkscrew spirals.  … Read the rest of this post…

Everyone has seen them at one time or another, they are the ubiquitous “How to Draw a…” booklets.  They are lots of fun for children because they produce a good result quickly.  The formulaic step-by-step instructions function exactly like an informal teaching session from one child to another, “You draw good snowmen, can you show me how?”  “Oh, it’s easy, here’s how you do it.  First you draw a big circle like this, then you draw a medium circle on top, then you draw a small circle for his head…”

Kids like the books, but are they worth considering “real” art instruction?  Surprisingly, the answer can be yes.  One problem some might see with this method is that while … Read the rest of this post…

Teaching art appreciation in 2^nd grade may seem a bit early to some people, who never heard of such a class until taking it as an elective in college.  But innocent children can appreciate beauty as well as, if not better than, most adults.  They will love an art appreciation course taught at their level, using books such as the Art and Artists series from Teacher Created Resources, or the DK eyewitness books focusing on individual artists.

As a supplement to these texts, children can benefit from post card sized reproductions of famous paintings.  In a pinch, these can be printed from the computer and pasted onto cardstock.  But a much better quality is attained through purchasing professionally … Read the rest of this post…

With preschool students quite often, the simpler the materials the more fun that students will have.  For instance, a great preschool art project is painted rocks.  The main things that’s needed are rocks, paintbrushes, and some good acrylic paint.  What could be simpler?

Now, acrylic paint is permanent so students will need to wear old clothes or good smocks while working and you will want to put down some newspapers on the table or floor.  Each student will need some water to wash the brush between colors.  Aside from that, just grab your rocks and paint and away you go!

Where to purchase these materials?  Well, if you live in sufficiently rocky country, just go out in the backyard and … Read the rest of this post…

Storytime for preschoolers is much more lively and fun when the kids get to participate with puppets.  And paper plate puppets are a preschool art project that is very easy to make.  With as little as paper plates, markers, and a glued on Popsicle stick for a handle, a paper plate puppet is ready to go!

Of course, you can certainly get a little more elaborate with this preschool art project, if you want to.  You can have bits of yarn, paper, fabric scraps, and tinsel for kids to glue on as accessories (big, google eyes are always a big hit).  Big, stick out ears for animals can be cut from construction paper and glued on at the top … Read the rest of this post…

The Alpha Omega Publishers Lifepac Courses offer an excellent way for your student to learn at home or on the go. Offering small, manageable workbooks for each section of the course, the Lifepac program provides a well-organized curriculum in many subject areas and levels of learning. In addition to complete grade-level programs, Lifepacs are also offered in several elective courses, including art. The Art Instruction Lifepac Course provides a high school level program in art instruction for home educators and their students.

Although the Art Instruction Lifepac Course is structured in the same manner as other lifepac courses, it offers a surprising amount of hands-on activities to promote mastery of the art concepts. The Teacher’s Guide, which is included along … Read the rest of this post…

Choosing art books for children is such a fun process!  Art is many children’s favorite subject; they take to it like a duck to water.  It’s fun for teachers and parents too!  When choosing art books for children, take your time and enjoy browsing through the many colorful books.  You’ll start to notice that there are two basic types of art book.  There are books geared to children that are mostly just for fun, and there are more “serious” books intended for classroom use, either as teacher resource books or as textbook/teacher book curriculum combinations.

If you are a parent looking for a fun birthday present for a “crafty” child or a child who loves to color, the books geared … Read the rest of this post…