Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
My family had the privilege of trying the Art of the Ancients from Artistic Pursuits Inc. for this review to use in conjunction with our own curriculum at home. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.
ARTistic Pursuits Inc. creates art curriculum for children. This full-color curriculum helps children to grow their skills of observation and critical thinking. It teaches all components of fine art, including creativity, art history, art appreciation, and art techniques. This unique homeschool art program permits the student to be expressive and make up their own decision about what and how they will draw, paint, or sculpt.
ARTistic Pursuits Art Instruction Books with DVD and Blu-Ray by Brenda Ellis are brand new hardcover books for kindergarten and elementary students. These have art history and art instruction lessons in text with pictures to study and video lessons on how to use the art materials. There are a total of 8 volumes currently:
- K-3 Vol. 1 ART FOR CHILDREN, Building a Visual Vocabulary
- K-3 Vol. 2 ART OF THE ANCIENTS
- K-3 Vol. 3 ART OF THE MIDDLE AGES
- K-3 Vol. 4 ARTISTS THAT SHAPED THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
- K-3 Vol. 5 ART OF THE NORTHERN COUNTRIES, RENAISSANCE TO REALISM
- K-3 Vol. 6 ART OF THE IMPRESSIONISTS
- K-3 Vol. 7 ART OF THE MODERN AGE
- K-3 Vol. 8 ART IN AMERICA
Each book covers one whole semester of art if you have your student do one lesson a week. You can do these lessons chronologically starting with volume 1 and follow the history volumes in order or do volume 1 and then skip to the volume of choice after that. It is all up to you.
Art of the Ancients is the second volume of the series. It is a hardcover book with both Blu-ray and DVD. It has 64 pages, 18 lessons (12 text lessons featuring artworks by ancient artists and 6 video lessons featuring art instruction on materials), and 106 illustrations. This art curriculum book and videos takes a look at art found in caves to the classical art of the Roman Empire. The book covers Near Eastern figures and relief carvings, Minoan fresco painting, Etruscan and Egyptian wall painting, Greek pillars and pottery, as well as the many methods of making art in Rome. Young learners will create and respond to art of the ancient cultures as they express themselves and see the world in new ways. They also learn about the period and how the people then made art. Children will work with pastels and clay.
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| K-3 Vol.2 Art Supply Pack | ARTistic Pursuits |
K-3 Vol. 2 Art Supply Pack (can be purchased separately or with the book for additional cost) Includes:
- Wire clay cutter
- Amaco Air-dry clay
- NuPastel hard pastel color sticks, set of 12
- 15 x 15" cotton fabric Blue Cotton Tote Bag
You will also need these materials from K-3 Vol. 1 Starter Pack Materials list:
- Watercolor crayons
- Oil pastels
- Ebony pencil
- Vinyl eraser
- Watercolor brush, #8 round
- Watercolor paper pad
- Drawing paper pad
- Construction paper
- Scissors
- Elmer's Glue-All
- Glue stick
How We Used This and Our Thoughts:
I did this art instruction for kids with my daughters Teela and Zari who are in 3rd and 6th grade this school year. We tried to do one lesson a week, but our clay did not come to us in the mail because of back-orders and delays with COVID-19. We did what we could with what we had at home. My kids love art so they enjoyed these activities and learning about the art and history very much.
The lessons without videos have prep notes with tips and information about the type of art. It also has notes on how to instruct a larger group. Then there is the art history lesson on the next page with pictures of an art piece and questions at the end in bold. After the history lesson the book has a page of how to do the art. Each art lesson has a box of text that will list the materials needed for that art project, an example picture of the art made by a student, pictures of the art being assembled and instructions with more insight into the history. The lessons that have videos are truncated in the book and have a minimal amount of information to show you what art will be created and what materials are needed to make the art. These are used with the DVD or Blu-ray.
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| ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Art of the Ancients, K-3 Vol. 2: Lesson 1 (something with wheels with pastels). |
The first lesson we had an introduction of art in the ancient world and learned how to use soft pastels to make a picture of something with wheels. This lesson was accompanied by a video (video #1) on the DVD or Blu-ray. This gave us very visual step-by-step instruction of the process. We liked the videos and thought they were very thorough, educational, and nicely done. The video had the art history and art instruction to show how to use the pastels. Zari did the Fire Truck.
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| ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Art of the Ancients, K-3 Vol. 2: Lesson 2 (cave art). |
The second lesson in the book we learned about European cave drawings. We read in the art book of 4 boys in France that discovered some cave art. There are questions at the end in bold of the this art history lesson about the bull and horse cave painting in the book to make sure the children are paying attention to the art. Then we are told with words and shown with color pictures in the book how to do cave art on brown paper with earth colored pastels. I did the zebra and Teela did the panda bear.
The third lesson we learned about clay slab building. This lesson was accompanied by a video (video #2) on the DVD or Blu-ray. This gave us very visual step-by-step instruction of the process. In this lesson you build a clay figure out of slabs. The video had the art and art instruction to show how to use and care for the clay and other items to make the figure. Since we didn't have the clay we just watched the video for the instructions for future reference.
The forth lesson we learned about the city of Jericho and the Human Statue found there. There are questions at the end in bold of the this art history lesson in the book to make sure the children are paying attention to the art. Then we are told with words and shown with color pictures in the book how to do a human figure in clay. Since we didn't have the clay we just read the book and looked at the pictures for future reference.
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| ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Art of the Ancients, K-3 Vol. 2: Lesson 5 (animal art with pastels). |
In the fifth lesson we learned about art in Minoan palaces. In this lesson we learned about a painting called Bull Jumping that was found in the Island of Crete. There are questions at the end in bold of the this art history lesson about the painting in the book to make sure the children are paying attention to the art. We were instructed to make an animal painting with pastels. I did the hedgehog and Zari did the Toucan.
There was only one thing that I would change if I was the author. My daughters and I wished that all the lessons had videos because we are very visual and the videos made the instruction so much easier, but we would also have liked those that did have videos to have the whole instruction and art history lesson in the book as well. This would make it easier to use with those children that are too young to read and those that learn better by reading than by visual and audio as well would benefit if both were used for all lessons. This would help our learners of all types.
So far ARTistic Pursuits Art Instruction Books with DVD and Blu-Ray Art of the Middle Ages has been very educational and fun. We have learned so much about the art of the time. I highly recommend this art for children. ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Art Instruction Books with DVD and Blu-Ray Art of the Ancients would be a great art curriculum for use with art history lessons and unit studies of the Early Europeans, Minoans, Ancient Egyptians, Ancient Greeks, Etruscans, and Ancient Romans.
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BUY IT
You can purchase ARTistic Pursuits Art Instruction Books with DVD and Blu-Ray. They are each $39.99. If you would like to purchase the art kits with these it is more and depends on the kit.
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