ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Art of the Northern Countries Review #ComplimentaryProductReceived

 

Disclaimer: I received this complimentary 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 Northern Countries 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 Northern Countries is the fifth 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 86 illustrations. This art curriculum book and videos takes a look at of the Northern Countries of Europe from renaissance to realism. The book covers monoprints, observation drawing, relief prints, and more. Young learners will discover where the long lasting tradition of Realism in Western art began as they create and respond to art of the Northern Countries of Europe. They will experience art from famous artists like: Durer, Tuner, Millet, and Carot. Children will work with printmaking, watercolor, charcoal, and oil pastel.

K-3 Vol.5 Art Supply Pack | ARTistic Pursuits

K-3 Vol. 2 Art Supply Pack (can be purchased separately or with the book for additional cost) Includes:

• Prang Pan Watercolors, set of 8
• Blick Vine Charcoal sticks
• Watercolor Paper Pad, 30 sheets
  
• Sketch Paper Pad, 30 sheets
• Speedball Hard Rubber Brayer
• Water Soluble Printing Ink in teal, yellow, and black
• Foam Printing Sheets, set of 12, 9" x 12"
  
• 15" x 15" cotton fabric burnt orange cotton tote bag

You will also need these materials from K-3 Vol. 1 Starter Pack Materials list:

• Ebony pencil
• Watercolor brush, #8 round
• Watercolor paper pad
• Drawing paper pad
• Construction paper
• Scissors
• Elmer's Glue-All

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Art of the Northern Countries Lessons 1-4.

 

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

I did this art instruction for kids with my daughters Zari and Teela who are in 4th and 7th grade this school year. We did one lesson a week and completed 4 lessons. We did what we could with what we had at home and I also bought some supplies as well. 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.

 

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Art of the Northern Countries Online Course.

We also received access to the Online Course for the Art of the Northern Countries. When you login you get to a page that says "My Art Courses". This lets you click on view product and sends you to that course page. This page lets you start the course online with some bonuses. First it has a "Course Introduction" which has "Welcome to the Course", "Your Instructor", and "Course Book and Contents" in video format. The next category in the Online Course is "The Art of Seeing". This section has 2 bonus video lessons: "First Landscapes" and "Discovering Light". The next section is called, "The Fundamentals" and it has all of the same video lessons online as the DVD to follow along with the book lessons. The next category is called "Advanced Tips" and has a video on "Why Light and Dark Need Each Other". Last is a "Course Wrap Up" and has a video called, "What's Next". It will automatically mark these video lessons as complete once they are watched or you can mark as complete yourself. After they are completed they will have a check mark show up beside them in the course menu. We loved having the option to watch these videos online.

 

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Art of the Northern Countries, K-3 Vol. 5: Lesson 1 (monoprint).

 

The first lesson we had an introduction of art in Europe around the Northern Renaissance and learned how to use a brayer roller and black water-soluble printing ink to make a monoprint using plants and stencils. 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 brayer roller and black water-soluble printing ink. Teela did this lesson and she did a butterfly as her stencil. She found plants in our yard to use as well. Hers didn't quite come out as crisp as the one shown in the video and book, but she at least got to understand monoprints and how they work.

 

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Art of the Northern Countries, K-3 Vol. 5: Lesson 2 (observation drawing with oil pastels).

The second lesson in the book we learned about Durer and his painting, "The Large Piece of Turf". We read in the art book how Durer was inspired by art that looked like the real world and how he choose to paint plants when others were painting people. There are questions at the end in bold of this art history lesson about the "The Large Piece of Turf" 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 make a frame out of construction paper and draw plants with oil pastels. Teela did this art outside and picked plants in our "fairy garden" to draw.

 

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Art of the Northern Countries, K-3 Vol. 5: Lesson 3 (oil pastel drawing, snow scene).

The third lesson we learned about Bruegel's painting, "Hunters in the Snow". 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 make an oil pastel drawing of a winter scene. Zari made a snowy cabin in the woods with snow falling and a moon.

 

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Art of the Northern Countries, K-3 Vol. 5: Lesson 4 (relief print).

The forth lesson we learned more about relief prints. 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 make a white figure of a pet on a dark background. The video had the art and art instruction to show how to prepare the wax paper surface with the registration sheet, make a printing plate with foam printing sheets, and use the brayer. Zari decided she wanted to do our bunny, Norman, who had passed away. I helped make the printing plate. It asked us to use a picture of a light colored pet. We have a white horse, but Zari wanted to do Norman instead, so even though he was a black and white rabbit I think she did a good job as the correct areas of him were white and black.

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 Northern Countries 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 Northern Countries would be a great art curriculum for use with art history lessons and unit studies of Renaissance, Realism, and Europe.

Follow Them on Social Media:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtisticPursuitsInc
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ARTisticPursui1 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artisticpursuitsinc/ 
• Hashtags: #hsreviews #myartisticpursuits #homeschoolart #artinstruction #ART #Homeschool #ARTEDUCATION #artisticpursuits #creativity

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.

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for ARTistic Pursuits Inc....

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Art of the Ancients Review #ComplimentaryProductReceived

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Follow Them on Social Media:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtisticPursuitsInc
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ARTisticPursui1 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artisticpursuitsinc/ 
• Hashtags: #hsreviews #myartisticpursuits #homeschoolart #artinstruction #ART #Homeschool #ARTEDUCATION #artisticpursuits #creativity

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.

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for ARTistic Pursuits Inc....

Tied 2 Teaching STEM Activities, Full Year of Challenges with Close Reading Review

My family had the privilege of trying the STEM Activities, Full Year of Challenges with Close Reading from Tied 2 Teaching 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.

Tied 2 Teaching is owned by a father of 4 children that his wife homeschools. He has been teaching in the classroom since he received his K-8 certification in 2002 from Texas Tech. He has taught Middle school Math and now currently is teaching upper elementary. Him and his wife create teaching quality materials for teachers of both home and classroom to make their lives easier and save the teacher time preparing/planning.

STEM Activities, Full Year of Challenges with Close Reading is a bundle of PDF downloads. This includes over 70 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) design challenges from the STEM with Close Reading series. This is a full year of activities with the idea to do one activity per week. These are categorized by month of the year and are seasonal with bonus extras that you can do as well. In addition to the STEM activities directions these also have a high interest close reading passage and writing assignments included so your student has a more rounded curriculum because it integrates ELA (English Language Arts) into the learning as well. Close reading requires students to analyze, evaluate, and think critically about a given text. The STEM activities you can do with readily available materials you have around the house or the classroom. These are great for grades 3rd-6th. This comes as a compressed zip file of multiple PDFs and is about 859 MB.

STEM Design Challenges Included:

January STEM Challenge Bundle with Close Reading

• 100th Day of School STEM Challenge – Spaghetti Tower Design Challenge
• Marshmallow Snowman Challenge
• Civil Rights Monument Design Challenge
• Sled Design Challenge

February STEM Challenge Bundle with Close Reading

• Valentines Day STEM Challenge – Cupid’s Bow Design
• Groundhog Day STEM Challenge – Groundhog Burrow Design Challenge
• Valentines STEM Challenge – Love Bug Design Challenge
• Presidents Day STEM Challenge – Lincoln’s Cabin Challenge

March STEM Challenge Bundle with Close Reading

• St. Patrick’s Day STEM Challenge – Build a Leprechaun Trap
• Basketball Tower STEM Challenge
• St. Patrick’s Day STEM Challenge – Build a Rainbow Bridge
• New Hat for Cat Challenge Read Across America STEM

April STEM Challenge Bundle with Close Reading

• Jelly Bean Tower Challenge
• Easter STEM Challenge Design a Carrot Carriage
• Earth Day STEM Challenge – Design Something Useful
• Earth Day STEM Challenge – Upcycled Birdhouse

May STEM Challenge Bundle with Close Reading

• Design a New Droid
• Paper Airplane Design Challenge
• Pipe Cleaner Challenge
• Lighthouse Design Challenge

June STEM Challenge Bundle with Close Reading

• Foil Boat Design Challenge
• Giant Pyramid Challenge
• Steamboat Design Challenge
• Zip Line Design Activity

July STEM Challenge Bundle with Close Reading

• House of Cards Challenge
• Doghouse Design Challenge
• Alien Spacecraft Challenge
• Airplane Design Challenge

August STEM Challenge Bundle with Close Reading

• Building Block Tower Challenge
• Index Card Skyscraper Challenge
• Paper Table Challenge
• BONUS Building Block Challenge MEGA PACK

September STEM Challenge Bundle with Close Reading

• Apple Boat Challenge
• Pencil Tower Challenge
• Totem Pole Challenge
• Balloon Tower Challenge

October STEM Challenge Bundle with Close Reading

• Spider Web Design Challenge
• Witch’s Parachute Halloween STEM Challenge
• Bony Bridge Challenge
• Sugar Cube Arch Challenge

November STEM Challenge Bundle with Close Reading

• Parade Balloon Challenge
• Thanksgiving Table Challenge
• Cranberry Tower Challenge
• Pilgrim Shelter Challenge

December STEM Challenge Bundle with Close Reading

• Cardboard Reindeer Challenge
• Funky Christmas Ornament Challenge
• Straw Christmas Tree Challenge
• Christmas Tree Tower

BUILDING BLOCK CHALLENGES

• Build a Dinosaur
• Build a Nation’s Flag
• Design a New Bug
• Build the Eiffel Tower
• Design a Superhero
• Design a Toilet Paper Dispenser
• Design a Cactus Paperweight
• Build a UFO
• Build a Treasure Chest
• Design a Totem Pole

ADDITIONAL STEM CHALLENGES

• 100th Day of School Glasses
• 100th Day of School Crayon Tower
• Kingdom Hearts Valentines Castle
• Candy Heart Tower
• Design a Candy Box

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

My daughters who are 10 and 8 and I had fun together doing four of these projects. We picked out four that looked like the most fun and that we had the materials at home for. We did the Earth Day STEM Challenge – Upcycled Birdhouse, Foil Boat Design Challenge, Building Block Tower Challenge, and Design a New Bug Building Block Challenge. In my family we love doing STEM activities!

I really like that these STEM projects have reading and writing assignments as well. This enriches the learning experience even more and gets the students minds thinking about all the aspects of the challenge. Each STEM activity has a PDF with a QR code to scan with your code reading electronic device or link to click on to get to the reading passage. The reading assignment has comprehension questions to answer after the passage is read. The pages also had my daughters ask, imagine, plan, create, and improve upon the design they made. They were asked to research, test out their design, and make improvements on it if needed. They were also asked to show their steps and write what went well and what they could improve upon.

Zari's Birdhouse STEM Challenge.

  
Earth Day STEM Challenge – Upcycled Birdhouse
We were told to gather recyclable items up and build a bird house with them. There was a page in the PDF that had the design challenge, design criteria, material suggestions, and a little about the final project. The assignment had Zari read a passage about birds flying south during the winter then answer the comprehension questions. Then she designed and built her birdhouse using the materials we had gathered up around our home. This PDF had pictures of other people's projects for examples as well which was very helpful. Zari built her birdhouse much like the picture of the one in the PDF made out of a coffee container.

Foil Boat STEM Challenge.

Foil Boat Design Challenge
We were told to design and build a boat using only a 12" X 18" sheet of aluminum foil and see how many pennies it could hold before it sank in the water and try to build one to hold the most pennies before sinking. This one had a QR code and link as well, but we noticed that the link in the PDF didn't link to the right url for the questions so instead we had to search in the search bar for the correct webpage. Thankfully we found it using the heading on the question sheet for the design challenge reading. I am not sure if the QR code works because I do not own a device that can read those. After reading the passage about life saving boats they answered the comprehension questions. Then they designed and built their boats using the foil and proceeded to place pennies one by one on their crafts, counting them until they sunk. This PDF had pictures of other people's projects for examples as well which was very helpful. Zari's boat was rectangular and flat on the bottom it held the 210 pennies that we had without issue. Teela's boat held the 210 pennies for a moment then started taking on water. Her boat didn't have as solid of sides as Zari's.

Building Block Tower Stem Challenge

Building Block Tower Challenge
We were told to build the tallest tower out of Legos to be able to support a tennis ball. We unfortunately didn't own a tennis ball so we used an orange instead. The reading assignment was How tall is the Eiffel Tower?. The link worked great in this one and went to the correct page. After reading the passage about the Eiffel Tower they answered the comprehension questions. Then they designed and built their towers using the Legos we had and proceeded to place the orange at the top to see how well they built it. This PDF had pictures of other people's projects for examples as well which was very helpful. Teela's tower was a little taller than Zari's in this activity, but they both held the orange without toppling over.

Design a New Bug
We were told to build a new bug out of Legos. The reading assignment was Are You Scared of Bugs?. The link worked great in this one and went to the correct page. After reading the passage about bugs they answered the comprehension questions. Then they designed and built their bugs using the Legos we had. This PDF did not have pictures of other people's projects for examples.

These activities were lots of fun and some were more challenging than others. Both Teela and Zari had fun with the STEM projects. The written assignments were a little more advanced for Zari, so I told her she could write less. I highly recommend these though because they cover so many subjects in one project and my kids enjoyed them.

Follow Them on Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tied2teaching/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tied2teaching/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/tied2teaching/
Hastags: #hsreviews #tied2teaching #iteachtoo #STEM

BUY IT
Right now the Tied 2 Teaching STEM Activities, Full Year of Challenges with Close Reading bundle is $30 not $60, so you save $30.

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for Tied 2 Teaching...

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Artists that Shaped the Italian Renaissance, K-3 Vol. 4 Review

My family had the privilege of trying the Artists that Shaped the Italian Renaissance, K-3 Vol. 4 of the K-3rd Grade Level, Volumes 1-8 from ARTistic Pursuits Inc. for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. 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 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.

Artists that Shaped the Italian Renaissance is the forth 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 Italian Renaissance masters and 6 video lessons featuring art instruction on materials), and 86 full-color illustrations. This art curriculum book and videos takes a look at art produced in the Italian Renaissance, from the Cimabue's tilt of the head in the 13th century to the foreshortened and exaggerated forms of Parmigianino in the 16th century. Young learners will create and respond to art of this period as they increase their skills in motivation, concentration, and discovery, etc. They also learn about the period and how the people then made art. Children will work with watercolors, resist, fresco, scratch art, and oil pastels.

K-3 Vol.4 Art Supply Pack | ARTistic Pursuits

 
K-3 Vol. 4 Art Supply Pack (can be purchased separately or with the book for additional cost) Includes:

• Prang pan watercolor set
• Watercolor paper pad
• Two 9"x12" hardboard panels
• Small 8oz. spackling paste
• Small plastic putty knife
• Scratch-Art Paper
• Gold origami paper
• Purple cotton tote bag

You will also need these materials from K-3 Vol. 1 Starter Pack Materials list:

• Oil pastel set
• Drawing paper
• Construction paper
• Scissors
• Watercolor brush, round #8
• Elmer's Glue All
• Glue stick

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Artists that Shaped the Italian Renaissance, K-3 Vol. 4: Lessons 1-5

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:


I did this art instruction for kids with my daughters Teela and Zari who are in 5th and 2nd grade this school year. We did one lesson a week which got us through the 5th lesson. My kids love art so they enjoyed these activities and learning about the art very much. ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Artists that Shaped the Italian Renaissance, K-3 Vol. 4 would be a great art curriculum for use with art history lessons and a unit study for the Italian Renaissance.

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.

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Artists that Shaped the Italian Renaissance, K-3 Vol. 4: Lesson 1 (Watercolor Self-Portrait).

The first lesson we had an introduction of the Italian Renaissance and learned how to make a watercolor self-portrait. 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 watercolors properly so they won't bleed into the next color and so you stay in the lines.

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Artists that Shaped the Italian Renaissance, K-3 Vol. 4: Lesson 2 (Gold Leaf Painting)

The second lesson in the book we learned about Giovanni Cimabue. There are questions at the end in bold of the this art history lesson about the picture of a painting, called Madonna Enthroned, with Saints and Angels by Cimabue in the book to make sure the children are paying attention to the art. Then we are told and shown how to make a gold leaf watercolor painting. We couldn't find the gold leaf paper so we ended up using a cut up gold colored reversible table cloth for the gold objects in the picture.

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Artists that Shaped the Italian Renaissance, K-3 Vol. 4: Lesson 3 (Gesture Painting)

The third lesson we learned about Giotto di Bondone and gesture painting. There are questions at the end in bold of the this art history lesson about the picture of the Lamentation of Christ. Then we are told and shown how to do a watercolor gesture painting.

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Artists that Shaped the Italian Renaissance, K-3 Vol. 4: Lesson 4 (Calendar Page)

In the forth lesson we learned about Paul, Jean, and Herman Limbourg & the Book of Hours. There are questions at the end in bold of the this art history lesson about the picture of October (the Tres Riches Heures of Jean, Duke of Berry). Then we are told and shown how to do a watercolor calendar page.

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Artists that Shaped the Italian Renaissance, K-3 Vol. 4: Lesson 5 (Symbol Painting)

In the fifth lesson we learned about Jan van Eyck. There are questions at the end in bold of the this art history lesson about the picture of The Arnolfini Portrait. Then we are told and shown how to do a symbol watercolor painting.

There was only one thing that I would change if I was the author. My daughter 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 Inc. Artists that Shaped the Italian Renaissance, K-3 Vol. 4 has been very educational and fun. We have learned so much about the art of the time. I highly recommend this art for children. It is perfect for our art at home instruction and to go along with our unit study history lessons about the Italian Renaissance.

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BUY IT
You can purchase the K-3rd Grade Level, Volumes 1-8. 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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WriteBonnieRose Learning About Science Collection, Level 1 Review

My family had the privilege of trying the Learning About Science Collection, Level 1 from WriteBonnieRose for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

WriteBonnieRose is a website created by Bonnie Rose, a regular contributor to Schoolhouse Teachers and The Old Schoolhouse® magazine for the past 6 years. WriteBonnieRose creates curriculum, and printables for homeschoolers. She has activity packs, coloring books, copywork, games, notebooking, and unit studies. You can find curriculum on subjects including: Geography, American History, World History, World War History, Holidays, Literature, Math, Missions, Reading & Writing, Science, Spelling, and Sports. She has curriculum for ages preschool through high school.

The Learning About Science Collection has three different levels with the last level having a print and cursive version. Learning About Science Collection, Level 1 is the first of the levels and is a science curriculum for younger elementary students. With 172 pages total, it covers: life science, earth science, and physical science. These are in seven books that are in digital PDF format. These seven books explore these topics: how plants grow, common fruits and vegetables, animal habitats, senses and body systems, life cycles, the earth’s layers, earthquakes, volcanoes, states of matter, and more. This does not talk about the origins or age of the earth and all measurements are given in both English and Metric. Level 1 is perfect for grades 1-3.

Learning About Science Collection, Level 1 Books:

1. Familiar Plants and How They Grow: Key parts of a plant, what makes a plant, life cycle of flowering plants (14 pages)
2. Fruits and Vegetables Around the World: 28 fruits and 28 vegetables (37 pages)
3. Animal Habitats of the World: 78 animals, 18 habitats (51 pages)
4. Our Senses and Systems and How They Work: 5 senses, major body systems (19 pages)
5. Learning About Life Cycles: Life cycles of some popular animals (27 pages)
6. Earth: Layers, Earthquakes, and Volcanoes: crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core; movement of plates, movement of magma (12 pages)
7. Exploring States of Matter: 3 states of matter, how some matter can change states (12 pages)

Zari working on the Familiar Plants and How They Grow section.

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:
Once ordered, Learning About Science Collection, Level 1 was sent to our email. From there it was downloadable and printable in PDF format. Each book is a separate file, so there are seven individual downloads plus a file for discussion helps.

This homeschool science curriculum is great for younger children. In each lesson there are some paragraphs of information to read, some pictures to color, and some key spelling words to trace. I read the paragraphs to her and she would color the pictures and trace the words. The paragraphs are in a tone younger kids can understand. I love that it also incorporates practicing handwriting with the science and coloring. Then there is a review section in which the student is asked questions to see if they could remember the information. After this section there are pages that hold a review answer key for parents/teachers to check students work.

I used this with my youngest daughter Zari who is going into 2nd grade. We did the first unit, Familiar Plants and How They Grow. We worked through this averaging three days a week during the review period. She learned about the key parts of plants like the seeds, flower, pistil, stamen, stem, and roots. She also learned about the plant life cycle. We would then explore online and outdoors on plants further. Both Teela and her even grew their own seedlings from flower seeds.

Flower seedlings we grew from seed.

She enjoyed learning more about plants in this lesson. She can't wait to learn more about the other subjects. We highly recommend the WriteBonnieRose Learning About Science Collection, Level 1 to other homeschooling kids grades 1-3. These are great as unit studies or a whole science curriculum. These would also be great as a starting point to then dig deeper into the subjects by looking up more information or hands on activities.

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• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WriteBonnieRose/  @WriteBonnieRose
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/WriteBonnieRose  @WriteBonnieRose
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/writebonnierose/  @WriteBonnieRose
• Hashtags: #hsreviews #hsscience #LifeScience #PhysicalScience #EarthScience

BUY IT

You can save 50% on the bundled Learning About Science, Levels 1, 2, and 3 with coupon code REVIEWCREW50 through August 15, which means you can get each set of ebooks for $6 per set at https://writebonnierose.com/products-science/.

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ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Art Instruction Books with DVD and Blu-Ray Art of the Middle Ages Review

My family had the privilege of trying the Art Instruction Books with DVD and Blu-Ray Art of the Middle Ages from ARTistic Pursuits Inc. for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. 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 6 volumes currently with two more on their way:

• 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 (Coming in the summer of 2018!)
• K-3 Vol. 8 ART IN AMERICA (Coming in the summer of 2018!)

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 Middle Ages is the third 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 medieval masters and 6 video lessons featuring art instruction on materials), and 106 illustrations. This art curriculum book and videos takes a look at art produced in the Middle Ages, from the early Migration Period to the Gothic architecture of France. Young learners will create and respond to medieval art as they increase their skills in motivation, concentration, and discovery, etc. They also learn about the period and how the people then made art. Children will work with colored paper, needlework, weaving, and oil pastels.

K-3 Vol.3 Art Supply Pack | ARTistic Pursuits

K-3 Vol.3 Art Supply Pack (can be purchased separately or with the book for additional cost) Includes:

• Gesso, small bottle
• Gold acrylic paint, 2 oz
• Tissue paper (assorted colors)
• Sculpey, white, 2 oz
• Flat watercolor brush, 1/2 inch
• Mod Podge, matte finish
• Small tip squeeze bottle
• Plastic sewing needle, large
• Bristle brush, 1 inch
• Lightweight chipboard
• Gold origami paper
• Purple cotton tote bag

You will also need these materials from K-3 Vol. 1 Starter Pack Materials list:

• crayons
• oil pastel set
• scissors
• watercolor brush #8 round
• watercolor paper
• construction paper
• eraser
• Ebony pencil
• Elmer's Glue All
• glue stick

ARTistic Pursuits Art Instruction Books with DVD and Blu-Ray Art of the Middle Ages Lessons 1-5

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:
I did this art instruction for kids with my daughters Teela and Zari who were in 1st and 4th grade this past school year. We did one lesson a week which got us through the 5th lesson. My kids love art so this was a great activity to get them busy during the summer. ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Art Instruction Books with DVD and Blu-Ray Art of the Middle Ages would be a great art curriculum for use with art history lessons and a unit study for the Middle Ages or medieval times.

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.

ARTistic Pursuits Art Instruction Books with DVD and Blu-Ray Art of the Middle Ages Lesson 1 (Paper Loom Weave and Crown).

The first lesson we had an introduction of the medieval world and learned how to weave with a paper loom. 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 do a weave on a paper loom and a crown that uses the weave, cutting diamonds, using tissue paper as a sort of a window. We couldn't find the gold origami paper so we ended up using shiny wrapping paper for the weave in the crown.

ARTistic Pursuits Art Instruction Books with DVD and Blu-Ray Art of the Middle Ages Lesson 2 (Weaving Beasts).

The second lesson in the book we learned about the migration of people, art in battles, and art during the Migration Period. There are questions at the end in bold of the this art history lesson about the picture of a metal brooch in the book to make sure the children are paying attention to the art. Then we are told and shown how to do woven beasts out of construction paper.

ARTistic Pursuits Art Instruction Books with DVD and Blu-Ray Art of the Middle Ages Lesson 3 (Initial Page).

The third lesson we learned about art in monasteries, medieval illumination, and initial pages. There are questions at the end in bold of the this art history lesson about the picture of a medieval illumination. Then we are told and shown how to do a initial page with the first letter of the artists name. We couldn't find the gold origami paper so we ended up using shiny wrapping paper for the letter. 

ARTistic Pursuits Art Instruction Books with DVD and Blu-Ray Art of the Middle Ages Lesson 4 (Mosaic).

In the forth lesson we learned about art in Basilicas and Byzantine mosaics. There are questions at the end in bold of the this art history lesson about the picture of the Theotokos Mosaic. Then we are told and shown how to do a mosaic of a person out of construction paper.

ARTistic Pursuits Art Instruction Books with DVD and Blu-Ray Art of the Middle Ages Lesson 5 (Panel Drawing).

In the fifth lesson we watched video #2. We learned about Gothic panels in this lesson. We were instructed to make a panel drawing with tissue paper to create the background and a picture of a colorful song bird drawn on it.

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. It is perfect for our homeschool art and to go along with our unit study history lessons about the Middle Ages.

Follow Them on Social Media:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtisticPursuitsInc @ArtisticPursuitsInc
• Twitter: @ARTistic Pursui1

Suggested Hashtags: #hsreview #myartisticpursuits #homeschoolart #artinstruction

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.

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for ARTistic Pursuits Inc....

Middlebury Interactive Languages Elementary Spanish 1: Grades K-2 Review

My family had the privilege of trying the Elementary Spanish 1: Grades K-2 from Middlebury Interactive Languages for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Middlebury Interactive Languages offers online world language courses for students in a classroom setting or homeschool. They offer courses in Spanish, French, Chinese and German in elementary, middle and high school. Course levels range from introductory through advanced. These courses are for one student to do and are yearly subscriptions that go a semester (about 6 months) at a time. Each semester for Middle School & High School consists of 18 weeks (90 days) of content. Each semester for grades K-2 consists of 35 days of content. Each semester for grades 3-5 consists of 45 days of content.

Elementary Spanish 1: Grades K-2 is one of the courses from Middlebury Interactive Languages. Other than Spanish they have Chinese and French for grades K-2. Elementary Spanish 1: Grades K-2 has twelve units total. Units one through five and seven through eleven have six lessons each. Units 6 and 12 are review for previous lessons. When your student finishes an activity it will automatically check mark it to show you where your student is in the program and what activities have been completed. There are Authentic Stories, Course Vocabulary (in both Spanish and English) & Songs and Translations as PDF files to download and print out. The lessons consist of: an introduction, parts to explore, warm ups, practices, speaking labs (these need a microphone), stories, find and color, review, where is/which has, coloring pages (to download and print), culture, songs, worksheets (to download and print), vocabulary, unit summaries, and quizzes & tests. Some lessons have places to click, drag and drop, interactive videos, videos to watch, and click to listen activities. There are places where the child can click to hear what is being asked or said. This is wonderful if the child doesn't read yet. If you start from the Home/Dashboard instead of the Table of Contents you can continue the course from where your student left off and see where your student is supposed to be in the course.

Above: Table of Contents, Below: Home/Dashboard (notice check marks indicating finished work)

  
Contents of Elementary Spanish 1: Grades K-2:

• Unit 1: Greetings
• Unit 2: Numbers
• Unit 3: Family
• Unit 4: Colors
• Unit 5: School
• Unit 6: Review of 1-5
• Unit 7: Body
• Unit 8: Animals
• Unit 9: Calendar
• Unit 10: Food
• Unit 11: Descriptions
• Unit 12: Review of 7-11

Zari watching Las manchas del ocelote for learning greetings in Spanish.

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:
The Elementary Spanish 1: Grades K-2 program is a totally immersive Spanish language study. My daughter Zari who is in Kindergarten was able to do this even though she isn't reading yet.  We worked on this about 2-3 days a week or when ever we had some free time. She did fairly well with the instructions and understanding what to do. I love that it teaches the basics.

The lessons are short (about 15 minutes), interactive, and held my daughter's attention. The stories, songs, and  activities are done all in Spanish. If you want to know what the stories and songs are in English you have to download the PDF files. They have vocabulary words and phrases that you are supposed to look out for and learn. They tell you what these mean in English within the program as well as the PDF files to print. We made flash cards with the words and phrases that were being taught.

The stories and songs are fun animated videos that are spoken in Spanish. I liked to read the stories/songs in English to my daughter after they were told in Spanish within the program so that my daughter understood better what was going on. Before I read the English version I would ask her what she thought was going on.

Zari enjoyed learning Spanish with Middlebury Interactive Languages. The lessons are not difficult and after Zari got the directions down on how to use the mouse and microphone within the program she had no trouble with it on her own. She enjoyed working through the online lessons and always was enthusiastic about coming back and doing more.

Middlebury Interactive Languages has a lot of great online foreign language courses that meet multiple grades and levels. I love that they have so many to choose from. I highly recommend this Spanish Middlebury Interactive Languages course to anyone that homeschools or supplements their child's public education at home. This is a wonderful homeschool foreign language course!

BUY IT
Elementary Spanish 1: Grades K-2 is $238 without teacher support and $588 with teacher support for both semesters. You can also find other courses of Middlebury Interactive Languages in Spanish, French, Chinese and German in elementary, middle and high school with course levels ranging from introductory through advanced.

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Middlebury-Interactive-Languages-141015515949753/
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