TOS Review: Artistic Pursuits

I can't wait to tell you about Artistic Pursuits.  I think I just may be in love!

Artisitc Pursuits is an art curriciulum designed specifically for homeschoolers.  It uses fun art lessons to "teach both the expressive and technical aspects of art while allowing children to make choices about what and how they will draw, paint, and sculpt."

There are books for preschoolers, and elementary school students, as well as books for middle and high school students.  Each level focuses on a different concept of art and teaches through a different approach.  For instance, the preschool level aims to encourage exploration of art materials and the world.  The focus of the elementary level program is art instruction through hands-on art projects and art history.  The middle  and high school levels provide more technical drawing and painting instruction using artists and art history.

For this review we received a copy of Artistic Pursuits Grades K-3 Book One.

The book is broken down into three sections: what artists do, what artists see, and where we find art.  There are 32 lessons, each with a corresponding work of art to view and discuss and a project for the student to complete.  The lessons are so easy for me to present.  Both Little M and Ms. Q are participating so what we do is get comfy on the couch and read the lesson together.  I ask them a few questions and then we look at the work of art.  We then discuss the piece and I ask the kids some of the discussion questions listed in the book.  The next page of the lesson is the project.  This is where the fun really starts.  The kids get to create their own piece of art using the skill or idea discussed in the lesson and viewed in the masterpiece. They have really had a lot of fun with these projects.  We decided to go with the K-3 level so that Little M can learn too.  They are really enjoying doing projects together and so far they have composed a still life, painted from their imagination, sketched an observation in the backyard, and drawn pictures that "talk."  I can't wait to see what they will create next.

You can see samples of Artistic Pursuits Grades K-3, Book One HERE.  K-3,  Book One book costs $42.95.  The books are non-consumable so you can reuse these for all of your children!  The art materials needed vary depending on the book however you can see a list of the supplies necessary on the Artistic Pursuits website.  Materials are available for purchase through the website and materials are commercially available at the majority of craft and art supplies stores as well.

To see what other TOS Crew members had to say, or to see a review of a book of a different level, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew BLOG.

Enjoy!

Disclosure: As a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew, I was provided this product for free in exchange for my review.  No other compensation was given and this review reflects my honest opinion.

TOS Review: The Easy French!

Ms. Q has been bugging us to get her a French curriculum for at least two years now.  I kept putting her off because honestly other courses kept eating up all our homeschooling budget.  So when we had the opportunity to review Great Commission Languages, The Easy French! I couldn't have been happier.  Either could Ms. Q.  When it came she was so excited I wish I could have kept the book hidden until Christmas morning - it was that kind of excitement.

Le Francais  Facile! (The Easy French!) is a complete homeschool French curriculum.  Owned, operated, and developed by a homeschooling family, Great Commission Languages (GCL) The Easy French! uses fun stories and an easy to understand audio CD to help your children (and in our case me too) to learn the French language, grammar, and culture.  

We reviewed Level 1A which is geared to students in upper elementary/middle school through high school. The book in the picture states grade 7 and up but my copy of the book does not.  The curriculum includes:

• Textbook with 18 lessons, appendices with information on phonograms, spelling and pronunciation rules, and sentence structure, as well as recipes and cultural projects
• Audio CD which includes lesson stories and vocabulary
• Data CD to view or print answers to textbook activities
• Phonogram cards (additional purchase)
• Test booklet and answer key (additional purchase)

The textbook is very easy to use.  Each lesson includes an audio story with new French vocabulary mixed with English, a vocabulary list, a student helps section which highlights an important piece of grammatical information, Scripture memory work (which we skipped), and information on French culture and trivia.  Some lessons also include a few words of everyday vocabulary such as oui (yes), non (no), or s 'il vous plait (please) and an activity to complete.  Each lesson includes a lesson planner template to help both the teacher and the student to stay on track completing the lesson. You can view sample lesson pages HERE.


Although the textbook and the curriculum are really user friendly I have to admit that Ms. Q and I had a little difficulty with the program at first.  I think the only thing that got us through the first week was her enthusiasm.  

I don't know a word of French other than cafe au lait and croissant.   I know a teeny bit of Spanish but none I would say aloud to my mother and although I took four years of German in high school and have been to Germany, I don't think I could even hold a conversation with a German preschooler at this point.


So to make a long story short, when we put in the audio CD that first day and heard the conversation we were both a little overwhelmed.  There is a lot of new vocabulary in lesson 1!  The textbook introduction states this level can be completed in one year.  It's going to take us a lot little longer.  

Ms. Q and I decided that we would break each lesson into two or three sections and spend a week on each section instead of a week on each lesson.  We spent three weeks on lesson 1!  Honestly though it wasn't bad.  Ms. Q is really enjoying the lessons now and I am too!  The extra time spent on each lesson is really helping her to thoroughly learn the vocabulary and practice her pronunciation. 

GCL has a program for grades K-3 called French Jr. which may have been a better fit for Ms. Q.   But we like a good challenge.  It may take us a little longer than the average user to complete The Easy French! Level 1A but Ms. Q and I are confident that we will be successful because Great Commission Languages has provided us with a curriculum that is well planned, smartly written, and fun.


The Easy French! Level 1A costs $84.95 and can be purchased through the Great Commission Languages' website.  The test booklet, answer key, and phonogram cards can be purchased for an additional $10 each.



To see what other TOS Crew members have to say about this and other Great Commission Languages programs check out the TOS Blog.


Enjoy!


Disclosure: As a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew, I was provided this product for free in exchange for my review.  No other compensation was given and this review reflects my honest opinion.

A Visit With Santa

Do you take your kids to visit with Santa and get their picture taken?  We trekked to the mall yesterday for our annual photo with Santa.  This event is one of my favorites.  I think I might even enjoy it more than the kids.  We try to go during the day on a week day so we don't have to wait in line.  The kids get to tell Santa what they are wishing for and they get a reminder from Santa to behave, be nice to their siblings, and listen to Mommy and Daddy (at least that's what our Santa always says).  Then we go out to eat.

This year we got a classic picture:

used with permission