Art History Comes Alive with HiGASFY! {Curriculum Review}

I love art. I love history. I don't necessarily love art history. We have found that most art history is either too teacher dependent, or it's rather boring. We've tried a variety of programs and books. Some of the top named curriculums. Yet we've never "loved" it enough to keep doing it. Enter the HiGASFY Art History Video Series and their online art history lessons and curriculum bundles. For the last several weeks, we've been reviewing a 3-month subscription to the HiGASFY Art History Video Series and the boys are eager to share their thoughts on the new (to us) program.

About The Product

HiGASFY is an art history program with a “real” teacher via video lessons, hands-on activities, and much more that is designed to introduce students to the world of art history. The teacher (Mrs. Beth) and her assistant (a drop of paint named Gasfy), help the students explore the world of art through personable and interesting lectures that are shared like stories--hence the name "Have I Got A Story For You!".

ARTistic Pursuits: Video Lessons to Explore Art of the Modern Age {Product Review}

I don't regularly schedule in art in our homeschool. I love art, but with my boys, it's just not a priority. Yet, thanks to several reviews I have done, I have collected a whole host of supplies to handle just about any type of art lesson that comes our way. We have reviewed several art programs before, and have discovered that we really enjoy the curriculum from ARTistic Pursuits Inc.. This company released a new collection of K-3rd Grade Level, Volumes 1-8 last year (adding 7 and 8 in late 2018) to give an additional aspect to their already fabulous art program. We have been reviewing Art of the Modern Age, K-3 Vol. 7 from this collection over the last several weeks with my youngest son.

About ARTistic Pursuits

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. is an art curriculum company believing that all children are able to understand the concepts of art, and enjoy putting ideas and visual images on paper. They are committed to helping children become observant in our world and to be able to work creatively in it. They are determined to offer parents and children a quality art education presented in an easy to understand format for both the teacher and child and gear their books towards the homeschooling community.

The Master and His Apprentices: Art History from a Christian Perspective {Curriculum Review}

Art History. This is a subject that can be rather...well scandalous when it comes to the art included in most curriculum. My mother-in-law is an art history major and she HATED that aspect of it. I don't know about you, but as a mom, I'd really like something more, well GODLY when it comes to studying art throughout history for my children (and myself for that matter!). But does such a thing exist? Let me introduce you to The Master and His Apprentices, an alternative to the traditional approach for art history. I recently reviewed The Master and His Apprentices: Art History from a Christian Perspective and am happy to share this high school level curriculum with you today.

About The Master and His Apprentices

The Master and His Apprentices is a Christian perspective of art throughout the ages. Unlike 99% of the other art history material out there, this curriculum contains NO nudity or other objectionable material! Instead, it has just scholarly material in a reader-friendly format. Throughout the course, the

From the Makers of Kwik Stix Comes Magic Stix Washable Markers {Product Review}

The links on this blog and in the posts may be affiliate links.  Please see my disclosure policy for full details and thank you for your support! Kids and markers. Now THAT is a potentially hazzardous combination! LOL. If your children are like mine, they love using markers. But if your children are ALSO like mine, they tend to get markers all over THEMSELVES! Or someone leaves the lid off and ruins the fun for everyone. But what if I told you there is a new marker on the block that is non-toxic, washable, AND has a 7 day Cap-Off-Won't-Dry-Out Guarantee? Let me introduce you to Magic Stix Washable Markers from The Pencil Grip, Inc. Over the last several weeks we have been reviewing the 24 pk of these kid friendly markers and are ready to share our thoughts!

About Magic Stix Washable Markers

The Magic Stix Washable Markers are the newest product in the line of art supplies from The Pencil Grip, Inc. These markers are non-Toxic, washable, come in a plastic carrying case, and have a guarantee that even if their cap is off

Thin Stix Creativity Pack ~ One of Our Family's Favorite Products {a review}

We have been fans of The Pencil Grip, Inc. products since our very first experience with KwikStix back in 2016. We have LOVED seeing the brand add new products to their line, and were very excited when they released ThinStix earlier this year. Our one wish was that they would turn all the KwikStix colors into Thin Stix. Needless to say I was thrilled to learn that the company had done just that and we were given a chance to review the Thin Stix Creativity Pack—all twenty-four beautiful colors!

About Thin Stix Creativity Pack

Thin Stix Creativity Pack is the newest in the Kwik Stix family from The Pencil Grip, Inc. Thin Stix Creativity Pack consists of the twenty-four colors of the Kwik Stix line, in the newest thinner size of the Thin Stix. Now your child can find the size of stick they need—whether thick or thin!

The Thin Stixs Creativity Pack ($19.99) consists of:
12 Classic colors
6 Neon colors
6 Metallix colors

These are the same colors offered in the original Kwik Stix line too!

What makes the Kwik Stix unique?
They are tempera paint in a stick—drying in 90 seconds! They are non-toxic and washable, as well as being nut, egg, and gluten free. No water or paint brushes are needed—simply uncap, twist, and paint. The paint works on wood, paper, cardboard, poster board…even pumpkins! Using these sticks means that much of the dreaded painting mess has been eliminated!

Our Thoughts on This Product

As soon as I told my boys we had gotten the full line of Thin Stix they gave a yell of happiness and asked to get them out right away! Over the course of the review we have used them for regular free paint time, book report illustrations, and even map work. The thinner size of the tubes and paint sticks makes them much handier for more detailed work.

My son wanted to use them to do his mapwork—and because I knew it would be dry in 90 seconds and they were as “clean” as using markers, I didn’t mind at all!

Because of our reviews, we now own a COMPLETE set of the Kwik Stix AND a complete set of Thin Stix—with a bonus smaller classic color set. I am thrilled to have all of these and we regularly pull them down for our creations. My boys have now requested that The Pencil Grip, Inc takes it the next step—making the Thin Stix as thin as a color crayon! We can only hope for that wish! LOL

I whole heartedly recommend the entire line of Kwik Stix by The Pencil Grip, Inc. Especially if your child adores painting, and you don’t adore the mess. We have used these all regularly and still have not run them dry, though I know it will happen sooner or later. Our favorite line is definitely the Metallix. I just love the shimmer they leave on the paper!

Size comparison between the Kwik Stix and Thin Stix

The Pencil Grip, Inc. is happy that Kwik Stix has been picked up with several retailers, including online retailers like BJ's, so make sure you keep your eyes open for a chance to snag some Kwik Stix for your whole family to try!

Want To Know More About The Pencil Grip, Inc?

Over the last several weeks, we have been enjoying our review of Thin Stix Creativity Pack from The Pencil Grip, Inc. You have seen how we used them, but there are so many other uses! I encourage you to visit some of my fellow crew members to learn more!

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Make Paper Mache and Sculpting Projects Easier with ACTIVA Products! {Product Review}

We recently were given Rigid Wrap and CelluClay Quik-Sculpting Kit and ACTÍVA Products' Favorite Sculpture KIDS CRAFTS from ACTÍVA Products to review. It seems in homeschool there is always the need for a plaster or paper mache product sometime or another, but prepping all the supplies can take time, and be expensive. ACTÍVA Products is the answer for that and something that is not only easy to store, but easy to use!

About ACTÍVA Products

ACTÍVA Products are a special crafting supplier in the vast arts and crafts world. ACTIVA Products include Clay, Colored Sand, Paper Mache, Sculpting Materials, and More! What also makes them special, is all ACTÍVA

New from The Pencil Grip, Inc.: Thin Stix ~ Paint Without the Mess {Product Review}

The links on this blog and in the posts may be affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for full details and thank you for your support!
I first learned about The Pencil Grip, Inc. last year when their solid tempera paint came into my radar. We quickly fell in love with their Kwik Stix--we just wished they were...thinner. Needless to say when I had the opportunity to review the company's newest product Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors, I was pretty excited and hoped they would be the thinner style of Kwik Stix we had wished for.

About Thin Stix

Thin Stix is the brain child of The Pencil Grip, Inc. Designed to alleviate the mess of painting,

Revisiting Exploring Cultural Art with ArtAchieve {Product Review}

Last summer, we had the pleasure of reviewing the Entire Level I from ArtAchieve. We enjoyed trying the art lessons, and the boys had asked me if we would be doing them again. They were happy when I shared that we would be reviewing the Entire Level II for a few weeks, and hoped they would enjoy this new level for ArtAchieve as much as they did the previous level.

About ArtAchieve

ArtAchieve designed their art lessons for children in order to help them be inspired by art around the world, and to enable teachers without art backgrounds to still be able to teach exciting art classes. ArtAchieve isn't just focused on art--they also include mini social studies lessons with their lesson as they explore the part of the world the inspiration came from, dabbling in social studies, science and language arts!

Creating a Masterpiece: An Online Art Program {Curriculum Review}

Our family loves art. We love doing arts and crafts and trying new mediums. But when it comes to creating from scratch? Nope. No can do. My boys can sketch quite well--vehicles that is. But birds? Beautiful Landscapes? Frameable Art? That would be a no. Enter our review of Creating a Masterpiece. This art program declares that no matter the age, students are capable of creating a masterpiece following the simple instructions provided by the teacher. As we reviewed the Monthly Plan to this program, I wondered if this was true. Could anyone--including my 6 year old create a masterpiece with this program? We dove in with both feet to find out!

About Creating a Masterpiece

Creating a Masterpiece is an online video instruction curriculum taught by master artist Sharon Hofer. Sharon teaches not only technique, but equips students with the skills to produce excellent results. The program was designed so that each student can move on and do their own individual projects. Because of the way it's filmed, it's just like sitting in one of Sharon Hofer's studio classes--but in the

Watercolours Made Easy with Aquarelle {Product Review}

Art. We love it at our house. We even have three drawers full of all sorts of mediums. One of our favorite mediums to work with is watercolor paints. When I was given the Aquarelle Monet set by Timberdoodle to review, I looked forward to exploring watercolors with Claude Monet as the inspiration.

Product Information

Aquarelle is a company trying to take the guess work out of watercolor painting for beginners. They have designed pictures to color with a water-resistant technique--the paint flows off the wax barriers and adheres only on the coloring spaces. This in turn allows for the painter to create a masterpiece and explore their colors with guaranteed success.
Aquarelle Monet set ($28.50) explores three paintings by Claude Monet--one of the greatest artists of all time. With this set, the painter gets to paint three images from the series of water lilies images that Monet did. 
Included in this set: *three pictures to paint *high-quality, washable, liquid-watercolor paints  *a standard pipette plus a sturdy dropper  *palette *a quality double-ended paintbrush  *plus a color mixing guide
The Aquarelle Monet Set is part of the Timberdoodle 4th Grade Curriculum Package and geared for ages 8+.

How Did We Use the Aquarelle Set?

When I got this set I explored it on my own and decided that I wanted to do the review myself! I knew that if I gave it a go, it would inspire Little Britches to try it himself later because he was overwhelmed when he first looked at it. LOL. 

The supplies

I kicked it off by reading through the included color mixing guide which gave a great introduction to using watercolors, including tips and tricks for getting the colors and designs you desire onto the paper. I especially like the page that gives by drop by drop color matching for creating your own mixtures.

I admit I was a bit intimidated by the big blank paper, even with the raised wax borders as my "lines" color color inside. But I just took a breath and picked a couple colors off the chart to create. I kept looking at the box for reference of the types of dark and light colors and came up with two blues and a green to get started with.

The colors are very rich indeed.

I did notice that there was going to be a LOT of painting of water, and the brush that was included was a very fine tip brush. I wanted something bigger so I grabbed one of our own paintbrushes and used that. It covered WAYYYY more ground. And so with mixing different colors and just taking a deep breath and giving it a go, I completed one of the pictures.

my palette and testing piece

Not bad. I like it more now that it has dried. I wasn't sure about the waters since I had to keep lifting and reloading my brush, but I think it looks pretty good. The shapes of the lily pads and flowers were what were protected with the wax edges. So that gives you "lines" of sorts.
But since I don't always like to color in the lines, I was inspired to create my own mini painting using the back of my scratch piece...

Would I Recommend Aquarelle?

Yes I would! I enjoyed using it and I think creating the colors were the best part. I appreciated that the company includes not just the primary shades (red, yellow, blue), but also throws in magenta and black to make the color mixing even easier. The color mixing is so much fun as you get to test and see what different combinations of the primary colors made. It was very interesting to color the painting and have to think in my head how the waters and such would be. And with this be the Aquarelle Monet set, it is an ideal art set to have on hand if you are studying Claude Monet!
I also really appreciated the quality of the paper. Some watercolor paper is good, but still seems to be too thin if you are trying out new techniques like laying down multiple colors. This paper was top of the line quality--some of the thickest I have ever used.
Anything I would change? I think I would like to have them include the bigger brush. These pieces they have given to be colored are 11.8" x 9.5". With so much open space, the fine tip paint brush included, wasn't going to cut it. It was very useful for the detail work, but I just couldn't use it for anything else. Another idea is to include MINI versions of the paintings to paint. I was intimidated at first--and I'm an adult. I would guess that most 8 year olds would be too. A mini set would be very cool.
And as for the age thing--I know this is for grades 8+, but I don't know if this is really something for that young of child to do. Like I said, even I was intimidated by it. CAN an 8 year old do it? Absolutely. But I would definitely gear this at more of a teenage level unless you have a very art loving younger child. 
Lastly, I would not recommend this set, if you are wanting it as a long term investment. The paints are only going to last for about these three paintings and there are only 3 painting canvases included. So don't get it if you think it's going to be something you would use over and over. It would make an awesome gift though for the painter in your family.

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I definitely enjoyed this product and look forward to letting my oldest (age 10) give it a go. I don't know how he will like it...he might be too intimidated by it...but that will just mean more painting for me to enjoy myself! Remember that the Aquarelle Monet set is available through Timberdoodle, and is an element in their Timberdoodle 4th Grade Curriculum Package. You might also want to check out the other line of Aquarelle sets that they carry, as some aren't as "fancy" as these and might resonate more with the younger age.

ArtAchieve~ Art Lessons Inspired by Art Around the World {Curriculum Review}

We have always enjoyed art in our home. Both boys have sketchbooks and regularly fill the pages with their drawings. Sadly, I don't always find time to teach art in our homeschool for one reason or another. Usually, I am just responsible for too much of the lesson, or it's too time consuming. When I learned about ArtAchieve and their video lessons, I was very interested. After trying out a sample lesson, I couldn't wait to review the Entire Level I with my art loving boys.

Product Information

ArtAchieve designed their art lessons for children in order to help them be inspired by art around the world, and to enable teachers without art backgrounds to still be able to teach exciting art classes. ArtAchieve isn't just focused on art--they also include mini social studies lessons with their lesson as they explore the part of the world the inspiration came from, dabbling in social studies, science and language arts!
ArtAchieve believes that drawing is a skill just like math or science and that by honing skills, anyone can draw! Their lessons build on the previous themes and always include warmup pages to break the skills down into bite size pieces again.
ArtAchieve provides online art lessons with a couple downloadable components (just the drawing samples and warmups) and provides the complete supplies lists ahead of time. 
ArtAchieve currently has five levels of lessons available that range from grades elementary to adult. They also have some free lessons which you can snag to try them out for yourself. The lessons can be purchased individually or bundled by level. The bundles range from $27-$66 for the 1 year license to any of the five bundles.
We reviewed the ArtAchieve Entire Level I with both of my boys (age 10 and 5).

How Did We Use the Product?

Learning About the Basics of Sculpture with ARTistic Pursuits {Curriculum Review}

We have been blessed to have two of the great books from ARTistic Pursuits Inc. and have enjoyed exploring all the different lessons they offer. But my oldest really wanted to explore things in more of a 3D aspect, so when we had the chance to review Sculpture Technique Construct, I hoped it would give him what he was looking for. 

Product Information

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. is an art curriculum company believing that all children are able to understand the concepts of art, and enjoy putting ideas and visual images on paper. They are committed to helping children become observant in our world and to be able to work creatively in it. They are determined to offer parents and children a quality art education presented in an easy to understand format for both the teacher and child and gear their books towards the homeschooling community.
Through their program, they encourage children to look at the expressive and technical aspects of art according to their age level. The goal is for the children to be able to be free to explore their world however they see it...not the way that adults think they should see it! There are no "rules" or "boundaries" in the art lessons--no small boxes or limitations. ARTistic Pursuits is all about letting them color outside the lines!
ARTistic Pursuits offer curriculum for Preschool to High School age making it easy for you to find a curriculum just right for your school age child.

Each book has a comb binding, is non-consumable and sells for $47.95. One set of all the books can serve your entire family--from ages 3-18! 

We reviewed Sculpture Technique Construct with Little Britches though Baby Britches joined us when he could.

How Did We Use This Product?

Sculpture Technique Construct is one of the books designed for upper elementary through high school, so I knew that we were going to be doing more than just painting. Fortunately, ARTistic Pursuits partners with Blick to provide packages to match each of their art books, which makes it easy for me to view in advance what will be needed. I saw that I only had to purchase a few things for us to get started on the book when it arrived, which was great. When the book arrived, I flipped through it to get an eye for the different projects that would be done--mostly to see what will be easy to get started on and what has a lot of prep. Because we didn't have the corrogated cardboard paper yet, I decided we would skip ahead and cut our teeth on wire sculptures...I was happy to see that not only did I already own wire that would work thanks to my floral experience, but our local hardware store carried the other gauge that I needed for very inexpensive. Speaking of supplies, I was tickled to find corrogated cardboard sheets in cool neon colors at our local Dollar Tree store! It was a great addition to the package I purchased on Blick.
The book provides a nice introduction about sculpture and how it captures volume and how it deals with blank space. This is information any art teacher could easily provide, but something us parent teachers enjoy having at our disposal--so we sound knowledgeable! 

The book is very straight forward--you get a unit lesson. Within that unit are theme related lessons, an example of the project that matches each lesson, and then you get the list of materials and a guide for what the project is going to be. This same method is repeated throughout the book with each new lesson. In this book, however, there is also a simple unit quiz where the student can test their knowledge relating to the lessons in the unit--all questions that are art related and can be answered right from the book.
We were able to complete several projects over the course of the review period and are preparing for our big paper mache project in 2 weeks. We are collecting newspaper and plastic bottles for our form right now. We will be making paper soon after. I'm eager to use my Ninja blender for that. LOL.

Baby Britches enjoyed working on our plane projects. Although he STILL thinks we were creating airports and frontal shots for airPLANES. LOL. He enjoyed designing his posters.

If you guessed Star Wars, you are correct! :)

What Are Our Thoughts on The Product?

As always, the ARTistic Pursuits book has not let me down. I found the lessons to be easy to follow, and the lessons easy to teach--even as someone who isn't all that artistic. I really didn't have much trouble getting the supplies, though we chose not to purchase the paper making kit at this time--I am pretty sure we will end up making one for ourselves from various hardware we have on hand. 

I was surprised at how much Little Britches really took to the wire sculpting--which was his most favorite of the projects we have done so far. He patiently would work on it for up to an hour in an effort to give it the dimensions the lesson suggested. At one point, he said he liked it even better than his LEGOS, which is high praise indeed. He's very very artistic with a fine eye for detail, so this book was just what I wanted for him and it gave me the guidance that I needed to at least point him in the right direction when it came to working with the materials.
I did find, that unlike the previous two books we used, this one had projects which extended over more than one session. We usually ended up doing the same project for 2-3 days a week, and even went into a second week--especially for the wire projects. I felt like I had to clear out a lot more time FOR Art with this book because of that. Which isn't bad--just meant I had to rearrange our school routine to accommodate it.
As it was also for upper elementary through high school, Baby Britches couldn't do very much of the projects independently, though he did enjoy the corrogated paper projects for learning about shapes and planes.
Little Britches always has high praise for the art books because they feed his desire to be creative. I love that he never tries to replicate what is shared in the photos, always choosing to do something different--well, except the fish. He did try to make a fish in his wire.

Standing up 2D fish

Definitely a fish!

Meanwhile I attempted a butterfly

The only cons are really that it's not an open and go program, that it requires more unusual supplies, and that it might take you more than one sitting to finish the project--oh and it's harder to store the finished project! Like his wire duck. Where am I going to store this thing??

A 3D wire duck.

Will we continue to use this product? Absolutely. I have plans for that paper mache lesson, and I really do want to make our own paper. It will be a good book to continue to pull out as he gets older and his skills advance.

Would I Recommend This Product?

Yes and No. If your chid is wanting to take art into the 3D level and you need simple lesson ideas for you to do at home, this is a great product. If you are able to supply them with the more complicated supplies (paper making kits, wire, etc) than this will be a good match. 
But--if you are looking step-by-step directions? This probably isn't going to be your type, as the directions, while basic, are open to allow for your child to explore and create. There are photos with information to guide you, but not any that are "first, you need to...next you need too..." This is also not an open and go program, and it DOES require more complicated supplies that you wouldn't necessarily have on hand.

Want to Know More?

We reviewed the Sculpture Technique Construct book from ARTistic Pursuits Inc. I hope that you will take a moment to check out what the rest of our team created as they explored more of the ARTistic Pursuits books!

I encourage you to keep up to date with ARTistic Pursuits by following them via Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/ArtisticPursuitsInc

I am definitely going to be using this book some more, but we need to break it down to just a one day a week project, making it far more likely we will finish it. It is definitely something Little Britches enjoys and I am glad it's challenging him.

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