I’ve never had much luck when it came to using a homeschool art curriculum. Either it was way too involved for our relaxed homeschool or it left me feeling like I could just piece things together myself instead. This all stopped as soon as I found The Studio from Art History Kids.
I received this curriculum in exchange for my honest review of this product.
I’ve never been a huge fan of using a formal homeschool art curriculum. I’ve always said my kids get enough in our normal arts and crafts, they’re creative all the time any ways, insert any other lame excuse, etc.
Art History Kids has totally changed my opinion on homeschool art curriculum.
Not only do you learn about art, you learn about art history, famous artists, techniques, and guys… it’s FUN! And super easy and put together for you (because if you’re like me, you may be a bit of a lazy homeschool mom).
Watch my full review of The Studio in my video below! Not a fan of videos? Just keep reading…
Using The Studio with Art History Kids
The Studio is set up to open and go and it’s all online. This is so great because I love not having to prep lessons! I also love not having to add an extra book to our school cabinet that already seems to be bursting at the seams.
There is a list of materials you need to have on hand (most of which we keep in stock any ways). The rest is all in The Studio, on your computer or tablet. I’ve enjoyed having my kids look at the tablet at whatever pieces of art we’re covering while I read from the computer (it saves printing papers that are just read and don’t necessarily need to be printed to work on).
Each month there is a new subject to study, and each week has new lessons. You can choose how you’d like to use the weekly lessons. If you have your homeschool set up in a more traditional way, you may want to do just a little bit each day. If you’re like us and enjoy working on more of a block schedule, you can totally do a weekly lesson all in one day.
During the few months we’ve been using Art History Kids, my kids have learned about famous artists like Seurat, Klimt, and Kandinsky. Are you sitting here thinking, “I have no idea who these people are…”? Don’t worry, I didn’t either! That’s how truly open and go this art curriculum is. I’ve been learning right along with my kids and we’ve all enjoyed every second of it. You don’t need to have any art background or knowledge to add this art curriculum to your homeschool.
Why I love this homeschool art curriculum
So, I mentioned that I have never been a fan of formal homeschool art curriculum before Art History Kids, right? When I was in school, I had a very discouraging art teacher. I have never been very talented in drawing or painting, unless you count making stick figures or color by numbers. This art teacher basically squelched my chance of ever attempting to learn more about art during my school career because of my lack of talent in these areas.
If I had Lotus, the creator of Art History Kids, as my art teacher, I know that I would have had a very different view on art growing up! The lessons in The Studio stress flexibility. They encourage open ended questions, having the kids use their interpretation of the art, and to just get into the subject at hand and assigned art projects with joy. Kids are encouraged to do their own thing with the assignments and have options on how they can complete the projects.
One of our favorite lessons was when we looked at three different artists and three different pieces of art that contained trees. The kids were encouraged to look at a tree from different perspectives and to choose how they’d like to draw the tree (paint, pencils, pastel, etc). My kids spent so much time on their trees! They loved seeing how their perspectives could totally change the way their art turned out.
This has changed my interpretation of art so much. We’re learning about these artists, types of art, and famous paintings together and truly learning how to appreciate them and take them all in with a fresh perspective that we never would have had before. When it’s art day, we know it’s going to be a good homeschool day!
Where to buy The Studio with Art History Kids
Since The Studio is all online, you can get it right on the Art History Kids website. You have two options when buying.
- You can get The Studio monthly. I like that this as an option because it makes it very affordable and feels like a monthly subscription.
- You can purchase The Studio quarterly to save some money, but still keeps the prices manageable for those that don’t have a large budget all at once.
- You can also get an entire year of The Studio, which saves you a nice chunk of change in the long run. I love when I can save money, so this option is also great! Having choices is great!!
Art History Kids Freebie
I can’t leave you without seeing some of the greatness of Art History Kids for free. You can get a free Art Planner from Art History Kids that will help you with all of your homeschool art planning needs! It’s bright, colorful, and gives you a glimpse at some of the feel you will get when you join The Studio.
Make sure to go cruise around Art History Kids and see for yourself why The Studio is such an amazing homeschool art curriculum!
What is your favorite part about creating art in your homeschool? Let me know in my online homeschool community!
Need more ideas for your homeschool history and geography curriculum? Click the image below!
