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SIMPLE ART CLASS

Art is one of those parts of homeschooling that we always want to do, but sometimes its hard to find the time to fit it in.  Homeschooling comes with its unique challenges and having to balance a lot of things.  Sometimes if we just accomplish teeth brushing we feel like we’ve done enough.  Art class can feel like an extra we just don’t have time for.  I happen to love art though and it’s important to me to make the time for my kids.  I’ll be honest, it’s not always the boys’ favorite activity, but they appease their teacher so.  I schedule weekly art because I think it’s really important.  Today I want to talk about how we fit art into our schedule and what we do to keep it really simple and easy.

You can see our weekly class schedule here.  It’s not as strict as it looks, but it does give us a general outline for our week.  We try to fit the majority of our school work in Monday through Thursday, which leaves Friday pretty open.  We still get up at our regular time, but our morning mostly includes just logic and then an art lesson and/or a history lesson.  We have not done any history projects yet this year, but we have done an art project almost every Friday.  We call it Fine Art Friday.  It’s one of my favorite parts of the week. 
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A Simple Approach to Art Class

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  • Schedule a Time: Two years ago, during the winter, it hit me that we’d only done about three art projects the entire year.  I realized the reason we weren’t doing it was because I wasn’t being intentional about it and scheduling a time to do it!  Sit down with your schedule and find a time that works for your kids.  The less hectic, the better.  I don’t want my kids to feel rushed at all. 
 

  • Choose a Monthly Theme: This makes planning a lot easier for me.  I can sit down and write out each month of school.  Then I can choose a theme for each month.  After that is ready, I can peruse books, Pinterest, and blogs to find the projects we’ll like.  You don’t have to do this but I like to focus on one things for a few weeks at a time.  I always right out my plans in pencil though because I almost always change my mind about some things, but it gives me a general idea of what our year will look like.  You can see our Art Units for this year on this post.  Some ideas for choosing monthly themes:
    • a famous artist
    • an art technique
    • a style of artistry
    • children’s book illustrators
    • art based on different things found in nature
    • seasonal art
    • poetry and art–find great poetry and add art that partners with the poems well
    • cultural art
    • art based on history–castles, Ancient Rome, or the Great Depression
    • art to give as gifts
    • art journaling
    • art based on the earth–landscapes, mountains, oceans, the Arctic

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  • Choose Simple Projects: this is really important because you want your kids to be really engaged and you don’t want them to get frustrated because it’s too hard.  I always have my kids to the same projects because it’s just simpler that way.  But if I choose a trickier art project or technique, I know I will have to help the smaller ones or one 😉   Keep track in your lesson planner or a folder what you’ll be doing so you don’t forget.

  • Gather Supplies Ahead of Time and Prep if you need to: If you have it planned out and all your supplies gathered, you’ll be more apt to follow through with your art class.  Keep your art supply cupboard stocked and in reach for little artists.  Look at your planner ahead of time and add items to your shopping list if you need to.  I made a list of supplies we always have on hand:

OUR FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES:

-Drawing and Painting Paper
 

Art class should be a really fun time during your busy week.  Don’t hurry, but enjoy the process of creating.  Art class time isn’t just sitting and painting, you’re making memories, creating keepsakes, spending quality time, and honing in on your child’s skills. 

Tell me about your art class and what it looks like!

Here’s some ideas of what we’ve done in art class in the past:

We are going to be working through this ecourse this fall as well.  Alisha has some great ideas–first thing we’re doing is creating an art journal from an old book! Cannot wait for that!  {Click the photo for more info}

http://alishagratehouse.com/the-art-of-fall-mixed-media-workshop-for-kids/?ap_id=aliciahutch
 
 
Another ecourse I’ll be pulling ideas from this year is Jeanne’s new course, Studying Under the Masters.  SUCH great videos on amazing artists with a TON of art ideas to do either with your kids or by yourself.  I cannot wait to start on this one with my kids!  

http://jeanneoliver.ning.com/
 
 
My kids LOVE using chalk pastels.  Tricia has created these awesome chalk pastel books to use for each season.  This one is on fall art and my kids have been loving drawing fall landscapes.  {Click the picture for more info}
 
 
 

Chalk Pastel Art Tutorials for Fall
 
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::FIND ME HERE TODAY::
 
At 9pm EST tonight I will be hanging out with Tricia and some other great homeschool mamas talking about art in your homeschool.  You can click the picture for more info and watch live or you can watch later at your convenience too.
 
https://plus.google.com/events/cvp1kb2i58a26sifj1tuf8btk1c
 
Also, I am sharing about balance over at Erin’s blog, Tweet Potato Blog.  It was really therapeutic to write out a ton of feelings I’ve had as of late.  Writing can be such a great release.  Erin has a whole series on mamas sharing about balance…go have a read.

 

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If you’re new here, this post is part of a 31-day series on simplifying our homes and schools. 
To read from the beginning of this series, click here:
 
https://www.aliciahutchinson.com/p/home-school-simplified.html
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One Comment

  1. Well, YOU were the reason I decided to start art class. Mine is completely random, although I have decided more or less what I'd like to cover during the school year there is no rhyme or reason to how I choose. Some of our projects are more "crafts" than art, but that is okay, too.

    I am surprised that once thy are at the table, they still seem to enjoy it. Maybe I din't craft nough with them when the were little? I don't know. 🙂 But so far, we start most mornings with some crafting/art/drawing & it is working well.

    Thanks for the inspiration! xo

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