The Curriculum Choice

Making homeschool decisions easy

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • About
    • Meet the Authors
  • Blog
  • How To Homeschool
    • By Review Team
    • Encouragement
    • New to Homeschooling
    • Organization
  • Reviews by Grade
    • Elementary
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Preschool
  • Reviews by Subject
    • Bible
    • Economics
    • Fine Arts
      • Art
      • Music
    • Foreign Language
    • Highschool
    • History & Geography
      • Geography
      • History
    • Home Economics
    • Language Arts
      • Grammar
      • Handwriting
      • Literature
      • Phonics
      • Reading
      • Spelling
      • Vocabulary
      • Writing
    • Logic
    • Math
    • Science & Technology
      • Science
      • Technology
        • Apps


June 25, 2009 by: Barb

Artistic Pursuits-High School Levels

St Georges Dragon

St George's Dragon

For families with children in high school that are looking for a high quality, easy to implement art appreciation and art skills plan all in one book, Artistic Pursuits Senior High, Books 1 and 2 may be a good fit. Using great art and solid teaching of the basic art elements, your child will be able to work through the two high school level Artist Pursuits books independently.

Each of the sixteen units starts with an art element that is featured in a painting presented in the unit. The book neatly ties together the observing of a work of art and then applying the art elements  in a clearly explained assignment. Your child is given specific instruction for creating a piece of artwork that illustrates their understanding of the focus of the unit.

Working on perspective

Working on perspective

The book not only introduces great art, it also gives step by step instructions on how to get started with the art medium being used. Even if your child has never picked up a drawing pencil, charcoal, or a brush and tube of watercolors, they will find that Artistic Pursuits will give them the steps necessary to get going and to feel confident that they are not going to be in over their heads.

There are three elements to each lesson:

*Challenge Your Vision-These creative assignments jump start the learning of the featured art element.

*How To-The student practices with the art medium, using techniques outlined in the assignment.

*Project-The student shows their interpretation of the art element by completing a final project outlined at the

Charcoal project-figure proportion

Charcoal project-figure proportion

end of the unit.

The biggest complaint that I hear about Artistic Pursuits in our family is that you are working on one or perhaps two kinds of art materials per year. Book One uses drawing pencils and charcoal and Book Two uses watercolors all year. We worked around this with our boys by supplementing with additional time each week for “free art” with a variety of art materials.

Grading art projects can be tricky so I appreciate having the evaluation sheets in the back of the book to copy for each unit. It gives me a more objective way to determine if the boys have accomplished the lesson and its assignment. It assigns a certain point value to three different aspects of the lesson. The projects are not graded on ability but rather by having us look at the finished projects together and using the “Looking Back” questions at the end of the unit, the boys help me to determine if they accomplished the assignment as stated.Artistic Pursuits Watercolor

In addition, each high school level book gives you information on how to record your child’s work on their high school transcript. The author breaks each high school level book down for you: Book 1-Studio Art and Book 2-Painting.  The book also helps you to put together an art portfolio for your child if they wish to use it as part of their college entrance materials.

We have been very happy with the Artistic Pursuits books over the years and the high school level plans have lived up to our very high expectations. The lessons we have learned through the pages of these books will carry on throughout a lifetime. Thanks Artistic Pursuits.

If you have younger children, you may be interested in reading my review of the Jr. High level of Artistic Pursuits and a few thoughts on the K-3 Book.

Watercolor project

Written by Barb-Harmony Art mom.  She also blogs at http://www.harmonyartmom.blogspot.com/

Barb (47 Posts)

Barb McCoy- Harmony Art Mom writes about homeschooling their teens on her blog Harmony Art Mom. and taking family outdoor adventures on her other blog, Handbook of Nature Study. She is the author and host for the Outdoor Hour Challenge and a series of ebooks helping families get started with simple nature study. Barb also founded Harmony Fine Arts which helps homeschoolers with their art and music appreciation.

Author Info

Beautiful Feet History of the Horse
Tips for Preparing for a Convention

Comments

  1. Brenda says

    June 25, 2009 at 6:57 am

    Barb,
    I love artistic pursuits and can’t wait to get to the highschool level. We’ve enjoyed every book from the K-3rd grade book on up! This is a great review.
    Brenda

    Reply
  2. Barb-Harmony Art Mom says

    June 25, 2009 at 8:34 am

    Thanks Brenda. I am glad you enjoyed the review. I think these books are a great, easy way to offer art appreciation and art skills too. I hope more families look into using them with their high school age children.

    Barb-Harmony Art Mom

    Reply
  3. Kym says

    April 30, 2011 at 2:03 pm

    Thanks so much for this informative review! I have been considering this for my senior high son, and this was very helpful.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

We are a veteran group of home educators with a mission – to spread the word about our favorite curricula and help YOU make informed decisions for your homeschool. Meet the review authors and browse the homeschooling tips they share!

Sponsors and Affiliates

Apologia Compass Course Subscriptions Plan TapestryYour Morning Basket Ad Homeschooling SQUILTHigh Schoolhomeschool

Homeschool Curriculum Features by Review Team

Review Team
Follow Curriculum Choice's board Homeschool Reviews by The Curriculum Choice on Pinterest.

Recent Comments

  • Cathy Willeford (Adams) on A World of Adventure
  • Rebecca Beard on Review: Classical Composition by Memoria Press
  • Kendra on Writing With Skill Review
  • Charlene on Writing With Skill Review
  • Tricia on Homeschooling Today Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Disclosure Policy
  • Philosophies
  • Request a Review

Copyright © 2021 · The Curriculum Choice, a Southern Hodgepodge, L.L.C. site.