ArtAchieve (Level IV)...Homeschool Review Crew

Are you neglecting “Art” in your homeschool? Or do you secretly love doodling around and would love art lessons, but feel that you just don’t have the time? Last year, we were fortunate to review a series of lessons from ArtAchieve. This fantastic program allows the user to take first rate art lessons right from home. This time around I (me, myself and I) got to review the Entire Level IV series of lessons.

So why did I want to leave Josiah out of this review and tackle it all by myself? I blame it on my artist momma, but there is nothing more relaxing than “doing art” on a quiet afternoon with a cup of tea by my side. I knew that ArtAchieve would be thorough and forgiving (all at the same time!). The lessons themselves are intended for ages 10 through adult. If you or your kiddos have no experience with art lessons (or you need refreshers) it is suggested that you begin with Level I.

Just in case you didn’t read last year’s review (which you really should) I need to tell you that ArtAchieve is an online program that not only teaches art technique, but integrates many other subjects…the whole lessons manages to become a ‘round the world experience!”

Our instructor, John Hofland, does an excellent job. The lessons are easy to follow and his very patient and encouraging with his instruction.

The ArtAchieve site also contains lots of helpful teacher tips and suggestions on evaluating a student's work. In fact, every lessons begins with a list of rules...the chief among them being that "there are no mistakes. If you draw a line you don't like, draw another line you do like."

This series of lessons (Level IV) contains 10 lessons.

The lessons are all set up the same. We are given a bit of the history of the inspiration of the piece we are going to create. We are encouraged to relax with an exercise (I'm thinking about instituting this practice once an hour every day) and we are given a link to peaceful music to listen to.

Each lesson also contains an absolute fabulous list of Cross Curricular Connections for every subject matter. For example, the lesson I'm about to share with you (Lesson I) has links for listening to Ukrainian Folk Music and links to learn more about camouflaged animals.

I am going to take you through the very first lesson I did..which also happens to be Lesson I. It is called The Ukrainian Face With Hidden Surprises.

Every lesson has a drop down menu that give you links for a couple of things.

You can see that the lesson itself comes in two different formats, either a PowerPoint Version or a Video Version.

The PowerPoint version is handy if you wish to simply download the lesson and go through it slide by slide.

The warm-up download is simply a exercise in drawing some of the elements that will be used in the lesson. The printout of the drawing is for reference (it also comes in a PDF download), and is black and white. I did use the printout when Josiah and I went through Level I. He is dysgraphic and I let him trace using the printout.

My personal preference for the lesson format is the video. I like to see other people doing what I want to do and the video is just superb.

I had such an enjoyable time...just me and John, a cup of tea and some art supplies.

I absolutely loved working on this project. It's not perfect, but I felt like it was something I could tackle.

This is such a terrific art curriculum. I do have a few suggestions if you are thinking about going through it yourself or with your kiddos.

There is a list of art supplies you will need with handy links. I like looking at what I need to "look for" so that list was helpful for me. There wasn't anything majorly expensive. I am pretty well stocked (thanks to my artist momma), but I did need to make sure I had enough watercolor paper for all the projects.

I suggest taking your time. We are given ample opportunity in the videos to press pause and complete a series of strokes, etc. I didn't feel rushed. I felt like that whole notion of loving to do art because you "just love to do it" was really stressed with this series. We are not encouraged to be perfect...just love what we do.

The site is a treasure trove of fantastic Cross Curricular Connections ideas. I can see this being added to any study of geography, history and more! 

There are five FREE lessons available at this time. I suggest going through those to 'whet your whistle."

I had so much fun with this product. And if you think you might enjoy your own private art lessons from the comfort of your own home (with a cup of tea) ArtAchieve is the place you need to be!

You can connect with ArtAchieve via the following social media outlets. Don't forget to click on the banner below to read more reviews. Other members of the Crew reviewed this Level, as well as Levels 1-3.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Artachieve   @ArtAchieve
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnahofland   @johnahofland
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArtAchieve   @ArtAchieve
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/artachieve   artachieve
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+JohnHoflandartachieve   ArtAchieve