My oldest daughter is an artist. She has been given gifts. She’s not a prodigy or anything, but she enjoys everything about art. When Ms. Volin asked if we would like to review her Home Art Studio DVD’s, she was stoked! We watched the sample videos and she leapt right in on the project from the third grade DVD.
To facilitate our review, she sent us the DVD of our choice, plus the corresponding art kit. The supplies in the art kit were really high quality. I was especially impressed with the pigment in the acrylic paints because they were better than some of the bottles I try to paint peg dolls with.
The third grade DVD contains 16 lessons. I think we did 7 of them. The DVD contains a PDF you can print with a one-page summary of the lesson. It shows the finished project and includes a supply list and step by step instructions.
I had two (minor) concerns with Home Art Studio. The first was that the videos were only 10-15 each. The art project takes at least twice that long depending on how meticulous your artist is. We hit the pause button A LOT. And the directions are always more involved than the video shows.
The other concern was that the directions called for supplies that were not in the kit (I.e. Chalk pastels). But I don’t know how closely they work with the art supply company so YMMV :). A little more direction on how to properly use a supply (like the liquid water colors) would have been good, too. Like I said, minor concerns :).
None of them overrode just how much we loved this program. Remember the fun projects you used to do in art in elementary school? These DVDs give your kids that experience.
We did 7 of the 16 projects over the last 2 months and used a variety of supplies & techniques. And the projects were easy enough for her to do on her own. They were easy to draw, she could get the supplies on her own and they were a ton of fun.
There aren’t enough for a full school year, but you could do 2 a month and feel like you are getting in your art class. Ms. Volin has a good presence on the videos and is easy to watch and listen to. I really can’t recommend them enough.
And if you act fast, you can get a deal on the Home Art DVDs through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op. I just bought the build your own 3 pack & added K (for little sis) as well as second & fourth for my little artist :).
Do you do art in your homeschool?
