Early Elementary Art Curriculum: An ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Review

Last year about this time, my husband and I attended our first homeschool convention here in Oklahoma and one of the booths we came back to a couple of times was ARTistic Pursuits, Inc. When I was given the chance to review it, I knew it would be a good fit!  From Preschool to High School, ARTistic Pursuits offers a comprehensive art education.  You can choose from their 10 age level curriculum books and 3 Sculpture Technique books.  For this review we received Early Elementary K-3 Book One: An Introduction to the Visual Arts. This book contains 36 lessons with at least one project per lesson.  At the front of the book, after the table of contents, is a materials page that provides a list of everything you will need throughout the duration of the lessons.  Their website does offer art supply packs for each book so that you can purchase all of them at once or recommends Blick Art Materials for buying individual supplies at a discount.  We had a few things already on hand like drawing paper, construction paper and scissors, and the rest we found on Amazon pretty easily.  Once we had everything we needed, getting started was easy.  I don't know about your kids, but mine LOVE the idea of creating anything and when I said something about art lessons they would beg for it!  With new to them supplies like watercolor crayons or the oil pastels, it took a little extra work to slow them down.  They had no clue what to do but they wanted to do it in fast forward.  

The book is divided into three sections: What Artists Do, What Artists See and Where We Find Art.  Each lesson can stand on it's own and skipping around is certainly an option, depending on your needs and purpose.  Since we had yet to begin any official art curriculum I chose to start at the beginning and work through it.  Each lesson has a couple of pages of text to read to the students with some observation exercises or discussion of some master art works.  This takes about 5-10 minutes usually.  Since we are starting on the low end of the grade level my son could only touch the surface of some of the exercises, like observing certain details about an object but it was still very engaging.  Then a project follows where the student can work on their own (mostly, depending on the age) for about 30 minutes.  While each lesson can be related to other ones, all the information needed to teach each one is provided.  My husband is particularly good at drawing and the visual arts so whenever he had the chance to teach a lesson, we were all happy!  It's hard to be the teacher, housekeeper, cook and part-time anything else (writer, piano teacher, assistant) sometimes so subbing Mr. Butler in is always a good thing.  While you could add this in up to two or three times a week to a regular curriculum, because of Mr. Butler's involvement, this was a great evening activity before or after dinner.  

J's baseball field with watercolor crayons

Since we only used the first book of early elementary, I can only speak about it, but overall none of us had any complaints.  The lessons were brief enough, but left open many possibilities for extending them.  Each lesson was independent but also perfect to combine with other curriculum especially when it came to history and cultures.  All of the actual art content did not seem watered down, but straight forward while also being age appropriate.  I had never worked with watercolor crayons before, but now my 5 year old and almost 3 year old know how they work!  Since the content of the book is not consumable, we can use these books over again with other kids, or just again to see how we can improve or gain another layer of understanding.  In my mind it is a very productive investment.

Miss Z can never be left out!

Do you have kids at a different grade level than mine? Several of the different books were reviewed so feel free to look around for reviews of the books more age appropriate at the link below.

Elementary Music Appreciation: A Zeezok Publishing LLC Review

Coming from a musical family and having studied music in school, I knew what a great opportunity it was to review an entire music appreciation curriculum for the elementary grades.  What I didn't know was just how many valuable tools and great content I was going to receive as a part of this review! As you can see below Music Appreciation Book 1: for the Elementary Grades by Zeezok Publishing LLC includes a 354 page textbook, 7 individual storybook composer biographies, 5 audio CDs, and 1 Lap Book CD with printable material.  For this review we focused on Haydn, but with all of the composers there is enough content here to last you for quite a while, depending on how quickly you go through it.  I am so thankful for the chance to review this while my children are young, because this curriculum is something that I will be able to use in so many different ways as they age.

Student Activity Book: Each composer has a section that includes a lesson plan, questions and activities that correspond with the composer biography.  In this activity book, each composer section would include a different musical element.  Haydn's section studied all about the orchestra including seating, the conductor, instrument families and symphonies.  One of my kids' favorite game was the instrument family matching (memory) game. All instruments were color-coded into families with each instrument pictured on a card and a corresponding one with the written name on it.  Other sections looked at elements of music (dynamics, melody, harmony, etc.), composition techniques, geography and music theory.  My favorite element the activity book features is a character traits study for each composer.  Traits like fearlessness and humility were noted in several instances of Haydn's life providing perfect opportunities to discuss their importance and place in the students lives.  This element is not something I've ever heard in a music classroom before!  It is woven throughout beautifully making it a seamless part of instruction.  
This book is designed to be consumable so extra activity books may be needed for multiple students.

Composer Biography: The composer biographies is one of the defining elements of this curriculum. Through a storybook reading of the composer's childhood and adult life, a picture is painted above and beyond facts on a page to be memorized.  Every important incident of a composer's life is included along with written music and illustrations.  Audio CDs: This set of CDs includes recordings of all music referred to in the texts as well as some interesting additions.  As I mentioned before, Haydn's section included a study of the orchestra and all of it's instruments.  Disc 3 contains several tracks featuring each instrument being explained, performed, and often distinguishing elements or compositions.  In Handel's section it compares styles of music and corresponds with several tracks to illustrate them. Of course there are times for playing specific tracks, but one thing my children enjoy is just popping one CD in and letting it play while they do other work.  All of the music and examples on the these CDs alone is an amazing educational tool!

 Lap Book CD: As the title suggests, this CD contains a complete pdf file with all printable materials and instructions to create a lap book for each composer.  Below is our version of the Haydn lapbook which featured several interesting things like a puzzle, creative ways to remember facts about Haydn, his time and culture, and orchestra elements.  It was quite an undertaking and we only finished one! The content included here is really dense and reusable for years to come.

What Works For Us:  This program's recommended age level is kindergarten through sixth grade with flexible activities that can be suited to different age groups, making it perfect for an ongoing supplement to other curriculum at any pace.  While the recommended lesson plan is 4 weeks per composer, it will depend completely on the age and other activities of your kids.  My kids are first grade and preschool age so a chunk of this was somewhat over their head, but not wasted just the same. The storybook was a big hit and with the corresponding audio tracks the ground work was laid for revisiting Haydn's section in the future.  All of the orchestra discussion was giving them a great chance to exercise their skills in identifying instruments. I teach piano part time and this entire curriculum provides elements I can use to supplement from time to time in listening skills and music history,   For piano classes, co-op classes, or our own homeschool curriculum purposes, Zeezok's music appreciation curriculum equips me to fully enriching my students' relationship with music and broaden their perspective of its development.  Surrounding children at this age with so many excellent works and fantastic content certainly encourages music involvement in the higher grades, which is important for everyone!

Zeezok Publishing LLC publishes a wide variety of products! You can find them on social media at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Zeezok-Publishing-LLC-208441035019

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/zeezok/

Look Who You're Talking To!

There are times in life when we need answers.  Making decisions is a big deal and seeking out someone else's perspective can be invaluable.  Sometimes though we must consider the source.  Mr. Butler was telling me about an exchange that went something like this.  Mr. Butler, referring to buying football season tickets, says, "I just can't see spending the money on it, ya know?" Other guy says, "Nah. It's only $2400 a year."  See, this other guy clearly makes plenty of money and $2400 isn't that much by comparison.  But if my income is significantly lower than this guy's it would be terribly foolish for me to follow his example and invest in season tickets when I'm struggling to pay rent.

Another example.  If I am someone looking to lose weight, have never dieted or exercised before, but find the skinniest person I know and ask them how they stay so skinny, I'm likely to get a very inappropriate answer for myself.  If I follow their lead and do nothing (because those high metabolism kids usually don't do anything for at least 35 years), I've made a foolish move.  Change the category, but the story is the same.  Don't take parenting advice from those without kids.  Don't seek marital advice from the guy who can't get a date or keep a plant alive.  Don't take spiritual advice from the devil.

When trouble hits, we often want to feel better about it all.  There's nothing wrong with that, but often the advice we need to hear is not from the feel good fellas.  Should you take out a loan to get a new wardrobe for that job you haven't exactly landed yet?  Don't ask the guy who is living in his mom's basement, playing video games and taking some time to find himself.

Consider your source and their perspective.  There are plenty of perspectives, some of which are 100% unhelpful to your situation.  Be mindful of who you are asking questions of.  Look for the people who have successfully done what you are trying to do or can understand the direction you are coming from.  It seems like a simple reminder, but I get caught up in just talking sometimes that I don't consider who it is I'm expecting to contribute to the discussion and whether or not that really makes sense.

Kwik Stix Review: No-Mess Painting!

Get ready to add something new to your must-have list in every home, classroom, and kid art studio! The Pencil Grip, Inc. is known for line of grips and other educational therapeutic products and now they have added a product you will most certainly use in your home!  I am typically more of a low-key person when it comes to new things, but this is one of the coolest things I've ever used. Tempera painting is super fun for children and adults alike and a great part of any art curriculum.  The trouble is the mess.  Even as adults you just can't get around it sometimes.  Kwik Stix  Solid Tempera Paint from The Pencil Grip, Inc. is the perfect compromise.  

For this review The Pencil Grip, Inc. sent us a Kwik Stix 12 pk, but also generously threw in their signature product, a pencil grip and an extra dark blue kwik stick! At first glance the Kwik Stix simply look like colored glue sticks and work the same with a removable cap and twist-able bottom for more thickness of paint.  The magical part is how quickly they dry with a tempera paint-like finish. They look and feel slightly sticky going on in the way lipstick might feel on paper, but literally in seconds it is dry to the touch.  The label claims it is dry in 90 seconds, but for most pictures it didn't even require a third of that time.  Not only does that mean easy clean up and no messy hands, but you can stack or file all of the artwork almost immediately.

Our 12 pack has given us a great variety of colors and my family (including Mr. Butler) has used them a lot with no sign of running low, but they do come in packages of 6, 12, and a classroom pack of 96 with a neon or metallic set as well.  We found these paints to be a fantastic asset that both my 5 year old and 2 year old loved equally, along with several adults that tried them being highly intrigued.  I'm sure these could fall into the same category with adult coloring books as things we would all enjoy spending more time than we should with.  As much as I adore my kids being creative, every time painting is mentioned, I wince a little bit just because it requires so much supervision and clean up at their age.  With Kwik Stix - and I know  I'm going to sound like a commercial here but it's the truth - all I have to do is tell J to go get some paper and the sticks.  Supervision and clean up is minimal! I can focus on something else with no pang of concern!  

  

Kwik Stix are the perfect gift for birthdays and holidays because they are consumable.  They provide a creative experience with endless possibilities that continues each time they are engaged again.  The best kind of gift in my book!

7 Truths To Set You Straight

It is easy to forget true things when we our hearts are filled with false things.

No matter how many computers, ipads, kindles, smart phones, fit bits, or other electronic devices we have, people still need walks in the park, hugs around the neck, early wake up call to see the sunrise and gratitude in their heart for all of creation.

Bad people aren't just automatically and always bad.  They get hurt, hold on to anger and fear, and allow their senses to get out of control.  You and I are just one unresolved hurt away from being a 'bad' person.

We aren't supposed to be exactly the same.  We are supposed to take our completely different life and use it to obey and glorify God.

Media and the masses lie. like, a lot.

I can't get you to change very easily by complaining about you, talking down to you or ignoring you completely.  The best way for me to change you is to change me.

People - as in everybody - assume and build up a TON of things in their heads.  Remember to share the good stuff, work through the bad and just don't carry it around for very long.  If you do it usually grows into something very foreign to the truth.  

A Hard Day's Work

 I am sincerely grateful for the hours and hours of work that were put in to landscaping and planting in the past.  With spring in full force, we've just started to see the lush green of everything.  When you move in in December, it is a little brown and unexciting, but now I feel like I'm getting a show!  In rose bushes alone, I feel like I've hit the jackpot!

Trouble is - and you knew it was coming - maintaining someone else's large amount of work is still a lot of work!  And I get overwhelmed so easy.   Too many people, I get overwhelmed.  Too much to do, I get overwhelmed.  Something not what I excepted, I get overwhelmed!  So, with all of the spring blooming and the vegetable garden we're trying to install, we spent the weekend working in the yard.  It turned out to be a good experience for everyone.  Mr. Butler worked really hard setting posts for a fence to go around the vegetable garden and J was a big help.  Miss Z mostly just looked for ladybugs which was it's own educational experience.  A few barely escaped drowning because they apparently needed a bath. I pruned rose bushes, planted some veggies, and assisted when necessary in the midst of getting dinners ready.  

It reminded me of my Granny Elmore who cooked so much more than I do and daily chores were more involved to boot.  It was exhausting - so much so that I finally took a bath in our new tub - but a very satisfying day.  It is easy for me to look for a quick and easy solution, but if that's where I live, then I miss out on some really great things in life.  And so would my family.  Like I mentioned, I get easily overwhelmed, but I also got a double portion of conviction or principle or something.  I think Miss Z did too, but she's still in the relentless stage without educated principles.  What I'm seeing in myself is that the really important things are big undertakings.  I'm really passionate about things like eating well, spending time outside, and using the most simple things God has provided for us to be fruitful for our own needs and His good will.  Growing food yourself, cooking meals yourself, even reading for yourself all takes extra time, extra energy and sometimes extra money, which can be overwhelming.  We know this, but all too often we believe the message that says because it requires anything extra, it isn't worth it.  And in my experience, that is generally NOT true.  We all have different stages of life, circumstances and priorities so my particular worthwhile activities may not resonate with you, but if you are honest with yourself, you'll see some of what I'm talking about.  

In light of the gardening progress, don't forget to get your free gardening resources now through the end of April!

A+ Interactive Math Mini-Courses Review: Closing the Learning Gaps

Throughout the course of their years in school, most every student hits a snag sooner or later, especially in math.  Sometimes the lesson moves too fast.  Other times a student just struggles with a concept, needing extra support.  It is even common to enter into a new mathematical area only to find out that a basic principle is really weak, requiring some reinforcement before advancing.  For whatever reason, learning gaps happen.   In this review we discovered that Math Mini-Courses from A+ Interactive Math, is a good tool for closing those gaps. 

During the review period we received access to 2 Math Mini-Courses, Counting and Identifying Numbers and Place Value and Number Combinations.  Each mini-course that I reviewed included 15 online video lessons with interactive review questions, online and printable worksheets, tests, lesson pdfs, solution guides and summary reports providing a variety of learning platforms.  The content in each course follows a logical progression of a specific mathematical concept increasing from beginner to advanced levels of skill.  I requested these two courses because my son is just getting started in school and while he had some knowledge already in these areas, I expected that he could use some reinforcement.  As I had hoped, Counting and Identifying Numbers was a good place to start. It was familiar enough content that he wasn't lost, but going through each lesson helped him slow down and fully grasp details.  It took your basic knowledge of counting to 20 and expanded it to 1000 while incorporating counting by 2s, 5s, 10s and even backwards.  There was also multiple examples in multiple formats, not assuming that one explanation in one way would work for every student.  I really appreciated that built in to the lessons.  At the end of every instruction portion there were review questions to answer.  At first we had a little trouble because in order to submit your answer (on most questions) you were supposed to click on a frog on the screen.  We kept forgetting and then it wouldn't record the answer, requiring us to go back and repeat questions.

The second Math Mini-Course, Place Value and Number Combinations continued the same format but began to highlight new territory for my son.  When the new concepts would grow too challenging he could immediately go back and listen to a portion again.  I appreciated the multiple visual demonstrations of place value in this course because of how tricky it can be for a beginner.  The course does a good job of ensuring comprehension via multiple avenues.  If there was a mastery deadline or some kind of other test we were preparing for, there are worksheets and tests available with different content.  In this way, these targeted lessons are an important asset to public and homeschool alike.  For our household and learning needs, Math Mini-Courses would not be good for a primary curriculum or main source of math instruction simply because it is all online and doesn't involve manipulatives or games in the instruction.  However, for specific skill work or supplemental reinforcement it is a great tool to have in the bag. 

  

What surprised me the most was how often J requested to do one of these lessons.    Honestly, the graphics and color scheme, while very effective in instructing, at first glance reminded me of a DOS program and somehow that equated to outdated, less than engaging and just not fun in my mind.  Thankfully, my son is less judgmental than I and seemed to really enjoy it!  If his little sister came around making too much noise and he got distracted during an instruction portion, he always made me stop it and start back where he was in order to not miss something. After one, he was usually done and ready to go run around, but he seemed to look forward to the one most days. This was certainly not something I had to force him to do very often.  

We are just getting started in elementary math, but A+ Interactive Math Mini Courses offer 20 different courses from counting all the way to geometry, decimals and statistics. Each course varies in price (for an entire year's use) from $9.99 to $19.99.  Perhaps your math education needs are currently filled and you don't see a place for something like this.  The likelihood is that it will be useful to someone's education in your family in the future so be sure to follow them on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APlusTutorSoft
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aplustutorsoft @aplustutorsoft
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/aplustutorsoft

Gardening Giveaway

Over the weekend, my little family made a visit to Sunrise Acres to buy some vegetable starter plants for the garden.  The owners there were so helpful and I love that it is just down the road from us now.  There was a moment when we were checking out that struck me with such gratitude.  Mr. Butler had asked about growing sweet potatoes and was getting a very knowledgeable and thorough explanation (his favorite kind).  J had found a basketball and Miss Z was trying to keep up with a couple of dogs.  I was thankful for kind people in the world doing good things with their life.  I was thankful for a Saturday when we were allowed to do several things as a family.  I was thankful for the hope in the air you feel when you get a whiff of a tomato plant or cucumber vine.  Planting and keeping a garden is good for the soul.

If you're new to planting a vegetable garden, you might not realize how important planning is to the whole process.  Thanks to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and Molly Green, throughout the month of April you can get in touch with your inner gardener and be prepared with some great free books!  Just use the code ABCREW16 at checkout.

 I would love to see some pictures of your garden, big or small! Just use the tag #getupandgarden or #writebalance.

Homeschool Copywork Review: More Than Just Handwriting Practice

From the very beginning of our lives, we learn what we see.  When our children see what others do, they attempt to imitate it.  Whether you have a good example or a poor one, we still work to create our own version.  A great way to ensure success in our children is to make sure they see others succeeding around them.  A child learning to play the piano should hear great pianists play!  You wouldn't expect a chef who had never had great food to be very good at his job.  The elements involved in handwriting, like spelling, punctuation, and even reading comprehension, are treated in the same way at Homeschool Copywork with the added benefit of memorization options as well. They provide a number of significant poems, hymns, and stories to use in handwriting practice and general copy work in ebook form ready to download and save for multiple uses.  This surrounds your students with meaningful literature and significant words while also training their hands and discerning eyes to write and communicate well.  This is an especially great asset to those using a Charlotte Mason or Classical education model.

For this review we received a Lifetime Membership to Homeschool Copywork which gave us access to all of their downloadable products.  Since my son is learning to read, his handwriting is certainly in progress so we mainly focused on Animal Alphabet Copywork pages first and then moved onto Transportation Copywork, both of which are good for PreK, Kindergarten and 1st grade students.  In both collections, each page had a word or phrase to copy and a corresponding illustration for coloring.  I really appreciated that several words were less trivial or mundane, and a few even included the definition if it was a particularly uncommon word like nimbus and lorry.  My son really enjoys his coloring lately and the illustrations are like those from coloring books.  More than once he asked if he could skip the writing part and just color the picture!  I chose to print out the entire collection of pages at one time so he could access them himself easily as we're getting started in the morning.  It turned out to be a nice warm-up for school activities.

With my son being young and even dragging his feet at times, you might wonder if this kind of thing is worthwhile until he is older and able to stick with some of the more literary collections like works of Lewis Carroll or Emily Dickinson.  Something I've discovered about our family is how heavy we lean to gradual learning.  Small amounts of something most every day over time results in solid learning and improvement.  Beginning simple copy work like this now is setting the stage for an easy transition into the great masterpieces later.  Some of the other products available come from all manner of subjects including artist studies, scriptures, poetry, great quotes from composers, presidents, and authors, holiday themed pages, coloring books and even themed blank notebooking pages for when you have a customized assignment.  In some selections from the upper elementary and junior high section there are cursive options as well as regular print.  If you think Homeschool Copywork might be a good fit for you, keep in mind there are three separate membership levels: Free Membership (includes only free products), One Year Full Membership ($29.95), and Lifetime Membership ($45).  If you expect to use these products for longer than a year or with multiple children and you would like more than what the free level offers, the Lifetime Membership really is the best deal because you will always have access to everything.  And finally, here are some more products they offer:

Follow Homeschool Copywork on your social media outlet of choice! Facebook:  http://facebook.com/HomeschoolCopywork
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Mothering is a Verb

Have you ever felt labeled?  Not in the good way, like 'Most likely to succeed' or 'Best Smile' but in the 'you have this one characteristic therefore you must belong in this huge category and are instantly nothing more' kind of way.  From racism to sexism, I'm sure we all are familiar with how not okay it feels to be labeled prematurely.  Since this is certainly my season of life, I've thought about how we label mothers.  The infamous mommy wars are constantly stirring up our insecurities within our own mothering and the judgement and bitterness in our perceptions of other mothers.  We expect others to validate our own choices and then resent everyone else's choices, especially those that would suggest we follow their example.  And we wonder why we all can't just get along! :)

Mothering or being a mother - in its truest form - is a verb.  Growing a child, giving birth, nourishing, protecting, educating, loving are all parts of mothering.  Mothering is so much something you do.  When we label each other and often ourselves - formula, breastfeed, cloth, disposable, work, stay at home, public, private, homeschool, crunchy, anti-vax, vax, epidural, c-section, and every other variable that comes into play in mothering - we are confusing the mess further.  Let's talk about IF you are mothering rather than HOW you are mothering first.  I've only had 2 children and the oldest is 5.  So at best I've had 6 years of parenting experience.  Science and best practices and trending methods of everything have changed since I started.  Does that mean I was an awful mother, but now if I'm caught up with the latest fads, I'm the best mom?  Riiight.  When you know better you do better. Except when you are bitter and angry.  Then we're probably not mothering well, if at all sometimes.

It is very easy to be angry with those that choose differently than you.  It is easy to build others into the big bad guys because they feel strongly about something and it doesn't resonate with you.  It is easy to carry a chip on our shoulder when mothering is different than we expected, but our pride won't allow us to change our minds about anything.   There are a million and 1 opinions about how to mother and of course I have my own, but it is time we focused on the fact that you are mothering for a while.  Because many don't.  Women choose not to mother every day.  From conception to college, there are women who walk away or stay and abuse - certainly not mother.  There are a lot of subjective levels of good mothering, but let's celebrate the verb of mothering rather than hunting someone down to evaluate their 'level' of goodness.  When the heart of a mother is in tune with doing what is good for their child - and not in fighting all the opinions of levels, then those levels will improve over time.  Being angry, defensive or bitter does not a good mother make in the long run.

Once the comparing, judging and defending stops, the passion for mothering well grows.  When you're looking for a reason to choose this option over that, there will be plenty of information available.  Until then, let me be the first to say thank you to the ladies who choose to mother.  There are a lot of ways to change the world, but there isn't anything quite like producing humans after our own living.  Thank you for the mothering that you do.