Review of Art Class by See the Light
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Art tends to be one of those “expendable” subjects that falls by the wayside in our homeschool – and many others, from what I hear. Considering, however, the effect art has on mood, creativity, and mental function, it really should be considered part of our core curriculum.
(Don’t miss the giveaway at the end of this review of Art Class homeschool art curriculum!)
With all the stuff that we feel that we have to get done during the school day, though, it can be hard to fit in something that seems like it’s just for fun. That’s why I appreciated the short, to-the-point lessons offered in See the Light’s Art Class.
Each lesson in Volume 1 was only about 10-15 minutes long – easy to squeeze into a busy school day. The full, 36-week curriculum consists of 9 DVDs, with four homeschool art lessons each. The first four lessons contained in Volume 1 cover some of the basics of art:
- What you need in your artist “toolkit” – basic supplies, such as a #2 pencil, colored pencils, paper, and a kneaded eraser, most of which you’ve probably already got around your house
- Contour drawing – sketching the basic shape of an object, the first lesson in training your eye to draw what you see
- Lines – thick, thin, straight or curved, lines are the basis of drawing
- Pencil grips – including tips for having a lighter grip on your pencil
- Composition – deciding where objects should be drawn on your page
There’s even a chalk drawing bonus lesson. The only chalk we had was colored blackboard chalk – not quite the same or with the intended results, but still fun to play around with.
Drawing lessons focused on common objects, such as apples and even a shoe.
In each lesson – or “club meeting,” artist Pat Knepley guides kids through the concepts, both showing and explaining to students what she’s doing as she goes along, which should appeal to all learning types. Kids can see, hear, and do the concepts being taught.
At the close of each weekly lesson, kids are given an assignment to practice until the next meeting.
Josh and Megan, ages 12 and 10, were a little put off by the use of phrases like “club meeting” and “boys and girls,” feeling like the DVD was geared toward a younger audience, but even Brianna (17) voluntarily joined in on a lesson or two. While the lingo may be geared toward younger children, the basics of art are the same for everyone.
The thing I really liked about the curriculum is that it’s produced by a Christian company whose desire is to both glorify God and make art relatable to everyone. Each lesson referred back to a Biblical truth and pointed viewers back to a loving, creative Heavenly Father.
Watch the trailer below and see if Art Class might be a good fit for your family.
If art is one of those subjects that has fallen victim to too-busy days at your house or if it falls under the heading of things you feel unqualified to teach, perhaps you’d like to win a copy of See the Light’s Art Class, Volume 1.
One reader will win a DVD copy of Art Class, Volume 1. Follow the directions on the RaffleCopter widget below to enter.
Rules: This giveaway is open to United States residents, ages 18 years and older only. Giveaway ends on Monday, September 3. The winner will be selected at random using Random.org via RaffleCopter.
The winner will notified via email and given 72 hours to respond. You must enter a valid email address to win. In the event that the winner cannot be contacted by email or does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will be forfeited and and alternate winner selected.
Click to read the complete rules. By entering this giveaway, you indicate that you have read and agreed to abide by these rules.
I received this product free for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no other compensation for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are my personal, honest opinions. Your experience may vary. Please read my full disclosure policy for more details.
Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.
I want to win because my boys want to learn a lot of stuff I don’t know how to do!
My girls love drawing and creating…this art class seems right up their alley!
Great giveaway! I’d love to win this because my daughter loves art, I am sooo not artistic, and we always end up skipping our art lessons, too, b/c we don’t have time for them. Thanks for reminding me I need to schedule some art time.
I am always pushing art aside. Thanks for the chance to win!!
Looks awesome! Lindsey is in an art enrichment class, and we do art occasionally around here, but I’d love something like this. In fact, Kathryn asked to learn to draw better in a non-boring way, so this might be just the thing. 😉
This looks great! We have a “art” although it is mostly “here is a blank page, paint for a while and let mom have a break!” my middle child LOVES everything art!!
Great post. Would love to win!
I would be so happy to win because my kids are all artistically inclined {I am not} and I want to cultivate that God-given talent in them! Thanks for this awesome opportunity!
This is our first year homeschooling. I have a 15 yr. old and twin 12 year olds. We don’t have any art curriculum this year. Would love to try this out!
Hello =)
I would LOVE to win a copy of See the Light’s Art Class, Volume 1 for my family <3 I have a 10 & 14 yr old. I can agree with you 100% about the effect art has on mood, creativity, and mental function which is why I definitely need to add it into our Homeschool curriculum. =)
We’d love to win because I know how important art is but I have very little ability to teach and demonstrate actual art techniques. My kids are visual learners so a DVD series would be perfect for them.
I’d LOVE to wil this, one of my children is very artistically inclined, and I think it would be good for all of us to learn more. 🙂
Would love to win!
I’d LOVE to win this! I’m an artist AND a homeschooling mother (new) but am actually nervous to teach art to my own children! Crazy, I know. But I know just how important it is.
I have 4 artist in my family. This would be awesome to win!!!!
Would LOVE to win this! This is our 1st year homeschooling. My oldest is 15 and is very talented. I think he (and the others) would enjoy having “art class” as a regular part of their school day.
Would love to win this! My daughter loves art and I never seem to know what to do in this area
This would be a great way for my children to move beyond what I’ve taught them in art.
I’m not much of an artist so this would be a great addition to our curriculum!!! I can be crafty but not artistic!!!
My daughter would love this.
We would LOVE to win this! Thanks for the review and the giveaway!
I would love to win this, as next year will be our first year homeschooling our boys and we could use a good art program.
I would love to win this. My Daughter loves art and it would be cool to send all her work to her dad who is deploying in Sept.
My kids love art! This would be awesome to have for them!!!
My grand daughter loves art she would learn so much from this
This is something that gets pushed aside in our homeschool. A DVD program sounds wonderful.
Thanks for this post! I’m seriously artistically challenged and have been wondering what to do about art curriculum. Definitely going to check this out!
Hope I win! I have been looking at this for weeks and trying to budget to be able to win. Hope it is me?
My youngest son (age 13) and I just looked at this curriculum and had decided to put that on his wish list for next school year. My older 2 boys took an art class at co-op, but now they are not offering one so this would be perfect!!!
I appreciate the review. My son likes to go at his own pace for Art, so a class doesn’t always work b/c he wants to spend more or less time on the topic at hand. He often spends extra time on a project, to this would be great to do at home.Thanks for the opportunity!
I’d love to win this for my niece. She is an artist
This is exactly what I have been looking for!
I was homeschooled all the way through school, until I started college, and art class was the one thing we didn’t really have. Would love to win this, since I can’t teach what I don’t know.
I have been looking for a great art curriculum so I would love to win this DVD!
This sounds so neat! Would love to be better about implementing art with my son!
my lil ‘est guy is having trouble learning- but he has a talent and an interest in art – I encourage his learning with it – thanks for the opportunity
My children love art, but like you said, it easily falls by the wayside. I’ve been looking for something and am afraid of spending this much money on it. I would like to win so that I could decide if this is something that will fit in well with our homeschool…if it is, then I would be more willing to spend the money. Plus, the kids would enjoy it.
Although my kids love art, it does seem to be one of the subjects that seems to fall through the cracks. A curriculum like this, especially on DVD that they can do themselves, would be wonderful.
I’d love to win this. It looks like a great program.
This sounds like a wonderful curriculum! It would be so much fun and interesting to do this along with my teenage sons! They love to draw and want to be able to learn more technique.
This looks great! I’m always leaving art out, because it seems like too much trouble to drag everything out; and my kids are always bugging me about “when do we get to do art?” This looks like a great fit for us.
Because….sadly….my daughter is SUCH an artistic person, and I am such an art failure!