Lobster Network

LobsterNetwork is a new web application that helps you share your stuff safely and securely. The hope of the creators is that it will help to create community amongst friends and strangers. Besides making it easy to lend and borrow things to/from other people, you can also use it to log and track your own stuff for purely personal use.


Lend it. Borrow it. Trade it. Sell it. Give it away.
All with the click of a button and only with whom you choose.
How LobsterNetwork works:

	It's simple.	Create a personal library of your stuff.
	It's easy.	Create friendships with the people you know.
	It's fast.	Browse your friend’s stuff and request to borrow something.
	It's flexible.	Approve or reject any request for your stuff.
	It's controlled.	Decide who sees your stuff. Even create "communities" of friends that only share stuff with each other.
	It's helpful.	It tracks your stuff on loan and automatically reminds your friends when to return your stuff.
	It's secure.	Keep a private inventory of your stuff online for insurance purposes. Include pictures too.
	It's free.	Best of all it's free.

For a video introduction check  it out HERE

Ideal Curriculum

As a part of the TOS Crew I was given an opportunity to review some items from Ideal Curriculum. Ideal Curriculum is a preschool curriculum.  We are just ending our preschool time with our 5 year old twins, so this was timely.

I received the month 1 kit which has a theme of transportation. Each monthly kit contains literacy lessons (letters, sounds, phonological awareness, sight words), science and social studies themes, math lessons and calendar lessons. With each kit you get teacher's manuals (one each for literacy, math, and the science/social studies themes).  Each teachers manual is 20-50 pages long and that is only for one month of lessons.   You also get weekly schedules that have lessons.  Each lesson has direct teaching ideas and "practicing through the day" ideas.  There are also instructions on which workbook pages to do for each lesson. You also receive print and music files.  The print files have the worksheets and any pictures or charts you need to teach. The music files have the songs that go along with the lessons.

 

I see Ideal Curriculum being a good fit for someone who wants something simple that is all laid out for them. It could be a good starting place for beginning homeschoolers.. All activities are designed for classrooms. Although I was able to use and adapt a few activities for my two  this was not something which fit well with our normal homeschooling philosophy–which tends to be literature rich.

 

The price is quite high for material at this level, especially if you purchase the print option.

 

 

This curriculum is published as month-long all inclusive kits.  Customers may choose from either electronically downloadable or monthly print versions in the following formats: $30 for a monthly unit in download format
$55 for a monthly printed unit
$526 for one year’s curriculum
 

 

If you would like to see what my CREW members Thought of this curriculum please click HERE.

 

 

 

Sue Gregg

As part of the TOS crew I received Introducing Whole Foods Cooking from Sue Gregg for review.



Here is the information about the book from Sue's website:
Introducing Whole Foods Cooking dispels the myth that healthy whole foods must necessarily be appetite appeal-less. Model recipes start you on a culinary adventure that breaks the barriers to success without resorting to white flour, white sugar, or hydrogenated shortening. Essential nutritional concepts and the 2 Stage Process explained. Serving and Connecting segment shows you how to make Jesus a welcome guest at your table. PowerPoint Demo CD includes group teaching materials and a high school level semester course for Menu Planning and Meal Preparation.

I was/am very excited about this wonderful cook book! First some background...... We have really, really been trying to eat well around here and Mom and Dad have actually really trying to loose some weight, well lots of weight :) BUT the real goal and aim has been to gain health for all of us.  My hope has been to introduce my family to more whole foods, AKA God made foods verses man made! Introducing Whole Foods Cooking is Wonderful....and includes all the health aims we have for our family and great tasting recipes that the family loves.


 The CD is full of colorful Power Point presentations of different techniques and recipes, making them seem both easy and appealing.  It is definitely a worthwhile addition to the book. 

Since this fell in line with our goals we decided to add in a semester of "home-Ec" based around this book. We have had such fun making a new recipe each week, learning about nutrition and God's word ( a Bible study is included to follow along with your studies), menu planning and so much more! Some of our favorite recipes have become  the:
Blender Waffles/Pancakes (the kids beg for this one, yum)
Tuna Bunsteads 
Baked Parmesan Chicken


The fun part has been cooking as a family, and really enjoying healthy food together. The pluses: we have lost weight! ya :) and enjoyed ourselves and the food we are eating in the process.

Introducing  Whole Foods Cooking $17


To see CREW Reviews of this cookbook and others by Sue Gregg click HERE

Lesson Planet

As part of the TOS crew I received a 3 month membership to Lesson Planet for review.

Lesson Planet was designed to help teachers find material that is relevant to what the are teaching quickly and easily ~ providing over 150,000 lesson plans and 75,000 worksheets. It was created by educators as a search engine that is member supported and available to any teacher public, private or homeschool,  to use in lesson planning.
Teachers can find resources in the following ways:

• Searching by keyword, grade level and overall rating
• Clicking the Narrow, Related or My Recent Searches keyword options
• Browsing for reviewed resources by Subject, Calendar or Theme
• Exploring relevant State Standards, matched to each member’s state
• Utilizing Advanced Search to narrow by duration, method, technology, and more

 My teaching style is not one of putting together lesson plans from different sources to make a smooth flowing course. So even though Lesson Planet has their material arranged very nicely, it does not fit my needs. Now if you like to use a large variety of sources for your teaching or if you like to do supplemental lessons for special days, then Lesson Planet could be a gold mine. It is very nice that the material has been reviewed and rated so you can have some idea of its value without having to look over it completely yourself.

Most of the lesson plans are very scripted and not suited for a homeschool environment. I truthfully didn’t find any lessons that would be useful to me without quite a bit of modification.

For teachers or parents interested in this type of search engine, Lesson Planet has a 10 day free trial before committing to a $39.95 per year membership.

While Lesson Planet wasn't a good fit for our family, some of the Crew members did find it helpful. Cklick HERE to check out the review.

Super Star Games

I was given an opportunity to review some Super Star Games as a part of the TOS Crew.  Debbie Lott from Super Star also sells a speech therapy program called Super Star Speech.  If you have a child that is struggling with speech please check out her materials.  Since I don't have a child that needs speech therapy, I am going to review some of the games that she offers. Each game retails for $3.50. 

Play The Insect Game to learn all about insects or to reinforce your current study of insects. Players  answer questions to earn insect parts, attempting to be the first player to build a complete insect. This game is designed for 2nd to 6th grades.

The object of Covering the Continents is to "settle" more continents than any other player. Covering the Continents includes a game board/ map and game cards that ask questions about each of the seven continents. Players try to be the first to answer three questions about a continent to "settle" it. Fun for ages 6 to 10.

 Players of the Exploring Egypt Game will race to be first to the top of the pyramid by answering the most questions about ancient Egypt. Game question topics cover geography, politics, daily life, and religion of ancient Egypt. The game can be adjusted to accommodate players of different ages and abilities. Designed for 3rd to 8th grade students.


















 The Inventors Game will teach your child about 24 famous inventors. Instructions are included for two different games, with variations for difficulty. Children have fun matching inventors to their inventions or playing a timeline game using the dates of different inventions.

 these are just some of the games we tried and loved! These games are a wonderful way to reinforce what your learning, but also just fun for learning. My kids are not studying inventors but have played this game over and over...FUN and LEARNING....whats NOT to love?

The TV teacher: Alphabet Beats

Alphabet Beats is an award winning handwriting program that uses visual, auditory, and a hands on approach to teaching writing the alphabet. There are memorable chants that the children listen to and learn to help them remember how to write the alphabet.


I was sent a free copy of the LOWER CASE  Writing DVD to use and review as part of the TOS crew.

I was a little worried of a DVD for teaching handwriting, so was pleasantly surprised when I put this in and my 5 year old twins and grandchildren 6 and 3 became very excited!

  Each letter chapter is very short, less than 5 minutes. The idea is that after watching a segment, you’ll  practice making the letter on paper.
Ms. Marnie, the TV Teacher, introduces each letter by tracing it with her finger and saying a chant (for instance, little line down, up over and down, n) as a reminder of the correct way to form the letter. The rest of the segment consists of Ms. Marnie writing the letter on paper, while saying the chant and on a chalkboard again while saying the chant, talking about n words like nuts, new /old nickel, nurse (and what a nurse does) net, numbers (she goes over 1-9).   It's a varied mix of stills, video, and activity.
Ms. Marnie has, a “bubbly personality.” All smiles, exaggerated speech and hand movements, intended to keep a young child’s attention. And it works. .  My kids/grandkids were begging to choose a letter and they are writing random "letters" to everyone!!! This program teaches the ball and stick form but I see no problem with a child's ability to transfer into another style latter. We use italic and I will "transfer" them over latter.

Alphabet Beats Upper Case DVD is available for $35.
The Lower Case DVD is available for $35, too. Or buy both for $64.99.
There are also spiral-bound workbooks available for $4.49-4.99 each.
You can view a free demo of the Alphabet Beats Lower Case DVD here.

To see other reviews click HERE

Time 4 Learning

I have always wanted to try Time 4 learning  So I was really excited when as part of the TOS crew I received a one month membership to their  online preschool program.  My 3 preschoolers were excited that they had a special COMPUTER program for them!



Time 4 Learning is an online PreK - 8th grade curriculum that can be used a supplement to your current curriculum or even as your entire curriculum for language arts, math, science and social studies. The curriculum is tailored to each of your children's educational needs and levels and includes animated lessons, interactive activities, unit assessments, and printable worksheets for reinforcement (and it is ad-free!). Lessons are also correlated to standards in all 50 states.
The preschool curriculum offers two different levels of difficulty and covers 40 different topics including: shapes, numbers, feelings, human body, insects, color mixing, weather and much more.

  Each box is a topic the child can click on.  Inside the topic the child will find a selection of activities to choose from, including:

• Storybooks
• Match It game
• Patterns
• Find It game
• Memory Match card game
• Which is Which? identification game
• and more

 As the child completes an activity, a check mark appears over the icon.  The child can still play again if desired.
What I liked MOST about Time4Learning Preschool is that the program speaks to the child, explaining how to play and naming all things they scroll over.  They do not need to be able to read independently.  The activities were fun. My kids begged to play all the time!  The PreK 2 level covers similar themes in more depth.

Membership is:    

$19.95 / Month for the First Child

$14.95 / Month for Each Additional Child!

 You can learn more and try free demos from the Time4Learning website. 
You can see more reviews HERE

All About Spelling: What Am I ? Reader

Earlier this year I reviewed  the wonderful spelling program All about Spelling and the Beehive Reader 1.
We have also received for review the second reader Who Am I?

This reader follows Beehive Reader 1 (which, by the way, is getting a new title -- Cobweb the Cat -- same great book, different title), and coordinates with the first 14 steps in All About Spelling Level 2.  It can be used whether or not you use All About Spelling.  This book includes longer stories, but similar wonderful illustrations of endearing characters.

 Like the first reader this one is wonderful! it is available from All About Spelling for $19.95

Tales From Terrestria by Ed Dunlap

As part of the TOS homeschool crew I received two books from Ed Dunlap Ministries, The Tales From Terrestria book 1:  Quest For Thunder Mountain and book 4: The Isle of Dragons  to review.

Ed Dunlap is an evangelist, who has written many books to reach out to children.

His latest set of books are fast paced, exciting and entertaining. They contain no magic or wizardry, making them an excellent alternative to popular, secular books of today. Yet, they also contain an important message.

 

Here is what the web site says:

Book One – The Quest for Thunder Mountain  (203 pages)

A dangerous quest to a mysterious mountain—but how will it end?...When Gavin’s career comes to an  

abrupt end, the talented young minstrel learns that King Emmanuel has plans for him—plans that promise life and purpose. But Gavin must make a difficult journey to a mysterious mountain.

The young minstrel eagerly starts on his quest with three companions, but the travelers are warned that Thunder Mountain is a place of terror and treachery. Will Gavin and his friends find Emmanuel’s will on the mountain, or are they walking into a trap?

The Quest for Thunder Mountain, written to show the wonder of doing the will of God, is the first book in the new young adult allegory series Tales from Terrestria, a companion series to the Terrestria Chronicles.

 

Book Four – The Isle of Dragons    (201 pages)

The Dragon Tournament—a mysterious event that draws young people by the thousands. Admission is free, but what price do the... 

participants really pay?

When sixteen-year-old Joel of Seawell, the son of a peasant fisherman, receives an invitation to the Tournament he is thrilled beyond words. Too late he learns the terrifying secret of the Isle of Dragons.

Captive in a hostile land, Joel gives up all hope, certain he will never again see his home or experience the happy life he once knew. 
In his despair, he has overlooked a powerful force—the unconditional love of his father

 Peer pressure—a powerful force for evil. Parental love—a powerful force for good. The Isle of Dragons—a powerful book to encourage young people to listen to the right voices.

We really enjoyed these books as our read a loud!  The kids would beg me to keep reading! I highly recommend these books.

There are 3 books out in this series (you do NOT have to read them in order) of the seven planned.  Each book is $7.99 or 3 for $19.99

  

If you would like to see what other crew members have to say , please click HERE.

ally enjoyed these

The Travels of Wiglington and Wenks Virtual World

The Travels of Wiglington and Wenks, a massive online virtual world for kids aged 7-14, has been the buzz around our home for the last month As part of the TOS crew we received a membership to review this sight..

According to the website, WW promises:

“…an experience in which players will be able to travel to places around the world, through time and space, meet famous historical people, play dozens of fun enriching games, make new friends, buy exotic islands, build culture-inspired houses, wear clothes from different countries, explore secret locations, solve mysteries and become a legendary traveler!”

My kids have been following the plot by traveling around the world to help locate a group of historical people who have lost their memory from traveling through a time warp. Their goal is to help them regain their lost memory. Your child will meet characters like Buffalo Bill, Galileo, Albert Einstein, Beethoven, and Emperor Qin in their travels.

I would have to warn parents that at this sight your children may encounter some things that you may wish to watch out for!
Your child may be exposed to evolutionary content through characters like Charles Darwin and objectionable material like the false gods. Your child may also be exposed to foul language.  because of the chat feature.
children are able to chat live with other children from all over the world. WW has a strict policy on safety and children are taught to report any offending or illegal behavior – and trust me they do! But, my children have still been exposed to inappropriate language. 
WW does have a set of proprietary rules and safety featureshttp://parents.wiglingtonandwenks.com/safetyfeatures.html:

• No numbers (designed to filter out phone numbers and addresses)
• No URL links (prevents the sharing of inappropriate websites)
• No vulgarities (language is censored and repeat offenders are banned)
• No private messaging (no unsupervised conversations)
• Reporting feature (Players report and moderators investigate inappropriate behavior)
• Chat logs (parents can request children's chat logs as far back as 90 days)
• Parent/Admin panel (parents can monitor playing habits)

However, there are ways around these safety features and children do find these ways!

The Travels of Wiglington and Wenks, a product of Wiglington and Wenks Worldwide Pte Ltd, is free for a basic membership, but to gain access to all of the features, special areas and extra privileges, you will need to purchase a WW Membership.
Membership Price:

• Monthly: $5.99
• 3-Month Ticket: $16.99
• 6-Month Ticket: $29.99
• 1-Year Ticket: $59.99

Though it is touted as educational, I didn't see that much education on the actual WW site that my older kids did not already know.  It was easy to click and not read the educational info given.

Critical Thinking Company

We have used some of the Critical thinking Co. products before, so I was very happy to receive from them for review as part of the TOS crew  the book:  Balance Benders Beginnings

Here is what the Critical thinking company says:

Description & Features

Move over Sudoku, here come Balance Benders™! You can use these books as quick, fun logic problems or as stepping stones to success in algebra. Children develop deductive thinking and pre-algebra skills as they solve balance puzzles that are more fun and addictive than Sudoku puzzles! Children must analyze each balance to identify the clues, and then synthesize the information to solve the puzzle. Try one—and then try to stop!

My children found this book on the table and started in on these fun problems before I even introduced them! The problems gets harder as you progress and this just made them try to be "the first" to get the answers!!!  
To give you an idea as to how the problems look here is a sample page..

As you can see a balance is set up and the student has to figure out which of the "equations" below are true based on the top balance. My kids really enjoyed this book. 




There are several levels of Balance Bender books:

Beginning: Grades 2-6

Level 1: Grades 4-12

Level 2: Grades 6-12

Level 3: Grades  8-12

Each book retails for $9.99 and has 48 pages.

If you would like to see what my CREW members have to say please click HERE

Family Mint

We were asked to review Family Mint as a part of the TOS crew.  Family Mint is currently a free program that you can use to keep track of your child's allowance, spending, savings, and money goals.  It can be a teaching tool to show your child how to manage money. It is also a tracking system for your child's money. parents are the bank and your children manage their money by setting goals and entering transactions. Essentially, it works like this:  The kids give you their money -- allowances, payment for work done for others, gift money, etc. -- then, mark their "deposit" in their Family Mint account.  No actual money transactions take place online.  As far as anyone else is concerned, the funds on the Family Mint site are virtual money.  When the kids want to make a withdrawal, they enter the transaction, which you have to approve or deny.  If approved, you give the kids their money.

 This did not work for us as we do not give our children allowances, and at this time my youngest have no way they "get" money.

That being said, there are some nice features to Family Mint, Some of the fun things you can do with Family Mint are:

• Set up a savings plan for a specific goal.  You or your child can enter the dollar amount of the goal along with the deadline and receive a breakdown of how much the child needs to save each week to reach the goal.
• Set interest rates to reward saving.  
• Fund matching.  If your child is saving toward a certain goal and you've agreed to match funds, you can set the program up to reflect this.

I think that this is a great concept to help your kids manage their money!  It is all in one place, and you as the parent can keep track of what they are saving and what they are spending their money on. I found the system easy to use, everything is pretty self-explanatory. To learn more about this program and to sign up, click here.

If you would like to see what my CREW members have to say please click HERE

Math Galaxy

As part of the TOS crew I recieved  from Galaxy of Education Math Galaxy for review.

"Galaxy of Education strives to produce supplementary materials starting at the beginning with addition, focusing on multi-step problem solving.  Their premise is that teachers and computers are both important in teaching math, with the computer's main strength being the ability to review specific skills without getting frustrated or tired.  From their website, "Our goal is to provide students a foundation for analytical thinking in the modern world and for higher-level math and science."

 The main product type is a computer program (that works on both PCs and Macs) that gives you a choice of topics, and within each topic you can be guided step by step through the problem, or just give the final answer. 

There are several levels of programs here they are with topics in each level:

The second product type is a worksheet generator.  It is a computer program that will create riddle worksheets.   The third product type is an e-book with already created riddle worksheets.

E-Books are available for Whole Numbers and Fractions.

We are enjoying these the kids love solving the riddles and there is so much here for years to come!


The best way to see Math Galaxy’s programs is from their home page. They offer free limited use or examples of nearly everything. Simply scroll down the page and click on what you want to try. If you like what you see, you can purchase the full version of any of the programs on CD for $29.95 per level

If you would like to see what my CREW members have to say please click HERE.

Children's Bible Hour Ministries

In our house we know of Children's Bible Hour Ministries (CBH)  because of  Key's For kids Devotionals, Which the children use for their quiet time. CBH sent us as part of the TOS crew The Seasons Of Faith Illustrated Books for review.

" The Seasons of Faith illustrated books encourage children to learn about their faith in God. Based on CBH Ministries’ treasure trove of radio scripts, these stories teach core truths of the Bible so that kids can easily apply them to their lives. Each book focuses on a season of faith-developing topics." 

My children enjoy story books whether I read them aloud or we listen to the audio book version. When the Seasons of Faith Series came in the mail from CBH they got the best of both worlds.The four books in this series are really nicely illustrated picture books that include a CD in the back to listen along with.

The 4 books are:

Seventy Times Seven: Brad and Doug a good friends, but Brad is upset about a few things Doug as done to him. One day, while the boys are playing baseball, Brad accidentally hits a ball through Mr. Jeffries' ice cream shop window. Mr. Jeffries forgives Brad. Can Brad do the same and forgive Doug?

Braving the Storm: Things have been pretty tough for Thomas and his family lately. Thomas is feeling pretty down, so his Grandpa tries to help him get through the tough times by depending on God. Will Thomas learn the lesson his Grandpa is trying to teach him? 

Race with Midnight: Becky is off to spend spring break in Montana at her cousin Sarah's ranch. She's looking forward to learning how to ride a horse and doing lots of horseback riding. She is also praying that she will have the opportunity to share the gospel with her unsaved family members. Will Becky have the opportunity to share the gospel with Sarah and her family? Will they listen?

'

You Can't Come In: Zack and Adam are new best buds who decide to build a fort together. During the process, Zack ends up getting completely muddy. This leads to some interesting conversations between Zack and Adam as well as Zack's parents later on in the evening. Will Adam be able to share the gospel message with Zack? Will Zack understand what Adam is telling him?


Each of these books are well-written and teach spiritual truths like salvation, forgiveness, and trust in God. At the end of each book is an explanation on how to receive Jesus as your Savior. There are discussion questions available for each book HERE.

You can buy the Seasons Of Faith set for $40.00
Individual books are $10.00
At CHB.

If you would like to see what other members of the CREW have to say please click HERE

R. E. A. L. Science Odyssey: Chemistry Level 1

My kids have wanted to do chemistry all year, they thought it would be all about mixing "potions" and blowing things up!! So we were all happy and excited when as part of the TOS crew I received R. E. A. L. Science Odyssey: Chemistry level 1 from Pandia Press for review.

What is R. E. A. L. Science Odyssey? R. E. A. L. stands for Read* Explore* Absorb* Learn and that is exactly what this curriculum is all about!

There are 7 units in this 400+ page book that will cover topics like:
What is Chemistry?
Atoms
The Periodic Table of Elements
Molecules
Matter
                                                                 Chemical Reactions


Each lesson begins with a poem that introduces the lessons vocabulary, then the lesson which is given in a fun story like presentation that introduces the chosen topic, there are then the hands on activities/labs that reinforce the topic for the children. Along with the experiments/activities are worksheets that help the children to fallow and lean well what is being taught.

The beginning of the book gives an outline of the main topics and subtopics, lists of recommended supplemental reading books, and a list of supplies and needed material for each unit. The back of the book has answers to the crossword puzzles, vocabulary words with definitions (glossary) and a chart of the Periodic Table of Elements.


This is truly a very engaging study of chemistry and a great foundation. I love that this program makes chemistry available to the younger children grades 2-5 (my 14 old loved it too), AND made even the tricky subject of chemistry make perfect sense to them.
I like that there is very little preparation time, copy the lesson and worksheets for each child and gather supplies.... have fun.

I love it....My kids are loving it...they understand it----- that makes a great combination

If you are interested in this chemistry program or the other 2 available Life or Earth and Space you can browse the try it before you buy feature HERE.

The E-book version can be purchased at Pandia Press for $ 38.99

To see what other CREW members have to say please click HERE.

DIY Dish

I love creativity, love making things, altering old into something new, sewing, scrapbooking..... you get the idea :) I just watched this new web show what fun! The girls and I are going to make cake pin cushions.Go check out their first episode.  

Sign up for the chance to win a Janome sewing machine and some really adorable pin cushions!!

Homeschool In The Woods

 

I was so excited to receive two map sets from Homeschool In The Woods, Olde World Style US and World maps as part of the TOS crew for review.. We have used their Timeline Figures and "Record of Time" timeline notebook for several years and love the work that Amy Pak does!!!

Here is what you will get with these maps: 

US Maps

*over 180 maps

*Maps of each state

*Historical maps for American History

*Color flags for each state

*State Facts Pages A notebooking page for each state 

There are FREE samples of the US maps HERE

World Maps

* over 130 maps

*Ancient maps

*Modern maps of current areas and countries

*Color flags of all the countries

fnotebooking pages: explorers, country flags, country pages, seven wonders of the ancient world, and many more 

There are Free samples of the world maps HERE 

 

We are studying  the Ancient World and the maps of Egypt were beautiful as are all the maps!

But what I truly love are all the wonderful creative notebooking pages! Brochures, flags geography..... they just make learning so much fun!

 

Each maps set At Homeschool In The Woods comes in download form or on CD.  Here are the prices:

Downloads

US Maps: $18.95

World Maps: $18.95

Combo: $28.95

CD

US Maps: $19.95

World Maps: $19.95

Combo: $29.95

Artistic Prusuits

I have always wanted to teach art to my children, that being said we have not really ever had formal art lessons. We are very crafty and do include drawing in our notebooks, but not art solely ment for the purpose of art study. I was really excited that as part of the TOS crew I received 2 books from Artistic Pursuits for review.

"The ARTistic Pursuits approach to teaching art is a welcome departure from typical art instruction books.  This award winning homeschool art program meets the specific needs of homeschoolers at home. A variety of fun applications teach both the expressive and technical aspects of art while allowing children to make choices about what and how they will draw, paint, and sculpt.  Assignments work within the stages of artistic development of children and  guide them to mature artistic expression in the visual arts"



Artistic Pursuits is an independent curriculum with levels from preschool to high school. Artistic Pursuits combines the artistic techniques using a variety of mediums with the study of art history and appreciation.  The child is given the freedom to choose what they would like to draw, paint or sculpt, allowing your child to develop their own sense of artistic abilities.


I received the grade 4-6 book 1 The Elements of Art and Composition and the  Senior High book 1 The elements of Art and Composition.

  ARTistic Pursuits, Grades 4 - 6, Book One, The Elements of Art and Composition 2ND EDITION
This book gives students their first in-depth look at the elements of art in a simply written text with lots of illustrations in pencil, marker, and scratch art, the media they will be using. The elements of art and composition are explored through American art.

	Written to the student
	No teacher preparation needed
	Four unique projects in each unit
	Art appreciation and art history
	Techniques and How to use Materials
	Special projects including scratch art and silhouette
	Sharp color images printed on bright white heavy-weight  paper

We are loving this book! At first my kids 8-14 were a bit intimidated by having to choose what they were to draw but by the 3rd lesson were off and running. I love to see them excited and willing to move into these lessons even the ones who said "art was not for them!"  Click HERE to see a sample lesson and a list of all the lessons in book 1.

ARTistic Pursuits, Senior High Book One, The Elements of Art and Composition 2ND EDITION

This book gives students in-depth experience with the elements of art and composition. Organized for clarity and understanding, the book will lay a solid foundation for first time high school art students and challenge experienced students as well with emphasis on personal expression and application of the creative process. Students explore the elements of art and composition through European art.

	Written to the student
	No teacher preparation needed
	Four unique projects in each unit
	Art appreciation and art history
	Techniques and How to use Materials
	Sharp color images printed on bright white heavy-weight  pape

My two oldest girls 16 and 17 are doing this one, they are not as happy as the other kids, they feel like its to much and that they missed something by  jumping in to this book with no formal art study. That said they want to use the same book as the rest of the children and then come back to it at a latter time.  If you would like to see a sample lesson and list of what is taught click HERE

Overall I am really excited about Artistic Pursuits and am hoping to start the younger kids out with the lower programs soon.

Artistic Pursuits sells for $42.95 per book .