Living Art Lessons (Artist Journal - Download)

It's nice to have the journal organized and ready for the lessons with everything planned out for you. Pdf would be convenient to print more to do as a family!

This has been a great addition to our homeschool day. The lessons are easy enough to add on top of all the other subjects while still enouraging creativity and moving beyond the curriclum so my kids are making it their own. I'm really thankful that we're able to make room for art in the house again.

I love the structure and scope of this curriculum. Art is the subject I most often skip, and this colorful book has made it a lot easier to keep at it. The Artist Journal includes a suggested schedule of 2-days a week and corresponding drawing activities. It also has helpful supply lists (an overall list, as well as separate lists for each project by week.)

I’m using the curriculum and journals with early and upper elementary (a separate journal for each student), and it’s been perfect for both levels. If you are using this curriculum with older students (e.g. high school), then you may want to skip the journal and do a more advanced self-made portfolio instead, as some of the coloring activities are aimed at a younger audience. I do think the primary Living Art Lessons book would be fine for any age.

I love how this particular art curriculum actually focuses on various elements of art that set the foundation for creativity. Many texts may just focus on artistic work from famous artists or historical pieces, which is perfectly fine and a good basis for art lessons. Of course, it does help to really dive into the various components and fundamental principals of art, and that is what Living Art Lessons does.

The seven major elements are discussed in great detail. These are lines, shapes, color, value, texture, form, and space. Each of the seven elements are broken down by chapter and offer a lesson and various activities that will appeal to those who have different artistic interests. The Artist Journal is wonderful and a must have to accompany the text, because it allows students to apply what they've received from the lessons by offering their own creative expression based on what they have learned. If you still prefer a curriculum that puts some focus on well known artists, this does offer the best of both worlds, because each lesson focuses on one famous artist, some of these include Vincent Van Gogh, Norman Rockwell, and Mary Cassatt.

Masterbooks is one of my favorites when it comes to planning, because they really take all the guesswork out of the equation. For instance, the Artist Journal includes a suggested daily schedule, which is really convenient. There is also a supply list that shows what will be needed throughout the year, so I can have everything on hand ahead of time. I like that it's also broken down by week, which keeps me extra prepared. The activities in the journal vary in degree of difficulty, so this particular art curriculum can accommodate different grade levels, which is also quite helpful.

What a wonderful introduction to art! It teaches the basics while being simple enough that anyone without an art background can teach it. The projects are great for elementary kids & don’t require too many supplies that you wouldn’t normally have on hand. I love that it includes observing nature within the study. My kids are going to be so excited to start this curriculum!

I have been looking for an art curriculum for a long time that met my needs and this is perfect for us. I love that it starts with learning about lines and shapes, then colors, textures and shading. Drawing is a struggle for me so maybe I can learn right alongside them. I love that it works in artist studies and projects as well. All of the needed supplies are easy to come by and I have most of them already which is super helpful. For this non-artsy mom, I love the simplicity but also that we can expand and do a little more when my kids hit on something they love. My kids have been asking for more art but I have struggled to work it in and this course it just what we need! Having the separate artist journal is great as well. My kids can share the text and have their own journal with all of their activities. I like that it includes things like shape scavenger hunts and observational sketching for them to do. This course would be easy to work in nature journaling. I am doing this course with my 5th and 7th graders. I may add some additional artist studies for my older one. It’s pretty versatile and I’m sure you could easily adapt it for older or younger students and make it a family study.

This part of the set is used directly by the student. There are some course explanation and help for parents, as well as activity sheets for students and supply list. Some of the activities even my K grader could do. It is possible to adapt it for lower elementary, but I would say it work very well for 3rd and upper elementary for sure. It will also work for a family with different grade levels because you can just adapt it for the smaller kids by given them simplified projects, but they can still take something out of it. I can also see how it can be used repeatedly for couple years in a row if preferred (of course with more activity pages printed). My K grader did the study about color and he enjoyed it.

The student journal has all the worksheets and projects for art. It also has a suggested schedule for you to follow. I think my kids will like the art.

Living Art is the perfect starting point for new artists or those just beginning a serious study of art. The curriculum is simple to follow, beautifully organized, and teaches much. Students will be pleased with the manageable lessons and the multitude of hands-on activity. Teachers will love the well-paced lessons and the pace of work assigned.

We can't recommend this curriculum enough!

It is great with the Living Art Lessons Teaching them to be creative with their own Artistic Flare and Style. Building their observation skills as they see what they can do, draw or make with the lessons, tools and even recipe's provided for them. Something they can feel proud of when they look at their creations.