How to Teach Homeschool Art Lessons

While most homeschooling parents feel comfortable teaching the basics of math, English, science, and history they might begin to sweat the moment their prodigy utters the following sentence:

Mom, can I learn art?

Art is an important addition to your curriculum for many reasons whether or not your child is the next DaVinci. Besides encouraging creativity art allows your child to appreciate pattern, design, and color as well as understand more about the scientific and historical periods each artist represents.

Creative expression is fundamental to healthy development and allows children to deal with emotions in a healthy way.

All art classes and lessons are not the same. Some concentrate on art appreciation allowing your child to study the intricate details and characteristics of various artists’ painting. Others are instructions on how to sculpt, draw or paint.

Choosing which curriculum, lesson plan, or method to use will depend on your child’s interests, abilities, and age as well as your own interests and skills. Keep in mind, if you really are uncomfortable teaching art to your child, most cities have art classes available through community centers, libraries, and other resources.

Art Appreciation and Art History

Art appreciation and history allow students to compare the art of different artists and attempt to understand their own preferences for one or the other.

Usually this is done by studying several paintings by artists of the same era and making note of the historic details as well as anything the artist might have been saying about the society of the time. An added benefit is that when children are exposed to a variety of artists they can see how artists influenced each other’s styles. The naturally begin to be influenced by their favorite styles in their own work whether or not they ever become famous.

Composition

Composition is foundational to being able to draw, paint, design, or photograph well. A good composition will be pleasing to look at and depend on proportion and balance. While much of this just has to be learned by experience, there are certain guidelines and tips that can help the budding artist avoid common mistakes.

Hands on Art: Learning to Draw and Paint

If your child wants to get his hands dirty and just jump right in to the creating phase you will want to have a variety of supplies for him to choose from. Using several different types of media will allow him to choose what he likes best. It will also help him to understand more about the works of his favorite artists.

Supplies to have on hand are:

• Acrylics
• Charcoal
• Gauche
• Inks
• Pastel
• Pencil
• Oils
• Watercolor
• Brushes
• Drawing paper
• Canvas
• Watercolor paper

Many children, especially those that are artistic, learn best by doing. Artists tend to be a rather stubborn bunch and usually prefer not to have someone correcting their work. By experimenting with many different techniques your child may find his own, unique style and preferences.

It is important to let children express themselves creatively without making things look “right”. Allow them the artistic freedom to create pink trees, purple horses, or whatever they want. It allows them to express themselves and is an interesting look at how they see their world.

Learning from Other Artists

As children get older they may be unable to figure out how to accomplish certain looks. When this happens it is helpful to get some pointers from a local artist. Check with the following venues for references and contacts:

• Homeschool Co-op
• Local artists
• Community college
• Art student
• Library
• Local galleries
• Frame shops

Many of the publishers that create homeschool curriculum have books and other resources to help the parent teach art appreciation as well as technique. You can even find some online lessons.

• Homeschool Arts has free online lessons and links to many different techniques.
• Teach Art at Home
• Donna Young has printables and resources that are free.
• Open World has a free art appreciation course that you take online
• Draw Space has a large collection of information and resources about how to draw.
• Creative Spotlight has instructions for a variety of techniques.
• Arty Factory is a collection of lessons in art, designs, and art appreciation.
• Artica has a collection of free instructions, tutorials, and videos.

If you like tailoring the lessons to your child’s individual needs then writing your own art curriculum may be the best answer. Use the following tips to help you get started.

• Read biographies of a variety of artists
• Look at collections of each artists work
• Copy the work of favorite artists
• Get a book on the basics of perspective, composition, and design
• Learn to use a different medium each month

Art Resources for Homeschoolers

There are a variety of resources available to help you teach art. Some are created specifically for homeschool families while others are not.

• Some great resources for studying art history, as well as tips and suggestions can be found at Art History for Homeschoolers.
• ARTistic Pursuits- These are lesson plans for children from kindergarten through high school. Each lesson is half an hour long and requires parental involvement.
• Atelier - A video based art program for homeschoolers that is perfect for visual learners and parents who don’t feel they have the talent to teach art.
• Discovering Great Artists – This resource has more than 150 activities to help teach the style and technique of the great masters of art and help students identify their work.
• Art Is Fundamental– This elementary art curriculum is designed for conventional classrooms but can be used by homeschoolers as well. It introduces the students to a variety of techniques that includes
  • Water Color
  • Printmaking
  • Calligraphy
  • Collage
  • Tessellations

Teaching art to homeschooling students is intimidating but is much easier than you may think. A few hours a week can result in a lifelong appreciation of fine art and design. Don’t worry if you don’t know much about teaching art. Learning together as a family is what homeschooling is all about.