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Meet the Masters |
| Publisher:
MeetTheMasters.com |
Author:
Bonnie Steele
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| Illustrator:
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| Editor:
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| Reviewed
By: Deborah Deggs Cariker |
After spending more than 15 years in California's public schools, MeetTheMasters.com has a product specifically geared toward homeschooling families that can help your 1st through 8th grade students tap into their own talents as they learn about famous art masters of the past. MeetTheMasters.com wants homeschoolers to remember that art is an important subject, and they're making it easier to teach than you might think.
I admit art is fairly low (next to nonexistent) on my teaching list, but even I can do this. My own art skills vary between drawing stick figures and painting the house, but I am thoroughly chastised now that I've learned that my lack of ability (or interest?) is no longer an excuse to delete the "A" word from our school day. And don't let the computer component of the curriculum scare you. Even I can load this one. Like I said, "Mom friendly..."
Once loaded, Pierre, the French cartoon art connoisseur, will guide you and your children through Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Piet Mondrian, Mary Cassatt, Pablo Picasso, Winslow Homer and others (28 master artists in all). You will learn facts about the artists - including some of their letters and how they felt about their work - and some of their famous pieces, as well as their techniques. Then you get to put those techniques into practice, filling your refrigerator-art studio or even a local competition with your own works of art. Your children will join more than one million others who have discovered their creativity through this curriculum.
The homeschool binder includes a year's worth of lessons and activities, prints of more than 100 paintings, 10 clips and music selections, and 10 interactive games. If you have trouble finding some of the necessary supplies, MeetTheMasters.com comes to your rescue with a mega on-line art supply store (40,000+ items) created with homeschoolers specifically in mind: www.MeetTheMasters.com
You can encourage your little artists along the way with the "Van Gogh Victory Award", the "Magnificent Monet Award", the "Homer Honor Award", the "Prized Picasso Award", the "Creative Cassatt Award", and the "Marvelous Mondrian Award". What a self-esteem booster when they see their own masterpieces hung up for family attention!
Dress your artist up with beard and hat and hand him a paintbrush, then pretend to interview your Junior Monet; you can follow the curriculum's upbeat script to play along. (You may want to dress up yourself, but shave the beard before Dad gets home from work!) Learn about how artists see things many other people miss. Learn about how to use simple lines and colors, or to interpret what you see with art. Learn about texture. Get a glimpse into history. See if you can discern the different art media. Can you tell an oil painting from a watercolor painting? Can you see the rabbit or the duck? (WARNING: Staring at optical illusions at midnight can make you nauseous!)
Need structure? It's here, including suggestions of what music to play during each art lesson, how to set up and prepare, and what you'll need. Want to make this inclusive with other teaching areas? I'm sure your children will be glad to know that MeetTheMasters publishers Patrick Steele and Michael Hill already thought of that and have provided suggestions for vocabulary lists, listening skills, and critical thinking activities.
Maybe this is what we needed when we were in school. Perhaps moms and dads can even learn to draw. (My children are not holding their breath! They say things like, "Mom, that kinda' looks like ...." - stress the kinda'!) But really, this has genuine potential to be a learn-together kind of curriculum.
Think this will take you all day? It shouldn't. Steele and Hill outline how much time each activity should take. Preparation: 2 minutes. Drawing hills: 8 minutes. Draw a broken spiral: 5 minutes. Clean up: 5 minutes. This is a real guideline that help keeps you on track with the lesson - and keeps the lesson in line with your day.
The teaching segments are broken up into three levels: Beginner for K - 2nd grade; Intermediate for 3rd and 4th graders; and Advanced for 5th through 8th grades. The levels are not based on artistic ability - theirs or yours! Buy one level of curriculum for $85.00; any two levels for $136.00; or all three levels for $191.25. (The public/private school slide-based program totals out at more than $2000.00, so this is a bargain!) |
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| More
Information |
| Available
From: MeetTheMasters.com |
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Address: |
| Phone:
949.492.1583 |
| Website:
www.MeetTheMasters.com/ |
| Email:
Patrick@MeetTheMasters.com |
| Cost:
one level $85.00; any two levels $136.00; all thre |
| Other
Notes: Fax: 949.492.9381 |
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Deborah Deggs Cariker
A Houston-area veteran journalist, Deborah Deggs Cariker is a ninth-year homeschooling mother of two, and Assistant Editor of the EHO Product Reviews Department. Cariker and fireman husband, Bill, make their home near Montgomery, Texas. |
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| Copyright
© 2001 Eclectic Homeschool Association |
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