Art in the Homeschool

Many of us include Fine Arts in our weekly curriculum. If you don’t, you should! It gives your children a break from formal reading and writing lessons, and it gives them an opportunity to be creative and learn to express themselves.

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I’m not an artist by any means. Not great at arts and crafts and don’t know much about decorating. However, I have little ones who love to draw, paint, and create. So, I have made it my mission to add some art to our homeschool. But where to start?

You can definitely find tons of art projects to do by grade level or even subject matter. Younger children will love crayons and paint on paper. I encourage however to do something a little more intentional with little ones. So they can have fun and gain some art skills. There are lots of great websites that have free art lesson plans and activities for students of all ages.

Here’s a list of some of the websites I have found helpful:

Deep Space Sparkle                                Art of Education University

Kinderart                                                  The Homeschool Mom

Enrichment Studies                                Happiness is Homemade

You can study famous artists and their works if you have older children. There are so many artists from different countries, cultures, and time periods. Your students will gain so much knowledge with each artist they discover. You can extend these studies by letting your students create their own works of art. Even better…field trip! Visit a local or not so local art museum. 

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I like to have a little more structure when I’m teaching a subject. So my approach is a bit different. I started by finding the basic elements or art (Google ‘elements of art’). Elements like line, shape, and texture to name a few. I had no clue what, when, or how to teach these elements.

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So, I searched scope and sequence for art curriculums just to get an idea of what to teach my little ones. It just gave me a lot more information on teaching art. (Did I mention I never taught art before) I then find art projects that will help my students learn about that element of art. I know doing it this way may require a little more work on my part, but it helps me stay organized. We get to do a variety of activities each week, and the kids love it. 

Some of you may already do art in your homeschool. I hope you do. If not, try adding just a lesson once a week or a few times a month. You’ll be surprised just how much it will open your children’s creativity and imaginations. 

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Naja Coles

I’m most importantly a follower of Christ by who’s blood we believe there is salvation. We believe in biblical Truth only. Being led by the Spirit of God, we seek to raise our family by that Truth. I am a wife of 7 years, and mom to 8 wonderful children ages 6-7 months. We have been homeschooling for 2 years officially (6 if you include preschool). I enjoy music, gardening, and learning to live a healthy, non-toxic lifestyle. 

Matthew 4:17