See The Light Art Class-TOS Review

I am not an artist.  Not even kind of.  My 7-year-old daughter can draw better than I can, and my 3-year-old son will be drawing better than I do as soon as he no longer combines the head and torso into one bulbous mass and remembers always to add hands and feet. 

I like to think that I create art with my words, but if I had to make a living drawing pictures I would be the personification of the Starving Artist.  It's not pretty.

When I decided to homeschool Amélie the idea of teaching her art was daunting to me.  I often "cheat."  We bake and call that art (well, it is...kind of...).  We have been making a Lent and Easter mobile during this Lenten/Easter season, and I actually enjoyed that a lot, namely because it involved her tying things like a toy donkey, thorns, and a cross to a big stick hanging from my living room ceiling.  There was absolutely no drawing involved.  I have no idea, however, how to teach her any drawing skills.  I wish her father would take over this aspect of our schooling (ahem, Matt, that little dig was pointedly intended for you). 

In the meantime, we now have a video sitting in our DVD cabinet that we can pull out for an art lesson that is much better than anything I could even attempt.  We received a video of 4 lessons plus 1 bonus lesson from Art Class with master artist Pat Knepley.  Pat has a very entertaining personality that is fun to watch.  She does a great job making the material interesting AND educational, which is always a perk (or rather, a necessity) in our household.  Amélie enjoyed watching the video for its educational purposes, but even Jack hung out in the living room just to watch her talk.  

The lessons we received on this DVD were...
1.Tools of the Trade
2. It All Starts with a Line
3.Contours and Compositions
4.Draw What You See
There is also a bonus lesson entitled Chalk-It-Easy Chalk Art Lesson.

I thought that the information presented was well-done and easily accessible for elementary-school students. My only concern with this DVD is that the lessons are quite short, and I wish that there was a bit more detail and maybe even some art history included. Overall, though, I think that this is a great introduction to art for the budding artist in your home.

You can either purchase a year's worth of lessons on DVDs as a set for $99.99, or you can order an online subscription for $10.00 a month. 

If you would like to receive a FREE copy of Art Class Volume 1, the same DVD we received, check it out here.  You can also check out the first lessons for free here. 

Take a peek at what my fellow crewmates are saying about Art Class.


Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I was provided a copy of this product for my honest evaluation. I was given no other compensation for this review.