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Spears Art Studio was a great surprise to me as part of the TOS Review Crew!  For years I've looked for something simple to use and yet in-depth; something that gave me ideas of activities to do with the children and also covered various artists and art styles; something that didn't cost an arm and a leg or require a degree in art to teach . . .

Here it is!

I think this is one of my favorite curriculum finds this year!  Spears Art has great programs for K-8 and also High School.  Created by Dr. Diane Spears, artist and author, the program comes on CD-Rom and is extremely easy to download and use.  You can get a good idea of their goals from their mission statement:

1. to recognize the hand of God in everything and to give Him glory

2. to reconnect the Lord as the Supreme Artist to the process and excitement of learning for both children and educators through the study and activity of art;

3. to provide resources for the Christian educator that

  a. help students make connections between the Creator, creativity, and personal maturity

  b. are organized for natural learning progression

  c. provide experiences for higher order thinking skills

  d. "stretch" academic and manipulative skills

  e. introduce students to famous artists and artworks incorporated into a seasonal and/or art elements/principles arrangement of art and craft production

   The K-8 curriculum consists of weekly themes for the entire school year.  There is a discussion of the theme (some are seasonal/holiday oriented) followed by activities for *each* grade level--so you can use one program for all of your children, year after year, as there's always something new to do!  I've found on several occasions in the past that the art activities I've planned for my children are either too hard for the littles or too simplistic for the older ones.  I've had no complaints as we work through this program because the projects are geared to varying ages!  Dr. Spears has also incorporated Scripture into each lesson.  Did I mention that I love this program?!?!  My sixth grade son enjoyed his pointillism tree so much that he brought it with him to class for a show and tell presentation, and several moms asked about the program.

The program includes 269 art activities, 137 patterns and posters, and 498 instructional pages.  Wow!

The High School level program is equally impressive.  Many states require Fine Arts as a credit and this would more than fit the bill--and it's easy to implement, as it's written to the student,  who is encouraged to keep both a sketchbook and a journal as they work through this program and spend time weekly at the library looking at different artists' work and interacting with Scriptures pertaining to the topics at hand.  There are 36 lessons, 75 art activities and 36 sketchbook assignments.  Topics covered include perspective, line drawing, use of space, balance/symmetry/asymmetry, printmaking, fibers . . . it's an extensive list!  There are also helpful guides included to help you evaluate your teens' artwork.

This fabulous art curriculum is available at www.spearsartstudio.com .  If you visit the website, you can actually download several lessons for free and get an in-depth look at it for yourself before you buy!

The K-8 Program is $39.95 for the CD-Rom or $134.95 for a combination of the full-color CD-Rom and a black and white hard copy.  I think it would be wonderful to have both the black-and-white for myself and pages I could print out for my students, but the CD-Rom alone is plenty--just print out the pages as you need them!

For the high school program: The full-color CD -Rom which you'd print pages for your student from is $29.95, or you can order a hard copy for $69.95.  A combination package of these two is only $84.95. 

Also right now, for $69.90, you can order both the K-8 and High School CD-Roms and receive a free copy of Dr. Spears calligraphy program.  These prices include shipping.

So if you would like to find a way to work in more art with your children, I must say I highly, highly, highly recommend this great program!