Insight Technical Education sent out a variety of products for Crew members to try out.  We received

1.Complete-A-Sketch Vision- Dexterity- Focus

 2. Advanced Complete-A-Sketch for review. 

If you like drafting and plan to teach it to your kids these might be for you. 

First, there are some things that you should know about me and my family.   We are not very structured.  We are creative in the whimsical sense.  We teach from an eclectic approach. 

Here is more insight into my family :

When I want to place a picture on my wall I don't pull out the level first and usually I don't even mark the spot with a pencil before I'm beating the nail into the wall.

All that being said, I think you can understand how these products from Insight Technical Education just didn't mesh too well in my home.

Not every home is like mine though.  Maybe you are more serious in your approach, more the classical education type.  Maybe you have older children, with an interest in technical art.  This might be a good fit for you.  So, that being said, let me tell you more about these products. 

First, lets talk about the Complete-A- Sketch Vision Dexterity Focus.  This is designed for children 5 and up.  I let my son and daughter try it out and really, they didn't know what they were supposed to do.  It is supposed to be a hands on curriculum.  It's maybe a little too hands-on.  I had trouble instructing them and wasn't really sure of my goal.  At first Caibry tried to draw lines very staight to connect the dashes.  He even asked to use the ruler.  Before long his hand wiggled a little and his "straight" line shook on the page.  He was frustrated and before long he gave up and flipped the page over to do free sketches on the back.   I was a little suprised that he'd lasted as long as he did.

On the other hand, my daughter enjoyed it.  She was lining up a ruler and erasing any flaws with precision.  She attacked it with complete focus and actually didn't want to quit.  She was still working away at it long after her brother had abandoned his.  She's a very logical kid though.  She likes structure.  She'll probobly be a level user when she grows up.  

If your child has a genuine interest in the technical side of drawing or if you have a patient kid who gets into fine details, he might enjoy it. 

The cost is $18

For us, I'll stick with the connect the dots books from the dollar store.  It was sort of lost on me.

The Advanced Complete a Sketch is for ages 10 and up.  I think this is a more reasonable age to be interested in projects like these.  To use this you need to have Acrobat Reader 7 or higher.  You'll need internet access and you'll have to download a free software component.  It was sort of a pain setting it up, honestly. 

I can see where an older, middle school aged kid would get into this.  There are projects for printing and sketches to complete. 

The cost is $28.  I actually think this is more reasonable because of the age and interest factor.  At middle school age this could be something to steer their interests and even point them toward a future career.  The cost, therefore, makes sense.

All in all, I think that it's a valuable skill for older children to learn.  If you have a child in that age range, it's worth looking into.  I guess I just don't get the younger side of this.  They are kind of too young at 5 to develop a skill like this.  It takes a little more concentration and interest to sustain their efforts.

I do appreciate Insight Techical Education for supplying me with these products to try.  You never know what will work for your kids until you try.

The Advanced Complete a Sketch may be something to keep in mind for middle schoolers.  I could really see this working well for boys in that age group especially.

If you wish to know more about Insight Technical Education check out their website at www.insightteched.com.  Also feel free to check out the crew blog to see what others are saying about these products and others from Insight Technical Education.

Happy Learning!