Homeschool Review Crew - Creating a Masterpiece

I was thrilled to get a chance to review a one-year subscription to the online Drawing Program from Creating a Masterpiece.

What is Creating a Masterpiece?

This is an online subscription that teaches art through video instruction. There is a wide selection of art projects, but this review will focus on the Drawing Program. The drawings include pencil, colored pencil, and charcoal and are presented at various levels. We chose to draw a little from each level. There is a list of materials needed for each project and even links to purchase anything you need.

How Did We Use It?

I sat with my daughter and chose a few projects we wanted to do. We did them side-by-side together and enjoyed every minute. The instructor is so patient and easy to listen to. She describes each step of each project in a way that is easy to follow, and if it got too fast, we could always pause or rewind - the beauty of video online.

The lessons are set up so that you could choose to do one a week or more. We got carried away and lost track of time, so we did more than one in a week.

The Beginning Drawing section includes 8 lessons, the Drawing Level 1 includes 7 lessons, Drawing Level 2 has 6 lessons, and Drawing Level 3 consists of 8 lessons. Each lesson is broken into at least a few video lesson sections. We usually sat and finished all of the video lessons for each drawing once we got started, but you could easily stop at the end of each video within each lesson and turn it into a few day's or even a week long project for one lesson.

Here's a glimpse into what we experienced:

What Did We Think?

We absolutely love to draw together, and the instruction on these videos is superb. The instructor is easy to listen to and explains everything so well. It was hard to stop at just one project at a time as once we got started we wanted to keep going.

FIND Creating a Masterpiece ON SOCIAL MEDIA @:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/createamasterpiece 

Read what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew thought by clicking on the picture below:

Homeschool Review Crew - HiGASFY Art History Video Series

I was thrilled to get a chance to review HiGASFY Art History Video Series - three month subscription from HiGASFY Art History Video Series.

What is HiGASFY?

The letters in the name stands for Have I Got A Story For You, and it's pronounced, "Hi Gasfy!" Gasfy is a green drop of paint character who helps narrate the stories about art history. Each video lesson is roughly 20 to 25 minutes long. About the first five minutes of each episode is a brief review of what we learned from the previous episode. The program is intended for students in grades 1-8. The videos are amazing, but it doesn't end there. There is also a lesson study guide that goes along with each video lesson that provides activities and online flashcards to study, making it a complete curriculum package for art history.

How Did We Use It?

We were asked to watch at least one lesson per week during the review period. Believe me, it was hard to stop after just one, because each video connects to the other with teasers of what's coming and a review of what we talked about previously, so it's really hard to stop at watching just one. It was super easy to access. I simply clicked on the video links to play through lessons and then adownloaded the lesson plans and had access to the on-screen flashcards and Name That Artist assessment/game/tests. Each series includes 12 videos, 16 corresponding lesson plans that are downloadable, downloadable flashcards and an assessment game called "Name that Artist" to be played at the end of the series to evaluate your student's retention of material. There is also a biblical application available for each lesson.

The lessons were very easy and entertaining to watch as they also presented facts about the artists. The lesson plans are presented in PDFs and online access and extend the video lessons to hands-on activities. Some of the activities included drawing, free drawing, making a portfolio to store artwork, crossword puzzles, and word finds. They also touched upon vocabulary words, writing, science, and some geography.

Covered in the videos and lesson curriculum plans are:

• Renaissance
• Baroque
• Impressionist
• Post-Impressionist

What Did We Think?

I thought the entire way everything was presented made a complete package and is a very clever and engaging way to learn art history. It's not just plopping your child down in front of a video. There are also lessons included to make it a well-rounded program about art history. I enjoyed it better than any other art history I've ever encountered.

FIND HiGASFY ON SOCIAL MEDIA @:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/higasfy/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/higasfy/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjrNWpYDazk50FyV7AdKhkw
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/higasfy/

Read what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew thought by clicking on the picture below: