A New Approach to Art Instruction

I was privileged to be able to use the Artistic Pursuits:  Junior High Book One, The Elements of Art and Composition, curriculum for the past several weeks.  My children have taken "art lessons" of various types for years.  I have seen some progression during those years, but not as much as there could have been.  Artistic Pursuits is a different type of art curriculum.  The book we have used is:
--A text written in conversational manner so students can work independently;
--A full year course in one book, designed for students to complete two lessons per week
--Four unique projects in each unit including creative exercises, art history and appreciation, techniques, and exploration of various subject matter.
We enjoyed the easy-to-understand manner this book is written in. My eighth grader was able to read and understand the lessons and create projects with no assistance from me.  I also appreciated the complete supply list that is provided in the very beginning of the book.  The projects actually require very few supplies and are not "messy" type art projects.  This book focuses more on training the student's eye to hand skills.  Throughout the entire book there is a emphasis on the student learning to "focus on one element of art at a time, while drawing, and block out the others." This curriculum is such a bargain at $49.95!  I don't know of any art lessons my kids could take for that price for a month, much less for an entire year.
I can definitely see our family using this curriculum for years to come. For more information about this curriculum, or to purchase Artistic Pursuits, go take a look at their website at:  http://www.artisticpursuits.com/index.html
To read what other reviewers have to say about this Artistic Pursuits book, as well as the other Artistic Pursuits books, go to:  http://homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolcrew/783838/