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3 Ways To Incorporate Art Into Your Homeschool Curriculum

Art has the ability to build confidence, creative thinking skills, and brings a child’s imagination to life. But, if you are not particularly artistic, it can be hard to incorporate art regularly into your child’s curriculum. So, here are 3 simple ways to introduce art to make school more fun and reap the artistic benefits at any age.

Looking for resources on how to teach art in your homeschool, art project ideas or homeschool art curriculum?  You’ll find additional articles on how to homeschool art.

Three Ways to Incorporate Art Into Your Homeschool Curriculum

3 ways to incorporate art in your homeschool curriculum

1. Art Journaling

Keeping an art journal is a great way to explore art materials and ideas without worrying about a perfect outcome. Think of it as a visual diary. Everyday set aside some time to work in disclaimer their art journal. It can be filled with simple pencil doodles, sketches of things around the house, or even a place where they can experiment with materials (paints, markers, collage). This is a great warm-up activity to get the brain focused and builds confidence to tackle larger art projects. All you need is an unlined notebook and a pencil.

2. Frequent field trips

Field trips are the best perks to homeschool learning. Take that ‘hands on’ learning approach a step further and add a fun art project to reinforce what their latest adventure. This activity can work with just about any field trip. Have them bring a notebook and pick their favorite museum exhibit or moment of the day and five things that best describe it. When they get home, have them create an art project that best reflects their experience. For example if it was a trip to the zoo, make a simple animals mask out of paper plates. Did you visit an art museum? Was his/her favorite piece a painting or a sculpture? Have them use their descriptive words to create their own masterpiece.

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3. Integrated Subjects

Use art projects to explore other subjects. Is your child learning about a war in Social Studies? If he/she were to draw a picture of what they were learning, the facts can really stick. They will have fun finding ways to include the details and I’ll bet they will remember that battle much longer than just memorizing. Crayola Model Magic is a great mess free way to create mini sculptures of Science lessons such as parts of the flower or even what makes up a cell. Cookie Cutters work great for smaller children.

In general, kids can really thrive artistically with a few parameters and a little direction. So, whatever the age or subject, give them a little guidance and watch your lesson plans come to life.

Do you need other resources to help you teach art in your homeschool, art project ideas or even suggestions for homeschool art curriculum?  Check out these other articles on how to homeschool art.

Kristy Oustalet- OwnerColor Me Nola, an art school and studio, was started by Kristy Oustalet. After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts program at Loyola University, she explored the art industry through gallery work and working with the New Orleans Film Festival and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago. Her recent endeavor as the Art Director for Cultural Canvas Thailand allowed her to work with community arts and to host art workshops for both children and adults. It seems only natural that after working in the arts in cities around the globe, she would return to her hometown of New Orleans, where she is anxious to share her experience and creativity. She is currently the owner and art instructor of Color Me Nola, is selling her personal art at local markets, and is a docent at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.

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7 Comments

  1. I love these ideas, especially the art journal. I will start using that and the field trip idea. I am art challenged, or maybe I am just a perfectionist. Either way, the kids aren’t getting enough time to be creative. Thanks for a wonderful post.

    1. Thanks for the great feedback! I’m so happy to hear that I planted the seed for more creative time for you AND your kids. Join in the fun, you’ll be amazed at how recharged you feel.
      -Kristy

  2. Thanks for the neat art ideas. I really like the art journal idea! My daughter sketches all the time, so a journal might be perfect for her.

    We use a neat online art and music game site to enrich her art time. It is free to use…Learning Games for Kids (http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/art_and_music_games.html). They have lots and lots of educational games, not just art.

    Joyfully,
    Jackie who stays busy homeschooling a high-spirited 14 year old dyslexic sweetie.

    My Attempt at Blogging

  3. My oldest daughter (8) is very artistic. I was overwhelmed by the amount of drawings. I finally bought a binder and filled it with sheet protectors and that is where we keep her art. She is also big on sharing her drawings with the grandparents and cousins. I felt like I alone was supporting the post office. So, I bought a pack of manila envelopes, addressed them for everyone she wanted and told her to fill them up/ When they are full of the drawings we mail them off, it usually takes a few months for her. In the past we have had a art sketch book and that she would draw a picture on the page and then I would draw something on the picture, we would go back and forth all evening. It is really fun and silly.

  4. These are great suggestions.

    Because we’ve followed the Reggio Emilia’s atelier (“studio”) approach in pre-K and K, we’ve always allowed for plenty of **access** to supplies. (For a looong time, we only had washable stuff. You know why!) We’ve also eschewed coloring sheets and books because we felt it was more important “to create” as opposed to simply to “completing.”

    For us, this approach has worked very well. He’s made mini-books, collected his drawings in scrapbooks (which are really loose-leaf art journals), and lately he’s taken to creating these elaborate tiny gadgets and gizmos. It’s all great fun. Tonight he asked if we could learn to knit and sew with a needle and thread. Well, sure!

    Oh, and I should note that MaryAnn Kohl’s “First Art” book was invaluable when my son was smaller.

  5. I love the idea of the art journal. My 4 year old (nearly 5) sort of has a running list of her favorite crafts and art we have done so far. We also bought an art curriculum for this year and they suggest having an ‘art show’ at the end and have grandparents or whoever over to show off the work. I think my girl would love that!

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