Color & Composition

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Anyone who knows us knows that my daughter is the art queen of the family. Naturally, she loves getting art-related materials to review. As someone who crafts daily, she's always looking for new skills, supplies, and ideas.

The books from Artistic Pursuits Inc. are some of her favorites and have been well-used over the years. We've learned about artists, art characteristics and styles during various time periods, and techniques. This time, she's been focusing on the creative process of art with ARTistic Pursuits, Middle School 6-8, Book 2 Color and Composition.

Artistic Pursuits was developed by Daniel an Brenda Ellis in 1999. What began as a single drawing book for high schoolers has evolved into full curricula from preschool all the way through high school. Their goal is to "develop experiences in the visual arts that allow children to create original works of art." Their program is designed to help students understand art concepts and enjoy the process of putting their own ideas and visual images on paper.

Color and Composition is the second book in the Middle School series. The books in the program can be used both by students with no prior art instruction and by those who are looking to advance their skills. They are designed to be used independently without parental instruction with instruction that is conversational and suited perfectly for a middle school student. The books have comb binding with clear, plastic covers.

The first book teaches students topics such as line, shape, value, symmetry, perspective, and proportion and focuses on one element of art per unit while exploring it in four unique ways. The second book  introduces the color wheel while strengthening observation skills. It covers techniques including blending, hatching, frottage, and working on colored paper all using either hard pastels or oil pastels.

Color and Composition provides lessons for 68 pastel drawings that are original to the student. As the student works through the book, his color skills advance as he learns about different hues, which ones compliment, how to balance and apply them, adding depth, creating a viewpoint, and more. Each unit features a famous artist of the past with a short biography, a brief cultural lesson teaching how the techniques were used around the world over the years, explanations, definitions, examples, an applicable challenge, and an engaging project.

My girl has been working through the book on her own. Many times a week, I'll find her at the kitchen table surrounded by papers and pastels. It might not be the intended way to approach the book, but I allow her to choose projects at will instead of working through it systematically. I never want art to feel like work that she must complete; I want her to follow her interests and desires and let her creativity be her guide. I have found that her interest is sparked more with this approach.

She has been practicing smooth and rough textures, drawing on a dark background, blending, combining color and texture, using frottage, and more. She learned that she can spray her works with hairspray to set the colors and used a chamois for the first time on a project.

Here are some of her thoughts on the book:

"I really like the sections on the artists and cultures and learning about the history. 

I liked learning about frottage, too. I had never done that before, and it's fun."

ARTistic Pursuits, Middle School 6-8, Book 2 Color and Composition is a great way for 6th-8th grade students to increase their art skills. Students learn a series of actions or steps to achieve their drawing goal as they learn the process of art based on elements. Instead of teaching step-by-step projects and giving specific ideas, the book teaches techniques and leaves the art subjects up to the student's own choosing.

Art is personal. Artistic Pursuits Inc. strives to bring out the artist in everyone.

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You can view more budding artists' works and read more reviews of this book and some of the others that were reviewed by my Crewmates by heading to the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Middle School Lightning Literature

I am excited every time we get to review things that focus on reading. The foundation of our schooling is literature based, so the kids spend a large portion of their school day lost in a book. While I do appreciate the need for some fluff in their reading, we rely on quality writings most of the time. That's why when the Homeschool Review Crew had the opportunity to choose one of many products offered by Hewitt Homeschooling Resources, I was immediately drawn to the Gr 8 Lightning Lit Set. Not only does their Lightning Literature & Composition series focus on whole books and classical literature, but it also teaches deep reading and writing skills.

Hewitt Homeschooling offers a balanced, flexible, and complete approach to home education. They believe that the best option is home school, not school at home, by providing hands-on activities and great literature. Their goals are to combine excellent academics with character development, to instill a strong work ethic, and to cultivate a spirit of community service.

There is a Lightning Literature & Composition level for every student from grades 1-12. For the elementary and junior high years, the curriculum is grade-specific; for the high school years, it is based on a time, place, topic, or author per semester. The early levels focus on a variety of books to instill a love of reading and gently incorporate grammar skills. By the advanced levels, the students will be introduced to exciting authors, strengthen their comprehension skills, and concentrate on strong writing exercises. 

I chose the Gr 8 Lightning Lit Set by Elizabeth Kamath for our oldest child. Even though he will be starting high school classes in the fall, this is his first experience with the Lightning Lit courses. I knew this would be a good challenge for him, because while he reads a lot, we haven't spent too much time on his writing abilities. 

The course utilizes 6 classic books with an additional collection of short stories and poems.

• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• A Day of Pleasure by Isaac Bashevis Singer
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children (various authors) by Harold Bloom 

The books, written between the early 1800s through the mid 1900s, cover both fiction and nonfiction and take the reader on a journey from a Greek Island to Middle Earth to the high seas to a home in Poland to a small town in Alabama and more. The stories were chosen to combine both fun and enlightening works as they introduce the student to a world beyond his immediate experience. 

The complete set includes the curriculum and all necessary reading materials, but for the purpose of this review, we received only the following curriculum books:

• Student's Guide
• Workbook
• Teacher's Guide

The Student's Guide is the textbook of the course. It contains all the teaching materials as the lessons are written directly to the student. The chapters of the Student's Guide alternate between a classic book from the list and a portion of the Stories and Poems book. Each chapter follows the same format:

• Introduction -- a brief biography of the author(s) in the lesson; an explanation of the lesson
• While You Read -- questions or aspects to consider while reading 
• Vocabulary List -- various words from the story divided by chapters and a brief definition of each
• Comprehension Questions -- questions to help discern the student's attention to and understand of the reading material 
• Literary Lesson -- "the heart and soul" of the curriculum; teaches concepts such as figurative language, character, symbolism, imagery, and more
• Mini-Lesson -- one per chapter; can relate to the reading or introduce a composition skill; most chapters involve writing a research report
• Writing Exercises -- may pertain to the literary lesson, research paper, or essay; students should complete one or more of the suggestions listed

The Workbook is a 277-page, consumable book that complements the Student's Guide. The pages should be completed after the reading has been done but before the writing assignments. There are 7 types of exercises: relating to the literary lessons, relating to the mini-lessons, thinking skills, grammar and mechanics, literary analysis, puzzles, and extra-challenge. There can be more than one type in a chapter or none of one type at all. The first ones are required, but the last two exercises (puzzles and extra-challenge) are optional. The elective exercises include word searches, crossword puzzles, and various language arts topics. The number of exercises varies per chapter, but there is a total of over 100 exercises throughout the course. 

The Teacher's Guide is a must-have addition to the curriculum. Not only does it contain all of the answers to the workbook pages, but has additional teaching helps and valuable tips to aid struggling students.

The format is identical to the Student's Guide, making it simple to follow along. The beginning of the book gives and explanation of the course and its components, explains the importance of both reading and writing, and lists a weekly schedule for the curriculum with check boxes.

In the 6 weeks that my son has been using this curriculum, he has read "A Crazy Tale" from Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children and Treasure Island. He has learned about an author's purpose in writing, taking notes, setting, and rewriting in his own words. He has practiced capitalization and apostrophes; described sights, sound, touch, smell, and taste for various settings in the house; identified bias, analyzed literature; determined fact or opinion; and more. In the coming weeks, he will learn about free verse and ballad, sharing culture through nonfiction, citing sources, character development, narration, figurative language, sentence structure, and much more.

There is a great variety of exercises throughout the book that include short answer, multiple choice, underlining, and markings along with the longer assignments. It's a good combination that teaches the concepts without making my son feel overwhelmed. I've already seen an improvement in not only his writing abilities but his confidence, as well. I'm excited about the possibilities as we progress through the materials.

I have been thoroughly impressed with the Gr 8 Lightning Lit Set. I appreciate the combination of strong, classical literature with a thorough teaching of composition and writing. I feel confident that Hewitt Homeschooling Resources will benefit my son as he enters his high school years.


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My crewmates and I had many options to review including other levels of Lightning Lit, a few My First Reports, and various high school courses. You can read those reviews on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.