Lesson Planning - Art and Handicrafts

This series of link-ups is for educators to share ideas and lesson plans for the upcoming school year. This week's topic is art and handicrafts. To see the rest of the schedule please visit our Resources Page.

Although art and handicrafts are related, we cover them separately. In the past we have followed both Ambleside Online's Picture Study and the Come Look With Me series of books to study famous works of art. When using the Come Look With Me series we go through the books very slowly covering one picture every two weeks. We just read about the painting and answer the questions in the book. Then we set the picture as the desktop background on the computer. If there is a Mike Venezia book on the artist we read the book.

This year I plan to use the Discovering Great Artists projects in conjunction with Mike Venezia's series of Getting To Know The World's Best Artists. If all goes well we will read one book and do a project every two weeks.

Knitting, sewing, spinning, and needle felting seem to be the favorite handicrafts in our house. In the past I haven't really taught handicrafts during school time, but rather helped with projects the kids are interested in.

This year will be different. I plan to teach photography. My photographer friend's daughter used to teach my daughter to play the piano. During lessons I would help her with knitting projects and she taught me about photography. Not long after our chats, much of the conversations would show up on her blog in the form of weekend photography tips.

Weekend Photography Tips
Starting with what You've Got - Jan 21, 2012
Scene Modes - Jan 29, 2012
Zoom and Lens Distortion - Feb 4, 2012
Composition - Feb 18, 2012
Fill Flash - Feb 25, 2012 
Flash Diffusers - March 4, 2012
Lens and Focal Lengths - March 11, 2012
Getting the Color Right - March 25, 2012
Depth of Field App - April 7, 2012
Picmonkey and Point and Shoots - April 21, 2012
How to Shoot in Manual - May 5, 2012
Processing Pitfalls - May 12, 2012
iPhoto - June 2, 2012
All Those Old Photos - June 23, 2012
Cropping and Printing - July 2, 2012

I learned a lot from her and can see improvements in the photos I have taken since our talks. This year I plan to pass on my limited knowledge to my kids and hopefully spark a new interest.

How do you teach art and handicrafts?

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This post is linked to: 
Homeschooling Hearts and Minds