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Art is one of those homeschool subjects we have to teach that I find is not that hard to include. My kids love doing art projects, in general. Though, as they work their way through the tween and teen years, I need to find art resources for their age level.

As you may have noticed, there are a plethora of resources on the internet. You can find websites filled with art ideas and online classes. You can even find people that teach art classes in your communities. Over the years I have found a few art resources that have been helpful and fun.

Drawing with Children

If you have a child that loves to draw and wants to work on their skills, Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes is a good tool. In this book, children and adults can learn basic drawing techniques. It takes you through exercises depending on each person’s ability level. She includes instructions for three different stages. Therefore, if you have children with varying abilities, you know how to help each of them. This is far more than a basic “How to Draw” book.

The book provides warm-up exercises before you begin. It helps to prepare students for drawing but also relaxes them, especially for those that are reluctant to draw. 

The students start off working on how to draw by looking at a picture. It teaches kids to look at images closely. It then moves into working on still-life and then working on volume.

The book does require preparation and a lot of parent interaction. I think it is worth the effort. You can see the improvements and the way in which your kids look at things around them with a new eye when trying to draw. My kids have learned some useful skill from this book. Plus, parents can learn a lot about drawing, too.

Mr. P Studios

One YouTube channel we have used for art is Mr. P Studios. He has a variety of art techniques he teaches to students. His art projects use watercolors, crayons, oil pastels, and other materials. They are simple projects that your kids will enjoy.

My kids have watched his tutorials on how to draw a particular animal, worked on optical illusion art, and scribble art projects. The scribble art tutorial is super simple and a lot of fun. What is nice is you can pause the video and rewind if you need to. Plus, Mr. P is very engaging for kids.

Red Ted Art

I love Red Ted Art. You can access it through the website or YouTube channel. On this site, you can find a wide variety of arts and crafts to do. She has tutorials on origami, finger knitting, and all sorts of paper crafts. You can find art projects on all holidays and on certain themes like Minions. 

I like that all of the projects have good instructions or a video that explain or demonstrate how to make them. There is such a wide range of projects to choose from for preschoolers all the way up. Kids can learn different things to make with paper, make clay projects, draw, and so much more.

Usborne: The Children’s Book of Art

Usborne books are fabulous whether it is teaching science, history, or art. You can’t go wrong. The Children’s Book of Art by Rosie Dickins gives a good introduction to famous paintings throughout history. It provides gorgeous pictures, simple explanations about the artist and their work. The book also includes internet links, if you wish to explore a topic further.

The book works well as an introduction to art history for elementary kids. I use it in conjunction with history. As we work our way through historical periods, I integrate the artists and paintings from this book. I want my kids to see how everything during a certain time period is connected. The arts, music, politics, and social movements of the time have similar patterns that you can see reflected everywhere. Because of this, I like to study art and history together. 

Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists

The Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists books by Mike Venezia are fabulous. The books are a series of biographies. Mike Venezia writes about a variety of artists with each book focusing on only one person.  They include lots of facts leading through each person’s life and include little cartoons that make learning fun. Kids get a lot of information on each artist’s life, but they are not your typical dry biography.

I have used a lot of his books in my homeschool. The kids get excited when they see them because they are fun. We have read many of his books on musicians, too. I wish our library carried all of them. They are an entertaining way for kids to learn about famous people. 

Step-By-Step Painting by Tracie Kiernan

Now that my kids are older, they have wanted to learn how to paint. I love Step-By-Step Painting! You can find many different painting projects to tackle with your kids. Tracie has acrylic paintings on flowers, seasonal subjects, and paintings for holidays, too.

With the easy video tutorials (written steps, too) on how to paint, you will come out with a beautiful painting when you are done. My kids and I have painted pumpkins in the back of a truck on a fall evening. I even did a painting of a Christmas ornament hanging from a tree bough.

My son was able to follow along, and he was only ten the first time we used the site. The site is perfect art resource for the older kids in your family.

Homeschool Art Curriculum

I’ve shared some resources we have used in our homeschool. Now, I want to share a couple of full curriculum options, too.

Beyond the Stick Figure- A Great Art Resource for the Whole Family

I was lucky to have access to this curriculum before it was ever launched. I was given early access to review the drawing portion of the program. It was still not 100% complete at the time.

I was instantly impressed with the program.

In Beyond the Stick Figure, Sally teaches kids of all ages the basics of drawing. You start to view your world as an artist so you can learn to draw it.

The classes are taught in short online videos. Kids work on a technique step-by-step with Sally and then practice more on their own.

Since I first reviewed this product (you can read a full review here), she has added more classes. Kids can learn how to paint with watercolors and ink drawings.

I would highly recommend looking into Beyond the Stick Figure if you would like an art class that will teach the whole family how to become an artist.

ARTistic Pursuits

ARTistic Pursuits is a homeschool art curriculum for all ages. We happened to try their Middle School Gr 6-8 Book One: The Elements of Art (read review here). The book walks kids through the different elements of drawing, along with art history, too.

If you have a middle school child that wants to take their drawing to the next level, this may be the program for them. My son really enjoyed it.

Homeschool Art Resources

I know there are a million of art resources out there to choose from for your homeschool. I put together this list to show you some of the fun and helpful art resources we have included in our homeschool art program. My kids have enjoyed all of these ideas, so I wanted to share them with you. Maybe you have a child that will enjoy something here.

What do you use in your homeschool art program?

Happy Homeschooling!

**This is an updated post of my October 2018 one. I have added new resources to better help you in your homeschool.**

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