Learning About Modern Art is EASY PEASY With Famous Artists Online Unit Study (Vol. 2) From Techie Homeschool Mom! (curriculum review)

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If you spend ANY amount of time homeschooling and hunting through blogs and websites for more ideas to make learning FUN, there is one website you will keep coming across: Techie Homeschool Mom!! We've used her holiday unit studies and her Digital Organization for Homeschool one already, so when the oportunity came to check out one of her newer courses, Famous Artists Online Unit Study (Vol. 2), we were VERY eager to add it to our Spring studies plan!

Famous Artists Online Unit Study (Vol. 2) cover

I've been asked before whether I think Online Units Studies are worth the extra expense, and without fail, I always say YES!

For 3 very simple reasons:

1. Every Online Unit Study I have seen not only covers one topic VERY well, BUT they also integrate MULTIPLE subjects at the samee time (soemthing homeschoolers LOVE), and that can mean reduced planning time for Mom, and reduced actual school time for the kids! Which makes them perfect for when you have short weeks, or only a day here or there (like before vacation or when family emergncies strike). Plus kids learn some valuable life skills, as they have to access additional websites and find information. Additionally, many have them compleete digital projects, so they get to learn their way around a computer as well! So they are a win-win!

2. Generally, most Online Unit Studies have a multi-age approach to them- meaning you can purchase 1 study and use it for ALL the kids in your house! No worries about additonal workbooks or tests, everything you need is there. Now having said that, it is true that it appears most online studies are made for 7th grade and under, BUT online study unit makers are realizing the need for more middle and high school studies, and in the last 6 months, they have flourished!

3. Online Unit Studies can be done ANYWHERE, on any device! So if you're home, fine the kids can use the desktop, but if you're traveling TO Grandma's house, they can do them on their phone or tablet! Now obviously hands on projects may have to wait til you get home or Grandma's, but generally they require items you have on hand! And most, like Techie Homeschool Mom, give you unlimited access to the class, once you purchase it, so you can start and stop it when needed, even if that means taking make up next semester! And there's no limit to how many devices you can use like a lot of apps!

So what about the Famous Artists Online Unit Study (Vol. 2),?

It's another hit!

The course covers the following artists and artistic styles:

- Modern vs. Contemporary Art

- Grant Wood: American Regionalism

- Norman Rockwell: Illustration Ar

- Grandma Moses: Folk Art

- Jackson Pollock: Abstract Art

- Andy Warhol: Pop Art

- Frank Stella: Minimalism

- Bridget Riley: Optical Art

- Fernando Botero: Postmodern Art

- Jean-Michel Basquiat: Street Art

Plus you student will learrn how to make an online presentation, using the online site Emaze.

Now we go to NOMA (New Orleans Musuem of Art) multiple times a year, and these artistic styles are ones where Miss Grace has always shown only mild interest. She tends to like art in a more pure form (probably too much exposure when she was very young to the Masters). Plus we have Rockwell and Wood prints, so I knew this would be a bit of a push for her, so we decided to use it as add on material. So if she had time, she did as much as she could

Famous Artists Online Unit Study Vol. 2 sample 4

When your student signs on, they will enter the unit dashboarard, which will show them on the left toolbar, not only how much they have completed of the course so far, but how far they have to go. It's a simple visual reminder, but one that kids really seem to like!

Addtiionally, they can see what chapters have been opened, and what sections have been completed (filled in circle) or still need to be done (open circle). This is also helpful for Mom, is she happens to look over their shoulder! LOL.

Your student can also skip around if they want to head to a certain section first, by just clicking on it. The section opens up to the right of the screen, and is easily read from the same screen- no multiple tabs or screens to keeo track of! Which means it's easy for the younger kids to use too!

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What Miss Grace liked immediately was how picture examples of the different artists' work were shown in between the text. The text itself isnt stodgy, and it was easy for her to read. Plus if you do have a dyslexic child, they can use a screen reader for words they may not know! As students look at the different pieces, they pull their favorites and add them to an Art Exhibit page, they set up on Emaze. It's a unique approach, that actually gets them ready to do online projects for other subjects!

Famous Artists Online Unit Study Vol. 2 sample 1

Additionally there were numerous videos for her to watch, not only about the artists, but about their works. As she is a You Tube junkie (I admit it), she was thrileld to be able to combine her favorite research actitivy (ahem) with the unit study! Parents will like how after the cideo, students are asked to think about what they learned and type up a 'report' and add it to their 'Art Exhibit', as an info screen about the artist.

Famous Artists Online Unit Study Vol. 2 sample 2

Besides setting up their Art Exhibit page, students get hands on- working on an art project in the style they are learning about. A suppliy list is included on the left, so they can go get what they need, BEFORE they sit down and check out an instructiona;/informational piece about what is expected in their project. When done, they can share their project on Instagram, tagging it with the hastag, and onto the Online Unit Studies Pinterest Board. Miss Grace really enjoyed this part of the Unit, as you can see!

While she didn't get all of the course done, due to time constraints, she was able to check out all the artists and work on some of the projects. Overall I wasn't too surprised when she agreed with one of the presenters (Robert Florczak) in the last section, that Modern Art=BAD Art! She didn't feel there was as much effort and skill put into the pieces. I've seen this when we've been at museums, or art shows. If it is a sculture, she is more likely to appreciate it. But colored swashes on a canvas with no ryme or meaning? Nope. She thinks of those as more doodles than art! It was interesting though to let her see how realism came into art and changed it. And while her definition of what IS art may not have changed much, at least she can better appreciate illustration and folk art!

This is not a very long course, and a general guide is 2-3 hours per unit module. but it all depends on how long it takes your chld to do the additional viewing and art work. This course is easily used for all grade levels, but I think middle school and high schoolers will get more from it, as they have been exposed to 'traditional art' via history books and field trips more. Techie Homeschool Mom has some other great Online Unit Studies you might want to consider as well, like:
Ancient Egypt Online Unit Study
Ancient Greece Online Unit Study
Ancient Rome Online Unit Study
Famous Artists Online Unit Study (Vol. 1)
Famous Inventors Online Unit Study
Solar System Online Unit Study

To find out more about each of them, be sure to click the picture below and see what my fellow homeschool reviewers thought about the different courses~