Art Is Fundamental: Teaching the Elements and Principles of Art in Elementary School Paperback – Illustrated, July 1, 2008

This book is perfect! I know nothing about art, and ended up homeschooling my son (age 6). This book has short (2 page) art lessons and literally explains what you’re learning about art, what supplies you need, and how to do each lesson. It’s much better than just an arts and crafts book because this is actually teaching art concepts. My kid is 6 and the lessons are easy enough for him but could be adapted through middle schoolers and beyond. Really well written, practical, easy to understand. I love it!

I bought several different books about teaching art to elementary school children and this one is extremely helpful, well organized with project ideas and class management tips. It's definitely aimed at teachers: to help them prepare or adopt a lesson from the book. Lots of reading & explanations for the right approach to subject. I wish the black & white pictures & illustrations were in color but the focus of this book is definitely on concepts, theory and presentation for teachers.

Excellent for homeschool! I wanted something that would teach the principles and elements of design to my third grader in a systematic way, and this is perfect. I originally got it through my library, but bought a copy because I like it so much. It’s definitely designed for a classroom, but is easy to adapt for one child. The first and second grade curricula are incredibly complete and build on themselves, with units on the elements year one, and review of the elements plus new lessons on the principles in year two. It’s easy to pick and choose lessons from those years for a slightly older student. I don’t agree with the reviewer who thinks the style is controlling, but you can certainly modify the lessons and not use her scripts (in the few instances she has one) or skip a lesson or two. There are a few things she says that I think deserve more nuance, like,”Artists never copy,” but I just skip them for now. Many of the lessons are very open, and there are plenty of lessons where students’ only constraint is materials, and that they should demonstrate a newly-learned skill such as mixing and using least one secondary color, or practicing using a paintbrush without destroying it. The book is printed on cheap paperback paper, but there is a section of color plates in the edition I have.

I bought this book to homeschool my 5th grade son. He has never liked doing arts or crafts. His fine motor skills are not the greatest. Art immediately became his favorite subject! The lessons are well explained and include viewing popular artwork, art terminology and simple instructions that can allow the child to be confident in their own artwork.I am so happy with this book, I am planning to teach these lessons to other children so they can experience the same joy and confidence. It is so rewarding to watch my son develop his own artistic style.

This book is the best of the many books on teaching art, including those I bought during the credential program, that I own. The lessons and sequence are well-thought-ouy and build on each other. The organization of the book refers you back to necessary prior concepts and lessons. Above all, it matches my own style of presentation and allows room for adjustments to the specific students/teachable moments that arise. I enjoy the lesson variety and consistent structure of this book immensely and the scope it allows for adjustment.

This book was life changing for me. I cant wait to try out these lesson ideas. They are geared toward 1st grade through 3rd grade, but you could honestly use the lessons for grades 1-5. I loved this book so much, I ordered her Art Matters book after reading/highlighting this one. I love how it emphasizes teaching the concepts, but letting students choose their subject. There is so much room for creativity. It's great for someone interested in TAB, but unsure of how/where to begin. I enjoyed the freedom of it.

I have mixed feelings about this book and perhaps most of my criticisms are more to do with our particular needs as homeschoolers with me, having been trained in art myself, as the teacher.First, I love the fact that this book breaks down the fundamental elements and principles of art and goes through them systematically. That is foundational to teaching art and it is exactly what I was looking for when I was searching for an art curriculum. A child (or adult, for that matter), must have an understanding of what makes art "good"...the "ingredients", so to speak. Also, each element and principle comprises one unit, with a number of projects related to it to help the child grasp the concept. However, the lessons are drawn out over three years. This is, in part, due to the fact that a classroom full of students requires much more time, since much of it is spent in preparation, clean-up, crowd-control, etc. I am finding, as I use this with my kids in our homeschool, that the lessons just are not "full" enough and we have sometimes combined lessons to make art class last longer.Also, I don't particularly like being told exactly what to say at what point. I like to be given a general outline or structure of what it is I should be trying to accomplish and then be allowed some flexibility in that. I feel that when I follow the lessons as written, it comes across very contrived. I am actually starting to ignore the detailed step-by-step, "first say __, then explain __...", type of instruction and substituting my own thoughts and instructions. This may be partially due to the fact that I already understand the subject matter. So, that said, it may be very helpful to someone with absolutely no art training to be told explicitly what to say and when.Finally, being an artist, I am very visual. If you are like me, you will be disappointed with the plain format and minimal (mostly black and white) pictures. While there is a section near the end that has color photos of some of the completed art projects, I would find it far more helpful if there was at least one for each project and they were integrated into the rest of the book with each project.Overall, this book has been okay for filling my needs as a homeschooling mom. However, I will likely switch to something new when I can afford to. I am seriously considering the posters, DVD, and guides called "Elements and Principles of Design" from DickBlick.com ([...] They look like they would be what I am searching for.