Creating A Masterpiece ~ Review

We are currently receiving excellent fine art lessons via the monthly plan from Creating A Masterpiece. Our family has been access to this online program in return for our honest review.

What Is Creating A Masterpiece.

C.A.M is an online subscription based fine arts program, that is suitable for students of all ages. We were provided access to the Monthly Plan option.

The video lessons are presented by the artist herself, in an easy to follow step by step manner.

All the lessons are broken into appropriate levels so that you can easily assess the difficulty of which level would best suit the child.

In all there are six levels, plus an art history section, to choose from. Within each level are several art projects all using a wide variety of mediums.

This is not an arts and crafts or simplistic art projects program. This is a fine arts program designed for school age students. 

How We Have Used The Program.

When we were first given our family access to C.A.M we immediately set out to explore the site. There is a large number of projects for the children to choose from. After a good look around in each level, watching a few video snippets and downloading the printable supply sheets for a couple of the projects, we settled on choosing an introductory level lesson.

 Lessons In Watercolour: Floral Medley

This particular lesson was broken into three step by step videos and it required drying time before moving on to the next step in the video lessons. 

Sharon, the artist, walks the students through every step of the process. At first we tried to keep up with her, only pausing the video when we needed. We quickly realised for us it was better to watch the video all the way through and to then go back and begin the lesson ourselves, referring back to the video when required.

From there we moved on to a lesson using oil pastels.

 Lesson In Oil Pastel: Winter Cabin

This was a longer lesson with four videos in all, which the kids chose to complete over a couple of days.  Each lesson also includes a section with hints and tips to assist you in getting the best out of the video lessons.

My teen decided to tackle one of the lessons with something a little more challenging for him. He does enjoy his art and seems to me to have a natural flair and this program is a good fit for him to be able to work quietly and independently.

 Lesson In Soft Pastel: Country Rooster

As I type he is sitting across from me on the other computer browsing the lessons for his next choice.

What We Didn't Like

There's actually not a lot we didn't like about this program. If I had to pick something it would be that my youngest does not thrive in this type of video based art instruction. This is the third program of a similar nature that we have tried and I have come to realise that for now at least this type of art instruction is not for him. 

He finds it all quite overwhelming, the watching, the doing, the remembering it all and then add in the fact that his piece never looks like the piece in the video and he simply doesn't enjoy it. My eldest two though are fine working with a video based instruction program, so you just need to really know your kids.

What We Did Like

The variety of what was on offer and the depth at which the student can go if they wish. Some of those upper level pieces are really quite involved, so even some of the most accomplished artists will not be bored here.

The fact that this is true art. It is not craft. It is not cookie cutter art either, that you often see in other programs.  

Now that we have settled in to the program I love simply adding 'art' to the list of topics to be completed this week and my eldest two can get themselves online and choose their own project and complete it entirely on their own.

I also really like the variety of mediums on offer in the various lessons:

    Acrylic
    Batik
    Block Printing
    Carving
    Conte' Crayon
    Copper Tooling
    Glass Mosaic
    Gouache
    Ink
    Mixed Media
    Oil Painting
    Oil Pastel
    Pencil/Charcoal
    Sculpture
    Silk Painting
    Soft Pastel
    Watercolor
    Wood Burning

Looking Ahead

We were given access to Creating A Masterpiece for six months, in return for our honest review. It has absolutely found a staple place in our week and it will continue to be used here in our homeschool.

Further Details

I always love a true, 'try before you buy' and you can do this with Creating a Masterpiece, with their free sample project.

To view the various ways to subscribe to the Creating A Masterpiece website visit their subscription page.

Want to know more? Visit their website or follow Creating A Masterpiece on facebook.  

I hope you have found this review helpful. If you would like to see more reviews about this vendor from other crew members simply visit this link. 

 

Happy Homeschooling,
Kylie

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Circle C Stepping Stones ~ Book Review

My daughter and I have been digging in to the world of Andi and her pals, with these Circle C Stepping Stones books written by Susan K. Marlow and published by Kregel Publications. We received the first two books, Andi Saddles Up and Andi Under The Big Top, in return for our honest review.

The first in the series, Andi Saddles Up, takes the reader back in time to the Circle C Ranch during the year of 1877. The book introduces nine year old Andrea Carter, on her birthday. Andi is extremely excited, given that it is not only her birthday but that she is also now old enough to ride Taffy, her beloved horse.

Andi dreams of learning to trick ride, just like her friend Riley always used to do, but her big brother Chad simply won't hear of it. Chad has been the man around the farm since their father passed away.

Andi goes on to meet a new friend, Sadie, but Sadie's Pa is in a land boundary dispute with Chad and things are very tricky. Can Andi and Sadie continue to be friends?

Whilst they aren't in abundance the illustrations that are contained in the novel are beautiful hand drawn sketches and just add that little extra to the story.

This story contains some wonderful life lessons and Andi certainly learns some hard and painful ones throughout the story.

It's a great one to read together, that's for sure, as both adults and children alike can take something away from this. My daughter read this aloud to me a little each day and after each reading we moved to the free printable study guide that is available on the Kregel Publications website.

The study guide includes chapter comprehension questions, vocabulary word practice, crosswords, poetry writing activities, character activities and more. It was a good way to extend on the reading.

If you have a daughter that loves horses and farm life then she is sure to enjoy getting in to this adventure with Andi.

We also received the second book in the Circle C Stepping Stones series, Andi Under The Big Top.

It's summer on the Circle C Ranch and the circus is coming to town. One needs to remember that it is the year 1877 and having something like a circus arrive in town with all of those exotic animals really is a big deal!.

As you can imagine Andi is brimming with excitement to get along to the circus and to watch the show. She is somewhat wary of the clowns but goes on to thoroughly enjoy the circus.

Whilst there she meets a young boy, name Henry Jackson, who has run away and joined the circus. It seems like it is everyone's dream, to run away and join the circus doesn't it? But is Henry really loving his life? There is much more to his story than first appears.

Andi decides that she needs to help her new friend but at what cost?

Again this installment brings many life lessons. Can Andi really help Henry to find his way back home?

Once again there are a few beautiful illustrations scattered throughout the book and a free study guide is also available to download.

My daughter is slightly above the recommended age range for these books and we did notice at times that they were probably on the young side for her. We did notice on the website though that there are other series following Andi as she grows up so we will take a closer look at those.

Overall we both enjoyed these, although felt Andi Saddles Up grabbed our attention more.

If you would like to read further reviews of these books by other Homeschool Review Crew members simply click on the graphic below.

You can also find more details about this series via Susan K. Marlow's facebook page.



I trust this review has helped you to learn a little more about the Circle C Stepping Stones range.

Happy Homeschooling,
Kylie