A lot of our homeschool involves art. We can't help ourselves. Thankfully all three of us learn well this way, so it's an easy tool for me to use in presenting lessons. We use art in our history lessons, drawing characters and scenes, we use art in our nature journals, and just this morning, Ginger got our her colored pencils to help with her math fraction work that was puzzling her.
Most of the time, I let the girls experiment with their art supplies and skills, but every now and then it's fun to sit down and intentionally try some new techniques with them. I didn't hesitate when I was offered the book "Just Add Watercolor" from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. This is a beautiful little hard back book! Filled with "inspiration and painting techniques from contemporary artists", it really has endless ideas and tips for us to feast on.
Each page has a fabulous painting on it, while the opposite page teaches us about the artist, the style and techniques used, visual elements employed, and even a quick tip on how to try this method yourself.
This sweet book didn't make us feel all confined to watercoloring either. Ruby enjoyed finding subject matter to practice her drawing skills as well. What better way to learn art, then from the masters!
My favorites on our art/nature journal shelf at the moment are:
Just add Watercolor by Helen Birch
Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes
Nature Anatomy by Julia Rothman
Animalium by Katie Scott and Jenny Broom
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