The Old Schoolhouse® Product & Curriculum Reviews
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Masters Series, The Review by Stacey Salmonson
Carolyn LeboArt Video Productions, INC
http://www.homeschoolartvideos.com
"What a thorough, wonderful, art video company! Carolyn Lebo is a sweetheart of a teacher; her love for art shows." -- The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
If you want to give your children the best that the classroom has to offer (in video form) Art Video Productions, INC. is a good place to start. AVP has produced a line of videos very well suited for the homeschool environment.
The Masters Series is a thorough and well-balanced art program. Each film spotlights a famous artist and his/her place in art and history. I have been very impressed with the educational quality of the videos and Carolyn Lebo is a sweetheart of a teacher; her love for art shows.
I had the privilege of reviewing "The Life and Works of Claude Monet: A Painter of Light." It was so interesting - we learned so much about the life of Monet and other Impressionists. The enduring quality of Monet's work is fabulous as is the influence he has been to Modern Art in general.
Each video consists of three art lessons. These are excellent classes complete with step-by-step instruction and many samples of artwork of similar technique. Included with each video is a complete teacher's guide, which is easily adapted to any home school. The teacher’s guide is complete with vocabulary exercises, questions about Monet's life and some history about Impressionists. The teacher's guide also breaks down each hands-on art lesson piece by piece in time increments. It is very well planned.
It's ready to go - all you have to do is read over the lesson and set aside the time!
Carolyn's videos, in addition to contributing to cross curriculum (covering several subjects at once) of homeschool, also provide much flexibility as you can use them within any method of homeschooling. I found that for the Unit Study method in particular, they make an excellent resource!
Mrs. Lebo has great suggestions in the teacher's guide for incorporating other subjects while gaining an excellent education in art instruction, appreciation and history. The Masters Series is geared for 5th to 8th grade, but is perfectly suitable for older students who have not yet had any formal art instruction or for a slightly younger child that is exceptionally artistic or simply curious about what big brother or sister is doing.
The quality of the tapes is not as high as some that are of the highest digital production. However, they're excellent and easily understood.
Get the whole series of tapes! Cassatt, Da Vinci, Hokusai, Matisse, Paul Cezanne, El Greco, Kahlo, Michelangelo and Monet are included in the entire series. Be sure to explore Carolyn's site for more products.
Art Video Productions is definitely an asset to any home school desiring to teach art appreciation, and the step-by-step projects make it a big help for the busy homeschool parent! They are an absolute MUST to any homeschool library. We can't wait to learn about all of the Masters in this series.
