Review: ARTistic Pursuits Inc.

I am NOT an art person. Let me say this in a different way. I am, without a doubt, no questions asked, NOT NOT NOT an art person. Yes, my husband graduated from the Fort Lauderdale Art Institute with a degree in graphic design. He loves art and is good at art. (Like, he's really good at art, which isn't really surprising, because if you have met my husband in person, you know that he is good at almost everything he does.) But I am not good at art. My least favorite part of any MOPs meeting is the art project. And doing it as a mom? Egads. I find the set-up overwhelming, the clean-up frustrating, and the ideas behind it daunting. Getting supplies and coming up with an idea? Forget it. 

So when an opportunity came along to review The Way They SEE It, Preschool from ARTistic Pursuits Inc., I was a bit skeptical. Not of the product but of my ability to use it. Would this end up being too much work for me? Would I regret agreeing to do this? Should I just tell them to please, please don't pick me because I stink at art and it will be a huge mistake. 

I ended up requesting to be picked. (You aren't assured any product, but you can share how much or how little it would fit your family.) Truly the reason that I requested this one was that I felt like art should be included more in our homeschool curriculum, and I should not pass the responsibility onto my husband or Grama. I wanted to be fair to art and give it a good ol' college try.

I ended up getting chosen, and boy am I glad I did.

The Way They SEE It, Preschool is designed for children ages 3-5, but it quickly became evident that Hannah (who is 2.5) just wasn't old enough to want to get involved. Sometimes she would do a little here or there, but she was just too young. Abigail, however, is 4, and she fell in LOVE with this book. Nearly every day, whenever she got even slightly bored and I'd ask her what she'd like to do, she'd say, "My art book! Can I do my art book?"

(And a quick side-note, while I didn't "officially" try this with my 7 year old boys, they did jump in one or two assignments and were equally impressed. I really think that this particular book I received could be used with children from preschool into early elementary.)

Basically this book presented famous (and not-so-famous) works of art. They called these sections "Picture Talk." They'd have something to talk about with each painting. Then they would have a page on "Grown Up Talk" which would explain some of the reasons and thoughts behind this particular activity. And then they'd encourage you to try an activity related to it. They gave you a list of supplies you needed. (I had most of them but ordered a few more basics on Amazon for under $20). That's all it took! We were off!

Here is Abigail's drawing of what things looked like outside of our kitchen window.

Here she is finger painting.

She had so much fun doing this.

One of the assignments included listening to music and drawing how that music made you feel. Another day we did something with PlayDough. We visited our pond and drew the things we saw there. Another day we worked on color identification and drew a picture vibrant with colors. Finger painting was a big hit. Each activity took me just a few minutes to read with her, a few minutes to read by myself, and then she could spend as much time as she wanted on the art project.

We are still working through the book, and rest assured, we will finish it. And, this is far from the only product they have. Please take a moment to visit their website and see everything this company has to offer at: ARTistic Pursuits Inc.  I am totally sold, and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to review this product.