How many of us have grandparents, cousins, or aunts and uncles that are constantly begging us to send a picture of the kids or send something that the kids have made? I know I do, and with Addressing Art, I have found the answer to my problem of how to get the kids to make something for grandma (or whoever!).

This is a COOL art curriculum! If you have kids that are constantly wanting to do art projects, and yet you feel very un-artsy, or even if you ARE artsy, this is an awesome curriculum! Written for anyone in grades 1-8, Addressing Art introduces the fundamental elements of art to children and encourages children to share their art with others. The whole curriculum is split into two books: year one and year two. In year one, the lesson plans are organized by elements in art - line, shape, value, texture, colour, and form. Projects are basically sequential and cumulative and should be completed in the order presented. There are vocabulary words and the student should become familiar with these terms. In year two, there is a review of the elements of art, then the lesson plans are organized by the principles of design - rhythm, movement, balance, emphasis, contrast, and unity. Art appreciation is introduced as students are challenged to find the elements and principles of art in famous works. Now, all that being said, this is definitely NOT a dry, boring art curriculum. Neither is it just a bunch of craft projects thrown together. With this program, your kids will learn art, and they will have fun doing it! The projects are interesting, and you can see immediate results!

Here's the twist - each of the lessons is made on an art card. You know, the kind you can send in the mail, and actually make grandparents, aunts, uncles, missionaries, just about anybody who likes to receive mail, happy! The projects are designed to be made on an art card, and the finished product will be something that your kids will be pleased to share! There is lots of room for creativity and freedom of expression. Some of the lessons are: Line Blowing, 'Shape' A Picture, Texture Collage, Positive Negative, Discovering Tints, Colour Mixing - and there's MORE! Amy Pierce, the author of this curriculum, offers you the ability to purchase the lesson plans alone in a bound book, a basic supply package which includes the art cards and envelopes that you will use to make your products along with the art supplies that may be more difficult to find in a retail store, OR you can purchase a complete supplies kit, which includes a complete package that contains all the materials in the basic supply pack as well as ALL the supplies you will need for one student to complete all the projects in the book! This includes crayons, blow pens, paint, yarn, and even the container for mixing paints. You purchase the kits by year. For example, you purchase the year one instruction manual and either the year one basic supply kit or complete supply kit. This is a real asset to a mother like me, who simply does not have time to read through the lesson plan book, figure out what needs to be used, gather the supplies, and then start the lesson. I LOVE that the option is there for us harried mothers to purchase the whole kit in a one-stop shop. In addition, for those mothers who may already have everything they need, or enjoy planning and shopping, they can just buy the lesson plan manual! Also, if you have more than one student, you can buy extra supply kits. So, if you have two children you would need one teacher's manual and two complete supply kits. Because we live in a very small town, purchasing the complete supplies kit is economical for me as well. I don't know if it's all that much cheaper for those of you living within easy access of craft stores, or the like, but it sure is convenient!

This is a totally complete curriculum, and if you check out Amy's website, you can order everything you need! I would highly recommend this curriculum! My 2nd grader loves it just because it's art, my 4th grader loves it because he likes to create, and my 8th grader loves it because it's fun, and he gets lots of bonus points from grandma for sending such cool things! And all three are learning the principles and elements of art, which will serve them well in later years! Honestly, this art curriculum is the best idea I've seen in a long time!