What you will learn:Â
- How to work with the materials: wet paper, watercolors, brush, painting rag/sponge
- How to guide paintings from beginning to end by either using the 36 lessons provided in this course, or by taking those lessons as examples and creating your ownÂ
- How support the creative process so that children feel joyful and at ease rather than stressed and/or disappointed
- How to review artwork in ways that support openness and imagination rather than judgment and critique, thus fostering a child's sense of self and accomplishment in a positive way.Â
- To understand that the way we teach any subject, even watercolor painting, can support the third grader in ways far beyond the activity of painting, because you will begin to see this process on a deeper level
What you will receive:Â
- A thorough materials list
- A video preview of the materials listed
- A course introduction and overview
- Primer lessons to understand and practice the wet-on-wet watercolor techniques
- 36 painting lessons that guide you from start to finish for 36 paintings
- Lessons for how to look back at and review paintings
- Additional videos that delve into fundamental pedagogical topics
- Additional articles that explore various pedagogical considerations
What you will need:Â
- Materials:
- Pigments
- Painting Board
- Watercolor Paper
- Paint Brush
- Painting Rag
- Water Container
- (optional) A container for soaking the paper. (I have sometimes used the bath tub instead.)
- A well-lit area for painting
Who This Course is For:
- This course is for homeschool parent-educators as well as teachers in a more traditional setting--or anyone anywhere in between.Â
Fourth grade Painting Course
We are building on the skill sets that have been introduced, practiced and developed in previous painting courses. If you have not taken a previous painting course from us, I highly recommend you sign up for "First Grade Painting" or perhaps "Second Grade Painting" as a way of building the skills and comfort so that this course is not too difficult. We continue using the color process from earlier grades in order to establish color "washes" for our background and to set up the basic composition. From there we create the actual compositions.
A big theme of this course is the painting of animals. We are working on simply ways to capture the form of the animal as well as some signature gestures that will bring the animal "to life". At the same time, we also devote attention to landscapes, natural features, such as trees, rivers, clouds, etc, as well as the human form, both from afar and up close.Â
This course provides thirty-six start-to-finish paintings, one for each week of a 36-week school year. These are designed to correlate to the lesson blocks being taught during the fourth grade year. Most come from the stories presented in the storytelling course. There are also three additional paintings to correspond to the seasons and one additional painting of a horned owl. These Bonus Paintings could be substituted instead of that painting for that week or used in addition to the painting for the week.Â
There are also lessons for the teacher to understand how to review paintings. There are a few techniques we can employ in looking back at what we (teachers and students) have created together. Often, the student needs help learning ways to review their work that will be aimed at positivity, creativity, and contentment with our best efforts. Particularly with the arts, it can be easy for the child to begin a habit of self-criticism and negativity unless we actively engage them in creating a more positive and supportive soul habit.Â
Example Curriculum
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