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. 

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. 

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.