Archive for the ‘Art’ category

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Famous Artists for Kids

May 29th, 2010

Recommended Website:
MyKidsArt.com

Age Range: 8-14 (approximately)

This is the website of a company that offers art classes (in the real world) for kids in Australia. They also maintain a free exhibit, designed for kids, of some of the world’s most famous artists.

When you get to the site you’ll see a menu that includes:

  • Leonardo da Vinci
  • Vincent van Gogh
  • Pablo Picasso
  • Salvador Dali
  • Andy Warhol

Click on any name and a new page opens with some brief information and interesting facts about the artist and his times, along with examples of his work.

On the pages about da Vinci, van Gogh, and Picasso you can watch a terrific video exhibit of the artist’s works set to music.

You’ll also find links to online museums that display the artists’ paintings. I did NOT review those sites, so parents (as always) should preview the content to determine suitability and supervise further exploration.

This is a terrific way to introduce kids to some major artists and their unique artistic styles.

Enjoy!

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Free Watercolor Video Lessons

March 21st, 2010

Hi!  It’s Saturday, March 20, 2010 and time for Art at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Captain Watercolor

Age Range: 10 and up (although, with adult guidance younger students may enjoy aspects of these lessons as well)

A Maryland ClickScholar recommended this website that provides free, watercolor painting lessons through online video demonstrations.  The lessons are also fully written out, so you can read the text as you watch the video.

When you get to the site you’ll see a video screen and some Google Ads. Below them are a menu and an introduction to the website.  Use the menu to locate the free lessons for:

*Beginning – Includes basic watercolor lesson, color mixing, stretching and preparing paper, how to paint trees, a snowscape, skies, a barn, a bird, and more.

*Intermediate – Learn to paint color schemes, wet in wet, florals, a basket, and learn to create depth.

*Advanced – Discover how to create shadows in the landscape, how to paint abstract art, learn the techniques of monoprinting and advanced concepts in color.

You can also read about “Captain Watercolor” and sign up to be notified as new lessons and features are posted to the site.

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Virtual Field Trip to Peeps Factory & A Peeps Curriculum

March 19th, 2010

Hi!  It’s Friday, March 19, 2010 and time for a Virtual Field Trip at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Just Born Candy

Marshmallow Peeps are everywhere this time of year.  Ever wonder how they’re made?  At this website you can take a virtual tour through text and photographs of how this traditional Easter-basket candy confection is manufactured. (Not only that, you can also find out how Hot Tamales, Mike & Ike, and Zours are made.)

While the tour is offered by the company that makes Peeps, you’ll find better photos of their Peep manufacturing process at this Peeps website.

Now for those of you who wonder how Peeps can be educational, what follows is ClickSchooling’s Original Peeps’ Curriculum for your enjoyment. These links take you to the original ClickSchooling reviews with links to the curriculum content.

ClickSchooling’s Original Peeps’ Curriculum

Peeps Math – Includes Peeps-themed math lessons for grades K-8 and a recipe for making your own home-made version of Peeps.

Peeps Science – These websites document science experiments conducted on Peeps — some of which may inspire your own Peeps experimentations. The studies focused on basic attributes and reactions of Peeps to simple conditions and stimuli. You’ll also find a link to a “Peeps in Outer Space” online computer game.

Peeps Language Arts – Watch a terrific retelling of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings in a photo-illustration using Peeps as the characters. Then enjoy some Peeps’ Haiku poetry.

Peeps Social Sciences – The first link in this archived review doesn’t work. But you won’t want to miss the other two links where you can see the amazing and funny results when you tell your co-workers that you hate Peeps. You can also test your knowledge of the history of Peeps by taking an online quiz.

Peeps Art – Learn to draw a Marshmallow Peep and get instructions for making an incredible, edible Peeps necklace!

I have been telling people for years that you can get a good education without textbooks and by using what you find in the environment around you. This just proves it!

I hope you’ll forward this email, in its entirety, to your friends and relatives and encourage them to subscribe to ClickSchooling. After all, it will make them smile and ClickSchooling is free. Besides, I think ClickSchooling’s Original Peeps’ Curriculum should go viral. Don’t you agree?

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Posted in Art, Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Sciences, Virtual Field Trip

Free Math Video Lessons & Much More!

March 15th, 2010

Hi! It’s Monday, March 15, 2010 and time for Math at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
WatchKnow.org: Mathematics

Age Range: 5-18 (Grades K-12)

ClickScholar Nancy Hogan recommended this website that offers free videos that teach every school subject including over 1800 math lessons on video! The videos archived here have been researched, rated and sorted by WatchKnow, a non-profit online community. The videos are from other Internet sources such as YouTube. The difference here is that the ads and user comments have been eliminated, and the videos have been sorted and rated to provide easier use along with some helpful guidance.

When you get to the site you’ll see two sections. The “Mathematics” section is on the right side of the page (the “Directory” to the rest of the site is on the left). Under the math section you’ll see some featured math videos, as well as a menu of math subcategories that include:

  • Number Basics
  • Operations
  • Fractions, Decimals and Percentages
  • Graphing, Statistics, and Probability
  • Geometry
  • Measurement
  • Pre-Algebra and Algebra
  • Precalculus
  • Calculus
  • ‘Language of Mathematics’ Series
  • Math Study Skills and Test Prep
  • History of Math

Click on any subcategory and a new page opens featuring the videos that have been archived to date. The videos are all free for viewing. Some have been uploaded by site members. The videos are moderated by WatchKnow to ensure appropriate content. To share videos, you must open an account (free) that also allows you to track your activities. There are different levels of membership and some (such as the level that allows you to enter WatchKnow contests) requires you to provide access to personal information.  Get the details at the website.

As I mentioned, this site also contains lots of useful video lessons on other topics including:

  • Language Arts
  • Literature
  • Science
  • History
  • Social Studies
  • Languages
  • Physical and Health Ed
  • The Arts
  • Computers and Technology
  • Practical Skills
  • Philosophy, Religion, and Ethics

WatchKnow’s goal is to collect all the best free educational videos that are made for children and explain every topic taught in schools, in every major language on Earth – and make them available on one website, usefully categorized according to subject and education level.

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Posted in Art, Electives, Foreign Language, Health, Language Arts, Math, Music, Other, Physical Education, Science, Social Sciences

Free Digital Design Program

February 20th, 2010

Hi! It’s Saturday, February 20, 2010 and time for Art at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Inkscape

Age Range: 9 and up (4th grade and beyond)

ClickScholar Cie discovered this website that offers a free, downloadable vector graphics editor with capabilities similar to Illustrator or CorelDraw. What does that mean?  It means you can use your computer to draw, create digital designs, and more.

Inkscape is being used successfully by 4th graders in the Los Altos School District in California. You can see a gallery of the students work by clicking HERE.

I suggest you check out the students’ art gallery first, to get an idea of the possibilities which are sure to inspire the tech-savvy artists in your home. Click on the link next to each of the images to view the corresponding sub-galleries too.

Then, head back to the Inkscape website featured in this review to download the editor. (Just click on the “Download Now” button located in the upper right corner of the homepage.)

Note: You can learn a lot about Inkscape, system requirements, and how it works by reading the FAQs located on the menu on the left side of the homepage.

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Posted in Art

President’s Day Art

February 13th, 2010

Hi! It’s Saturday, February 13, 2010 and time for Art at ClickSchooling!

President’s Day is Monday. View artistic portraits of the U.S. Presidents and then try your hand at some presidential craft activities.

Recommended Websites:

Whitehouse: The Presidents

Age Range: 10 and up (This is geared for the general public. Younger children may enjoy aspects of the presentation.)

At the Whitehouse website, you can watch a slide show of the official presidential portraits for all 44 U.S. Presidents. Not only that, but below each portrait, there is a link to a full biography. Be sure to check out President #1, George Washington, and President #16, Abraham Lincoln. President’s Day commemorates their February birthdays.

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DLTK: President’s Day Activities

Age Range: 3-12 (approximately)

This site offers free craft activities that are appropriate for ages 3-12. For President’s Day you’ll find an assortment of coloring pages, a TP roll craft to make a stovepipe hat, and even instructions to make a milk-carton log cabin.

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Posted in Art, Social Sciences