Review: ArtAchieve (TOS Review) #hsreviews #drawinglessonsforkids #ArtAchieve

For this review we used Entire Level 1 of ArtAchieve; an online art video based art curriculum.    I used this program with my 5, 7, and 9 year old; though my 7 year old mostly chose not to participate (he is my difficult one, if you have been here before you have heard of him in my reviews). 

ArtAchieve was very easy to use!  There were a few items that needed to be printed off for each lesson.  These included a warm up page and a copy of the project for that lesson (a reference to look at when drawing).  Most lessons had video or PDF option for instruction.  We used the video version, it was easy to pause the lesson when needed, or back it up to see something again. 

Each lesson does call for specific art supplies, but they are typically common materials and can also be easily substituted, if needs be.  For best results, I recommend using the suggested materials, however. 

Our markers came up missing when we first began this review, and we used colored pencils instead, the results were not as bright and bold, but the kids still had fun drawing!

All of my kids didn’t like the warm up exercise for the lessons, after a few lessons, we started to skip over this part, it was easy to do, and I don’t feel like we lost much from it.  I can see how it could be beneficial to some, but my kids didn’t care for it.  It really depends on  your child. 

My 7 year old is a perfectionist and the lessons really frustrated him.  I will say the instructor repeats several times that it doesn’t have to be perfect, you can always start over or draw it differently, but that didn’t help him.  The instructor also uses a black marker to draw, we opted to use pencil, so they could erase if there was something they ‘messed up’ on. This eased the stress of mistakes in my oldest, but didn’t help with my middle son.

My 5 year old really enjoyed the lessons as well, though he didn’t always participate, he occasionally asked to do lessons, and he was always so proud of his accomplishments!  He loved that they were animals that we drew (he is a huge animal lover). 

It’s also great that each project has a bit of a science and geography lesson to go with it! This program also made it a bit easier to squeeze art into our routine (if you are like me art is usually put off until last, and often dropped and forgot about ).  It was really easy to just pull up the video, grab the supplies and GO!

This program also really sparked an interest in drawing for my 9 year old, he realized that he could draw things by looking at them and has been drawing like crazy!  I love it!

There are a couple free lessons for each level available online, I highly suggest you check them out and see if this is something that would work for your child(ren).  You may purchase individual lessons for $4 ea or buy the entire level for $27.  Purchases expire after one year.

Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Artachieve
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/artchieve  @artachieve
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/artachieve/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+artachieve
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnahofland/