Luv'N Lambert Life

A blog about living with Epilepsy, IBHS, Homeschooling and so much more

homeschool art

ACTIVA Products are FUN for the Family {Crew Review}

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We live in an artistically creative household.  My 14 year old, Emmalee, dreams of being an artist.  She loves all mediums for Art.  So when the ACTIVA Products review became available I knew this would be exciting and fun for her and possibly my younger kids as well.  She has not been disappointed with the Rigid Wrap and CelluClay Quik-Sculpting Kit or the ACTIVA Products’ Favorite Sculptures KIDS CRAFTS free eBook.
The Rigid Wrap and CelluClay Quik-Sculpting Kit comes with 2 4 inch by 5 yard rolls of Rigid Wrap.  This stuff is AWESOME and we will talk about how to use it in a few minutes.  Also included is an 8oz package of CelluClay Instant Paper Mache.  Paper Mache was a FAVORITE of mine in Elementary school.  It brought me so much fun!

There are also instructions for 12 different projects included with the box on a small set of sheets.  These ideas include a Volcano, a Totem Pole, a mask, a Happy Mummy, a Peppermint Candy Bowl, a Sarcophagus and more.  Jackson really wanted to make a Mummy and put him in the Sarcophagus.  We’re still working on that.

This whole kit is so neat!  I’ve never used Rigid Wrap before so it was a learning experience for both me and Emmalee, who ended up loving it.  She enjoyed the texture and feel of wetting the webbed material and smoothing it so that it formed to what she was trying to shape.  She cut strips and wrapped them around a straw to make beds which she later painted.  She used a small light bulb and draped the Rigid Wrap over half the bulb to make a small basket for their dolls.  She helped Jackson wrap a toilet paper roll with the wrap to make a Mummy and helped Laycie wrap another one so she could make a spider.  And they are still working on ideas to use the Rigid Wrap for fun!

It does take a few hours for the product to dry.  It will feel cold to the touch if it’s not yet dry.  And you can wet it again to reform it if needed.  It’s really easy to work with and a whole lot of fun though I do warn you, that it makes little hands messy since it’s a wet sticky substance.

The CelluClay Instant Paper Mache is equally easy to use.  Add water and smooth it out over whatever your working on to create your project.  Start small and add more as you go.

The ACTIVA Products’ Favorite Sculptures KIDS CRAFTS free eBook was really great too.  This eBook is jam packed with great fun ideas to use the Rigid Wrap and CelluClay with your family.  It contains 12 fun sculpture ideas to be used.  The website also has great ideas for using the products as well.

My kids have had so much fun with this, especially Emma.  At a price of $11.90, the kit is easy to budget in.  Emma plans to use the rest of our kit to make more beads that she can paint and design.  The paint adheres well to the products and hold the colors well.  I really look forward to more of her future designs.

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Rigid Wrap and CelluClay Quik-Sculpting Kit {ACTÍVA Products Reviews}

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ARTistic Pursuits {Crew Review}

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ARTistic Pursuits is our absolute FAVORITE curriculum for ART.  We were introduced to this program last year through our participation on The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew and we completely fell in love with it.  This year when we were offered the chance to review ARTistic Pursuits again, we jumped at the offer.
ARTistic Pursuits was created and written by Brenda Ellis to provide a way to learn the Arts, even when parents are not sure how to teach them at home. The individualized study ARTistic Pursuits provides allows students to create art in relation to their personal interests.  The entirety of this program is family friendly, helping to build family relationships.
For this review, we were given ARTistic Pursuits Early Elementary K-3, Book Two.  The K-3 books provide children with an introduction to the visual arts program.  It teaches the student to view art through history with colorful illustrations and simple, easy to complete projects.  This series provides a complete art history, examining the works of the great Masters through 36 projects which include drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture and more.
The book itself is bound with a simple comb binding, allowing the book to be laid flat for lessons, with a clear plastic protective cover on the front and back.  Provided first in the book, behind the Table of Contents, is a Materials list which tells the educator and student was is needed to complete all the lessons in the book.  This list is not broken down into each lesson but is an overall list of what’s needed throughout the entirety of the book.  An art kit is available on the ARTistic Pursuits website for each book available.
There are 36 lessons provided in ARTistic Pursuits Early Elementary K-3, Book Two.  Each lesson provides a story, a synopsis of an Artist or an explanation of a piece of specific piece of Art.  Artists like Cimabue, Van Eyck, Da Vinci, Durer and many more are introduced in this book.  Each artist is expanded upon sharing the story of how they came to this type of career and the type of art they developed.  The artwork is then broken down so that the student can create their own personal project after learning how the original artist did it.
Projects themselves begin by providing the type of art being done such as Watercolor Painting or Ink Printing.  As the student works through the projects specifics like how to hold the paint brush, pressure, paper types, gluing, and more are discussed and put to use.  Each lesson provides a new project to complete.  Most projects are fairly simple and easily done by the average student.  
During our review period, we were able to work through several of the activities in the book.  We limited our lessons to 1 or 2 per week, allowing expansion on learning about the artist themselves through research on the internet.  We took time to read about the artist with the lessons provided in the book and the art they created.  Then we expanded on this by looking up both the artist and the art before completing the project suggested.  It was extremely easy to build upon the provided lessons without distracting from them.  They could very well be completed alone but since I have a budding artist, she insisted on learning more.
Most of the projects we completed were watercolors.  She really enjoys this type of art because it allows her to express her self through one of her favorite mediums: paint.  She was easily able to read and discuss lessons with me, then take those lessons and implement what she had learned on her own.  Her brother and sister were also easily able to follow along and create their own projects.
I personally enjoyed learning along with her through the interesting stories provided in the lesson book.  The book is extensive, but not overly drawn out so that the student gets a full ideal of the artist and the artwork itself but isn’t bored or exhausted by the end of the lesson.  It worked well for us to do these lessons a few times a week.
ARTistic Pursuits is available online.  The Early Elementary K-3 in 3rd edition series contains three separate books.  Each book cost $47.95 per book.  Book two is 85 pages long, with 36 lessons included and 175 illustrations throughout.  It is also a non-consumable curriculum, allowing the owner to use it again and again with more than one child at a time.
For more reviews of ARTistic Pursuits, please visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog!


*Disclaimer – This product was provided to me free in exchange for my honest opinion shared in a blog post review.  It was provided to me by ARTistic Pursuits and the Schoolhouse Review Crew.  No money was exchanged during the process of this review.  I am included this disclaimer in accordance of FTC regulations.