Master Books Art Level 1 and Art Level 2, written for grades one and two, introduce children to art skills from a Christian perspective. Parent and child share one book for each course; there are no separate teacher guides. If you are teaching more than one child, each needs his or her own book.
The Christian component is a major part of these courses. Young children learn that art can be a form of worship as well as a way to explore God’s creation. Bible verses or biblical concepts are included in the introductory teaching for the first part of each week’s lesson. There is a limited amount of direct instruction where children sit, listen, and look at pictures, since most of time is spent on activities.
Each course is laid out with lessons two days per week for 36 weeks as shown on the suggested schedule near the front of each book. It’s easy to see what to do for each lesson, but I was initially confused because lessons are labeled like “Lesson 3, Exercise 2, Day 12,” and the next exercise is labeled “Lesson 3, Exercise 2, Day 14.” I expected each week’s exercises to be numbered Day 1 and Day 2, but the day numbers correspond to the days of the school year, as shown on the schedule. It’s no problem once you understand the numbering.
Both courses teach about lines, shapes, colors, and other components of art as children develop hand and eye skills through mostly simple projects. Students color, trace, draw, cut, paint, and glue, as they complete pages in the books or create various arts and crafts projects.
You need basic art supplies, like construction paper, scissors, markers, crayons, chalk, washable paint, glue sticks, and liquid glue, as well as other items like food dyes, yarn, shaving cream, clothespins, googly eyes, cotton balls, paper plates, Styrofoam cups, and other items you might already have around the house.
The lesson activities vary greatly, such as coloring pages, learning to draw stick figures, drawing or tracing nature findings, finger painting, solving puzzles, making a chicken out of a paper plate and tissue paper, sculpting salt dough, coloring by numbers, completing dot-to-dots, creating a color wheel, and making a mosaic bird from construction paper. Many lessons teach explicit art skills step by step, such as drawing a baby chick following five steps (Level 2, p. 45). Some activities are done outdoors, as students look for art in God’s creation. At the end of each quarter, students tackle a challenging multi-step project, such as in Level 2, Lesson 18, where students paint a watercolor background for the sea, then layer it with construction-paper seaweed and fish cut from sponges. Both courses have optional “Extra Fun” activities that extend learning. For example, page 108 in Level 1 has students make binoculars from toilet paper rolls to use for “searching God’s beautiful world.”
In Level 1, passages from the Bible provide lesson themes, beginning with Genesis 1:1, which focuses on God as creator. Other Bible verses are used, such as Genesis 37:5-6, where Joseph’s coat is used to teach about color; the description of the tabernacle in Exodus 35, which is used to teach about color, design, and decoration; and 1 Samuel 17, the story of David and Goliath, which is used to reinforce lessons about lines and texture.
Level 2 uses groups of animals as themes, like pets, farm animals, and aquatic creatures. The animal-themed lessons tie to Scripture passages and God’s creation.
Level 1 lessons should take about 20 minutes to complete, while Level 2 lessons are a little more challenging and should take about 30 minutes. However, a papier-maché project in Level 2, Lesson 9, will definitely require more than half an hour. Level 2 also requires a few more specialized items, like parchment paper and straw.
Summary
The Master Books Art courses provide children with a wide variety of art activities to help them develop skills and create some fun projects. The lessons are relatively easy to present, and the only preparation required is gathering materials.
