My husband’s family and I have an ongoing debate about artistic talent that goes something like this:

Them: Artists are born, not made. It’s a gift. It is a natural talent that I don’t have, you do, and I’m pretty sure I can’t be taught. Have you seen my stick figures?

Me: Art is like any creative discipline. It starts with the practice of small, manageable skills practiced over and over again. Natural talent certainly helps but is not required. It’s like music. Almost anyone can learn to play an instrument. Most musicians and artists are not geniuses, just really dedicated students.

This is an unresolved argument primarily because they are uninterested in being taught (but don’t tell them I said that or you’re going to get me in trouble!).

They look at a fully developed picture and say “I can’t do that” because they don’t see the smaller elements, they only see the full picture, all at once. A bit overwhelming to be sure. Most kids see artwork from a similar perspective. They see a great drawing and say: I can’t make something that cool.

That’s true. To a point. They can’t make it all at once. But they can make it…one line at a time.

Enter Simply Draw with Bob Parsons; a drawing program that starts with the basic line, which anyone can manage, and transforms it slowly into a work of art. When the good folks at Timberdoodle offered to send me this program in exchange for an honest review, I was very excited…and I have not been disappointed.

First Impressions…

Simply Draw scored major points with me right out of the package…

#1–It’s fully reproducible, which for an art program is incredibly nice.

#2–It’s 3-hole punched and binder ready. Have I told you about my fascination with binders? I’m not going to tell you how many I have but I will tell you that I have dismantled perfectly healthy books in order to make them binder-friendly. This makes for easy access to reproducible pages (no squishing bound books in the copier), adds pockets for my notes, and hard cover protection for well-loved programs.

#3–The pages are all CARD STOCK…almost 200 pages of it. I could hardly believe my fingers! *sigh*  If only all programs could be printed on lovely, sturdy card stock!

#4–The program includes a DVD with a list of corresponding lesson pages and DVD lesson duration times. My kids love video instruction and so do I. While the course is not entirely taught via video, the provided demonstrations and lessons (about 3 hours worth) and PDF file of all practice pages are sufficient to assist any beginning art teacher. The DVD is designed to only play on a computer but this is not a problem for my family…and not strictly necessary for using the program.

First Lessons…

There was no age recommendation for the program so I went ahead and began teaching with all interested children. (Who wants to learn how to draw? Meeeeee!!) I love drawing and all things related but have never pushed the children. I want art to be a joy and not a chore. Not surprisingly, all the children (ages 5, 8, 10 and 12) were interested. (It may have had something to do with the fact that chores were postponed but I’d rather think that they just have the passion, you know?)

The first lesson was wonderful from my perspective, focusing on the simple (but mighty) short parallel line. Not incredibly exciting but quick and simple. The 6-year old had no trouble. The 8-year old just about pulled his hair out with boredom (he wanted to learn how to draw a castle with a full company of knights and a moat and a dragon and a….), although he refused to quit. The 10-year old was in a state of bliss. And the 12-year old pretended like he wasn’t quite as interested as he was.

Student objections: “Is that all?” “But I want to draw something!”

Like all disciplines, art has its share of tedium…it is helpful for the beginning student to know they are headed somewhere. Parsons quickly covers the basics, encourages practice and has the student using their new basic tools in pictures by the third lesson. Objections disappear and new skills take their place in their little masterpieces.

Here are sample worksheets from our first lesson. The page on the left is the 5-year old’s practice page of short parallel lines. The one on the right is the 12-year old’s. In spite of the great age difference, they don’t look too dissimilar. While I don’t doubt that there will be significantly greater difference between later comparisons, I think this one makes a good point; this little building block is manageable by even the very young or the self-proclaimed “untalented.”

Conclusions…

Simply Draw is to drawing what phonics is to reading. The sight reading method does work but leaves the reader with gaps where solid building blocks should be. Phonics teaches an understanding of common elements that go into all words. The word may be yet unknown, but the student knows he will be able to read it someday soon.

With a proper drawing program, the artistic masterpiece can still be admired; but the student recognizes the smallest components and sees it not so much as a mystery but as a masterful display of creative discipline. “I could never do that” is replaced by “That looks very difficult but I’d like to try.”

While we are still only in the beginning lessons of the program, I can already call it a success. The children are enjoying the learning process and I am finding it very manageable and successful from a teaching perspective.

I definitely recommend Simply Draw for students of all ages (including interested adults). You can find it for sale at Timberdoodle along with a large selection of very cool art supplies .

I’m not sure I exactly knew what I was buying when I chose this (Creativity Express) for an 11 year old for Christmas.  It sat unopened for a couple of months, and one dreary winter day I encouraged the youngest 4 children to pull it out.  They were enthralled for hours, and I could barely pull them away!  My 5, 6, 10, and 12 year old regularly “play” with this program, and I’m so impressed with their level of learning, interest, and comprehension.  Fabulous!

Creativity Express is an extraordinary art curriculum that is a combination of technology and art resulting in a revolutionary approach to teaching art history, art appreciation, and digital art. Buy online at timberdoodle.com.

My almost-three-year-old boy has loved this book!  We limit ourselves to three activities a day, as recommended, but I allow my boy to glue scrap pieces of paper at random after we finish the defined activities.  Over the past month, his gluing skills have grown tremendously, including being able to accurately judge how much glue he will need for each piece.  I like this book better than the Kumon pasting book, which is smaller and seems designed more for younger toddlers (nearer age 2) than for older toddlers.  At any rate, there are a wide variety of activities – shape matching, following instructions, solving puzzles – and attractive artwork in the Big Skills line, and I will definitely purchase more of these books for my kids!

This pencil sharpener works well with regular pencils or artist- quality colored pencils. My sons prefers this particular sharpener because it sharpens quickly without chewing up pencils. The holder can hold a fair bit of pencil gratings until one has time to dispose of them. This item is compact and sturdy, well worth its price.

I purchased the value pack of Bubber as well as some of the delta sand for my children for Christmas. I have 7 children ages 1 to 18. I figured the older children would like the sand and building castles and the younger ones, ages 3,4 and 7 would like the bubber. Well, I was right, the older ones do like the delta sand and building castles, but they ALL just LOVE the bubber. They love the texture and the ease of working with it. They use the castle molds from the delta sand and build blue bubber castles. Thank you for your terrific products. Whenever I am looking for something fun and educational for a gift for my children or other children I know, the first place that I look is Timberdoodle.

We have used PrismaColor in the past, and everytime I put together my ‘ideal’ order with Timberdoodle, (i.e. make my dream list before going over it with the budget in mind), and I mean EVERY time, at least one set of Prismacolor is on the list, when I really only NEED history or English or other materials. I would love to give one set to each child — they are superb and so much fun to work with. I started out as an art major in college so I have some experience with good and not so good art materials. PrismaColor rank up there with the best that are affordable for homeschoolers.

These programs are great for all children, those who are interested and those who just need a little more information in getting started. I would highly recommend ‘How Great thou Art’ to any child with a natural talent and desire in the artistic area. Our daughter used all three of these through out her education and went to college as an Art major and told me that she had learned more than most, from the use of these books. She has now returned to Timblerdoodle to see what they offer in Art Programs and supplies, not for her children,but for her private use.

I love these colored pencils!! My kids love them! The colors are more vibrant and there are more colors than a normal set of colored pencils. They are easier to use. Because they are a little softer, you can do a lot more with shading and blending. At first I thought that these were way too expensive for and art supply for kids but, they are well worth the money and I will buy them again. Good supplies really do encourage kids to be creative. My children love to use these and use them all the time.

I have a degree from a major art college and this book (Drawing Textbook) is my preference for teaching drawing.  The technique and lessons are simple.  I’ve used this book with 5 of my children already.  The three oldest now have exceptional drawing skills and they started with this curriculum.  Start with this book (Drawing Textbook) to get a good understanding of perspective, you’ll see a difference in their drawing skills in no time.

Drawing Textbook is an amazing art book at the amazing price of only $8.95! Drawing Textbook is available Timberdoodle.com.

Can Even Withstand Fidgety Boys!!!!!!

My two sons, 12 and 8, have been going through this book (Extreme Do to Dot Explorers) with fervor! Very interesting designs.  Complex enough to hold their interest, yet “relaxing” enough so they do not get frustrated before the picture is complete. Print a couple for each and Mama can even enjoy a quiet cup of tea while looking contentedly upon the children engaged in an educational activity. A+ in our book!

Mom from Farmington, ME

Timberdoodle is excited to introduce a brand new dot-to-dot book, The Greatest Dot-to-Dot Book in the World! Find more dot-to-dot books here.