Drawing with Children - Mona Brookes

This book is excellent for helping the teacher/parent learn how to draw as well as instructions for teaching children to draw. It is very detailed and has great warm up exercise and drawing projects. It has lessons at 3 levels of instruction and a specific guide for determining at which level a student should begin the drawing lessons. It includes images of children's work and adult's work and some step by step scripted lessons. This book has made teaching art to my children in our homeschool possible and worthwhile.

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I'm a homeschooling mom and participate in a co-op as well I was asked to teach art and drawing to my daughter and her 1st grade group Although I have a huge appreciation for art and drawing I never considered myself someone who could draw After much research I kept coming back to this book I didn't need to see myself as an artist to teach it The warm-ups and vocabulary were just as easy for me to understand and it was the 1st graders I was teaching We were all successful Highly recommend

This is a refreshing non-threatening introduction to drawing Although written for anyone who would like to teach drawing to children--whether accomplished artist or complete novice--this book is also suitable for the adult or teenage beginner It is geared toward classroom use but can be easily adapted to the homeschool or co-op setting Ms Brookes opens with "Preliminaries " a section which includes a helpful chapter on how to use the book and permission to duplicate materials for classroom use--important if you wish to use it in a co-op setting as I did A whole chapter is dedicated to the topic "Before You Draw " addressing such issues as lack of confidence in one's ability as well as debunking common myths or excuses for not drawing The following chapters deal with arranging a conducive work space shopping for supplies creating a supportive learning atmosphere and choosing the appropriate starting level at which to begin Then it's on to the Lessons which comprise the heart of the book There are 5 actual lessons each of which includes 3 separate levels of instruction for different ages/abilities making it quite adaptable to a homeschool family's needs After each lesson it is suggested that students do their "own" drawing projects similar to the lesson just completed for additional practice The book concludes with a chapter each on using art with special needs children and on using drawing to teach other subjects--a very appealing idea!After having used this book both at home and with our local co-op I found that it had both strengths and weaknesses I absolutely loved the way it taught my students to "see" things as if for the first time and the author's method certainly revolutionized their "I-just-can't-draw" attitudes Over the course of a semester I saw amazing changes in my students' drawings and at co-op I know several parents were likewise amazed at what their kids could actually do! It's quite a shock to see a metamorphosis from drawing stick figures to fairly impressive realistic drawings in just a semester! Even those children whose drawing did not progress as quickly however enjoyed the positive teaching style and benefited greatly Children taught in this way will very likely "turn on" to art and gain confidence in their abilities On the down side since it contains only 5 lessons Drawing with Children requires a great deal of the teacher or self-teaching student and preparation is a must It is not a complete "grab-and-go" curriculum You will have to come up with many additional practice projects which can be time-consuming if you're doing it for a class Also if used in a co-op setting it will require substantial photocopying so that each student has a "model" to look at Having said this I don't hesitate to recommend this book Its results speak for themselves and those willing to put forth the effort will be well rewarded!