ART I - GRAMMAR IS A YEAR-LONG COURSE FOR STUDENTS IN GRADES 3-4.

There is no better way to teach your child to reproduce the beauty of God's creation with his own hand than through art. “Guided instruction” in the field of drawing is an approach developed by Mona Brookes, the author of Drawing with Children. Brookes devised an “alphabet of shape” that consisted of five basic elements. With this approach, any object that a child wants to draw is simply analyzed in terms of how these five elements of shape are combined. The result? Every child can draw a realistic representation. This course, the first of two grammar art courses, is offered in You Teach and Live Online formats.

The Veritas Approach to Art

Young children are almost without exception “drawn” to art (pun intended)! Their innate curiosity and wonder about the entire creation naturally extends to wanting to capture it in vivid colors on paper. So a formal, comprehensive art program is essential to a classical education from a Christian worldview. Introducing children to the visual arts and training them how to capture beauty addresses the third part of the invaluable trivium of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.

Done properly, a classical art course uses the God-given way children learn and acquire skills (mostly through imitation), and thereby come to create and appreciate beauty. In keeping with Veritas’ commitment to and use of students’ characteristics at each stage of growth, in our art program we apply the following approach:

During the earliest years we use sensory exploration and their natural interest in the world’s variety: colors, smells, light, sounds, textures, even tastes build strong associations in a child’s mind. Wonderful book illustrations can be appreciated very early on. This is a time to guide their exploration of art media, giving them simple objects and scenes to see and copy frequently. Imitation is their God-given way of approaching the adult world. At this level the classical methods we use reinforce and encourage the imitative nature of children.

The primary tool we use, Drawing With Children (by Mona Brooks), presents copying and practice as a means of learning to draw. It insists on developing mastery of basics, focusing on five basic elements—an “alphabet” of shapes:

• dots
• the circle family
• the straight line family
• the angle line family
• the curved line family

Students learn to view the world through these five shapes and how to develop the images on paper. All can learn to become artists to the extent God has gifted them and develop their own unique style of realistic interpretation. And to the extraordinarily gifted, this training in the basics will always serve them well.

As the children mature, we help them attain closer and clearer reproductions in their own work and also increasingly expose them to the names and works of famous masters—learning to recognize similarity (style) of pieces and naming them.

*History of Art is sometimes taught in second grade by those using the course in conjunction with the history courses.

Simply put, creation is our best model for what God considers beautiful and fitting for imitation and meditation. This doesn’t limit a student’s scope—just the opposite. Creation, including man’s shaping and use of it (as seen in historical events, architecture, landscapes, everyday life), provides us with an almost inexhaustible source of subjects. Principles in God’s Word guide our study of art history, which includes the examination of the best works of artists in the past (most of them non-Christians). We “plunder the Egyptians” and recognize that, self-consciously or not, these artists gave glory to God through beautifully reflecting His light, color, balance, atmosphere, and other true and accurate displays of His character in the work of the creation.

Systematic, encouraging exposure to God-honoring use of creative skills calls to the heart and mind of a child: seeing and appreciating with the heart, understanding and emulating with the mind (eye and hand). Creatively using trained skills to portray a unique vision is the appropriate work of an artist. Glory to God, not oneself, should be the primary goal of all Christian artists. This conviction, combined with skill and the love of real beauty, will set Christian students and artists on a path that will restore great art It will even win over the relativistic, humanistic view of art today.

There is no better way to teach your child to reproduce with his own hand the beauty of God's creation than through art. The guided instruction in the field of drawing approach was developed by Mona Brookes, the author of "Drawing with Children". She devised an 'alphabet of shape' that consisted of five basic elements. In her approach, any object that a student wants to draw can be simply be analyzed in terms of how these five elements of shape are combined. The result is every child can achieve realistic representation of subjects to be drawn.

Live Online – The Veritas Approach

Veritas has been offering live online classes since 2006. Here are some reasons why you should consider our live courses:

• Classes meet twice weekly for 75–90 minutes.
• Synchronous interactions use audio and video.
• Engage with material throughout the week, per assignments.
• Interaction with peers from across the globe. It's not uncommon to have students from five or six different countries in one classroom.
• 20:1 student:teacher ratio, with an emphasis on individualized attention.
• World-class teachers, more than two-thirds have advanced degrees.
• Veritas Scholars Academy is accredited by Middle States Association

You Teach is our term for those who take our curriculum and teach it themselves, whether at home or at school.

Mona Brookes was hired by Gertrude Dietz, the director of a preschool, to teach realistic drawing to 100 four- and five-year-olds. When she sought curricula, she found none. About her experience she said, "Thank goodness Gertrude and I were ignorant of the prevailing philosophy that said you shouldn't give young children any guided instruction in the field of drawing. We assumed it was acceptable to give basic instruction in drawing, since this was true for music, dance, and all the other artistic subjects."

With her composer neighbor, Elliot Day, she broke down the basic components of vision as one would break down a musical composition. This led to devising an "alphabet of shape" that consisted of five basic elements. Any object that a student wants to draw can be simply analyzed in terms of how these five elements of shape are combined. The result is that every child can achieve realistic representation of subjects to be drawn.

Buy Drawing with Children: A Creative Method for Adult Beginners, Too and contribute to the taking back of the arts from the godless. This book teaches the "grammar of art" and is useful for any age level but particularly kindergarten through sixth grade.

Course Kits are offered as a discounted package. However, you may only need some of the books. Select the ones you need below for easy ordering.