Free Lessons

Samples of Artsy Animals lessons! These are fun drawing and reading activities for kids, currently including the letters 'B' and 'D'. Click here to go to the lesson:

www.visualmanna.citymax.com/page/page/5864513.htm

Audubon
"Audubon was one of the most famous artists/scientists in American history." View or download this lesson about Audubon for free! (To download, right-click on the second link and choose "Save Link As" or "Save Target As")

View: www.visualmanna.citymax.com/page/page/5853335.htm

Download: www.visualmanna.citymax.com/f/Audubon.rtf

Washington Allston

"In the world of communication, some of the greatest writers in American history were also artists. . . . This is also true in the case of Washington Allston. He was an artist and a poet of great merit." View or download this lesson about Washington Allston for free! (To download, right-click on the link and choose "Save Link As" or "Save Target As")

www.visualmanna.citymax.com/f/Washington_Allston_article.pdf

Abraham Believes God

This free lesson from Genesis 15:6 is perfect for teaching little ones about Abraham. Visit the page to download the lesson:

www.visualmanna.citymax.com/page/page/5814837.htm

Louis Sullivan

"Very few Americans know about the importance to architecture (art that you walk through) and visual culture that was contributed by Louis Sullivan." View or download this lesson about Louis Sullivan for free! (To download, right-click on the link and choose "Save Link As" or "Save Target As")

www.visualmanna.citymax.com/f/Louis_Sullivan.pdf

ARTSY ANIMALS STORY (adorable pictures accompany this story, along with questions for comprehension and activities)

SYL THE THREE TOED SLOTH

IN A FOREST GREEN AND DEEP, LIVED A SLOTH WHO LIKED TO SLEEP

SOME CALLED HIM SLOW, SOME CALLED HIM DUMB.

WHEN HE WOULD STUTTER OR TRY TO MUTTER, HIS HEART WAS SAD.

IF ONLY HE WAS FAST AS LIGHTENING AND TALKING WASN'T QUITE SO FRIGHTENING!

THEN HE WOULD BE SO VERY GLAD, HE'D TELL SOME STORIES, RECITE SOME POEMS,

HE'D REFEREE AT BALL GAMES, HE'D EVEN SING SONGS.

"THEY WON'T CALL ME SO SLOW THAT MOSS GROWS ON MY BACK!!!! IT'S TIME I STARTED TO FIX WHAT I LACK."

HE THEN MET A WONDERFUL TURTLE NAMED TIM.

TIM WAS SO SLOW, MUCH SLOWER THAN HIM.

BUT TIM LOVED TO BE SLOW, HE WOULD LOOK AND WOULD SEE,

THINGS OTHERS HAD MISSED LIKE THAT WONDERFUL TREE.

"GOING SLOW HELPS ME APPRECIATE THINGS AROUND ME. I LOVE TO SEE FLOWERS, ROCKS, BUGS, AND STICKS:

I HELP LITTLE ANIMALS THAT OTHERS WOULD PASS. I PICK UP THE PIECES AND I TEACH A CLASS.

OH, I TEACH A CLASS ON HOW IMPORTANT TO BE SOMONE WHO HAS TENACITY.

THAT MEANS WHEN I WON THE RACE WITH THE HARE, I DID IT BECAUSE I KEPT GOING SOMEWHERE.

WHEN OTHERS ARE SLEEPING BECAUSE THEY ARE FAST, I KEEP GOING SLOWLY, I KNOW I WILL LAST........ "

Get the book Artsy Animals Being Kind to Each Other to read the rest of the story.....and see adorable pictures of the story.

Washington_peale.jpg

The artist who painted the above picture of George Washington was named Charles Wilson Peale. He was an artist and an inventor. He founded the first natural history museum and even made George Washington false teeth; elk's teeth set in lead according to the Time book Three Hundred Years of American Painting. He painting Washington several times. The foreground is the front of the picture. What details can you see in the foreground that tell you about George Washington? What details do you see in the background? What does the flag look like? A portrait is a realistic picture of a person. Make a portrait of an historical figure from the last 100 years and put things in the picture that tell you about the person.

American Heritage in Pictures by Sharon Jeffus copyright 2008 All
rights reserved.

When we speak of inheritance, so often we speak of tangible things
that we can touch and feel.
However, every American child has a rich inheritance of intellectual
property that is owned by us all. We so often speak of copyright and
ownership of ideas. It is true that it is important to teach children
to note every source when they write.   This is very important for
them to do this. However, there is a vast grouping of intellectual
property; visual images, music, and books that are considered public
domain and belong to the American people, in particular, the young
people of our country. Hollywood creates exciting visual feasts for
children to see. Our own national archives contains material just as
exciting and we are seeing real history in their photographs. We have
our own national treasure! We can see pictures of early Americans
heading west on Conastoga Wagons. A supervised visit to the national
archives via the computer can show children what our ancestors one
hundred years ago looked like, how they lived, and how they persevered
and even excelled in their daily life. Maps of the civil war,
political cartoons that are even revelant today, sports pictures of
great human triumph; all of these are available free of charge. They
belong to the American people, in particular the American children.
They are considered public domain. Public domain is the body of
knowledge and original ideas (especially creative works such as
writing, art, music, and inventions) to which no person or other legal
entity can establish or maintain proprietary interests within a
particular legal jurisdiction. It is the opposite of copyrighted
work.   Public domain is considered to be part of a common cultural
and intellectual heritage which can be used for commercial or
non-commercial purposes. Public domain art belongs to you.
Charles Willson Peale, master early Amercian artist/scientist, can be
studied by children who are learning about early American history.
Peale painted many early American personalities, including Lewis and
Clark.   You can go to this website to see some of his work:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Willson_Peale>. He also did an
amazing picture of "Exhuming the First Mastadon" for children to
enjoy. These marvelous pictures are in the public domain. They are
part of our hertitage, a treasure that we do not have to pay for. We
want to develop students who love research and history. When you
study great men of early America, you can go to the early American
artists who painted them to see what they are like. Go to this website
to see a young George Washington by Peale: <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Washington_1772.jpg>. When you see
movies from this time period, you can see how important portraits like
this one are. You can see how the father of our country dressed. You
can see other things about him, too. Look at the picture on the next
page and list how many details you can notice about what he is
wearing. To be able to appreciate a great gift, you need to be aware
that you have it. We need to teach our children that they own so much
more than just the tangible things. They own an amazing heritage that
must and should belong to them of paintings of the early leaders of
our country.    Being able to recognize these early figures also helps
younger children in counting money. You can find George Washington's
picture on the one dollar bill and the quarter. An art project can
help both older and younger children in not only studying history, but
money recognition as well. Harnett was an early Amercian still life
painter who also enjoyed painting money. You can go to this website
to see a picture of a five dollar bill he painted and got arrested
for. It looked so realistic, that they thought he was counterfeiting!
Can you tell the famous American on the bill?
http://www.nga.gov/feature/artnation/harnett/money_1.shtm
Do the suggested projects on the following pages.
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