This book is designed to help your child discover the lessons present in many fine works of art. The inside cover explains "In this, her first book for children, Sister Wendy has selected paintings that can speak to children, illustrating the important values of life, such as love, respect and forgiveness. She helps children to look and listen, gaining insight into art while developing a greater understanding of their own spirituality." For an art book published by a secular company the material is fairly religious and includes such paintings as French Peasant Girls Praying, The Martyrdom of Saint Clement, Christ Discovered in the Temple, The Kiss of Judas, and The Calling of Saint Matthew. The art selections are great - very classic - and the text is very simple. An interesting side point that homeschoolers will enjoy is that there is a painting called The Young Schoolmistress. In her description, Sister Wendy mentions, "Perhaps she is his big sister and he is being taught on his own at home. It is not only in the classroom, or from qualified teachers, that we learn about the world."

What could be better than a well-planned and well-organized Catholic art textbook written by internationally-known Catholic artists who are also art historians and professors? This is the textbook! From the introduction by the authors: "The rules used here have been the time-tested tools used by artists for centuries and are based on natural law and common sense. Once acquired, these skills are not only transferable to other disciplines but also foster genuine appreciation and discernment in the field of art and of beauty in creation."

Seton's Art 4 for Young Catholics includes 36 weekly lessons for upper-elementary aged children. The lessons build upon one another, with a few lessons carrying over from one week to the next. Unlike some of the other books in the Seton art series, the lessons do not follow the liturgical year and could be used in an order other than the way they appear in the text. Each lesson plan includes the objective of the lesson, a detailed list of required materials that are easily and inexpensively available, and step-by-step instructions with many illustrations to show the student and teacher what is expected. Art history and appreciation topics are featured in several lessons with thirteen full-color plates and numerous black-and-white plates for careful study. Topics of instruction range from line, contour, texture, color, symbolism, contrast, dimension, symmetry, to balance and design.

Although the book is sold as the text for Seton's 4th grade, it is very appropriate for children up through the 6th grade for a multi-level homeschool class or co-op. I've been using this course this year very successfully with an art-talented 3rd grader and an art-challenged 6th grader, and I'm thrilled with it. Not only are my students developing basic art skills and basic art sense, they are also being introduced to traditional art works featuring Catholic subjects.

We enjoy CHC products a great deal because they fit naturally into our homeschool and family life. This little art appreciation course is no exception.

Arranged around the liturgical year, the package includes ten beautiful 8" x 10" full color, masterpiece reproductions featuring ten different artists (e.g. Michelangelo, Botticelli, Rembrandt, da Vinci) and a 25 page art appreciation guide. The guide provides excellent suggestions for teaching art appreciation in general (those who are familiar with the Charlotte Mason approach will be right at home) as well as specific suggestions for individual masterpiece focusing on content, line, color, pattern, and design. The information gleaned from this guide can easily be applied to other works of art you may already have in your home too.

In addition to the general use section, the guide devotes one page per month to the study of a particular masterpiece. A monthly theme is suggested along with ideas for integrating the study of the particular artwork into family life. Like other CHC products, this package has incorporated Catholic ideals into a program that is enlightening and edifying while remaining something that real families can easily work into their daily school and family life.

When we first received our package I immediately put all of the pictures into a frame, with the June masterpiece on top. I made a pocket on the cardboard backing to hold the booklet and we have weekly discussions about the picture that now hangs in our living room. Occasionally I take the booklet out of the pocket behind the picture and flip to some discussion prompts about line, form, etc. The children enjoy the looking at all the details in the picture while I ask questions and my husband is delighted to have a variety of religious pictures to brighten our room.

This Catholic Art text, intended for the eighth grade, offers thirty-six weeks of lessons in art appreciation, with an emphasis on religious art. The text presents 152 images (in full-color on glossy paper) which cover many of the basic schools and famous artists (in chronological order). Descriptions offer biographical sketches of famous artists, explanations of various art forms (such as icons, mosaics, statuary, church architecture, etc.) Although the focus is on religious art, there are a few non-religious subjects as well, such as the cave paintings from Lauscaux, France and The School of Athens by Raphael.

Although the book is intended for eighth grade, it is the sort of book that could be used for a family-wide art study. My five year old son, who is quite the art afficianado, enjoys paging through the book. When asked for a quote about the book, he had this to say: "The pictures are really colorful. It has a Michelangelo picture in it. There's a picture by Leonardo da Vinci in it. There's one by Raphael called The School of Athens. I like it."