Shark Week is on the horizon and it made me think of this Shark Week in Your Homeschool article from the MLP archives. I thought it might be fun to give a little update because those littles you will see in the original article (keep reading!) are now 13, 11.5, and almost 10 and they still love sharks!
Where’s that pause button?!
They also still love doing art with Nana over at You ARE An Artist Chalk Pastel!
Before we get to the Shark Week in Your Homeschool post from ages ago, check THIS out…
July is tomorrow so Shark Week is SOON. To celebrate, MLP teamed up with Nana and the gang for a Shark Week-themed playful artsy giveaway. We are giving away chalk pastels and colored paper and a shark game and visual encyclopedia.
Basically, we’re giving away a Lazy Unit Study for the shark enthusiasts in the bunch. If you’d like to enter, you can do so right here.
And guess what else?
Next week, I’ll be LIVE with Nana for a Shark Week art and play extravaganza…
I can’t wait! You see, every now and then we like to surprise NBL members with a bonus event. Just to keep things interesting. For example, I recently had Kara join us at NBL to talk about her book.
My kids have loved creating shark art with Nana forever. (I mean, seriously. Check out this video. I can’t even.) And so we thought it would be incredibly fun to have Nana come join the NBL fun.
Nana will be giving a NEW live lesson (not a shark you’ve seen her create before!), and I’m giving away a Shark Week Play Pack.
This is a members-only event for You ARE An Artist and NBL members. (Not a member yet? Sign up here!)
And now- the original article! Let’s talk about Shark Week in your homeschool…
I don’t know about you guys, but with two boys under one roof, we have acquired quite the collection of shark books. While all three of my children enjoy learning about sharks, my boys are obsessed. They are constantly sharing shark facts, coming up with spooky shark stories, and working on shark doodles.
Well, next week is Shark Week! I love to use my children’s interests in our homeschool and, with Shark Week on the horizon, I decided to have some fun. Today, I’m sharing a super simple way to incorporate Shark Week in your homeschool!
Shark Week in Your Homeschool
First, before we get started, I wanted to let you know about the You Are An Artist Clubhouse!
We are in love with this membership site!
The You Are An Artist Clubhouse Annual Membership
We *love* Nana and her Chalk Pastel tutorials. Now, Nana has created an entire clubhouse for artists!
The Clubhouse annual membership includes:
- Instant access to oodles of video art tutorials
- A new art course added monthly
- A new art lesson each week
- … and Chalk Pastels at the Movies
You can read more or sign-up here.
And now back to the Shark Chalk Pastel course…
Study Shark Week in your homeschool with this terrific chalk pastel course
With three creative kiddos, I love to find educational materials that incorporate art. We have been having a fantastic time with Tricia Hodge’s Hodgepodge’s Shark Art Tutorials! Each ebook costs $7.99 and they are worth every penny. I cannot tell you how many hours of enjoyment we have had with these two books!
Shark Art Tutorials are fantastic because they are designed for any age level and do not require expensive materials. My 4-year-old had a blast learning about sharks alongside his big brother!
All you need to get started is the ebook, paper, and chalk pastels. That’s it! My children are 8, 6, and 4-years-old and they have all enjoyed and learned from the books.
These ebooks include instructions for getting started with chalk pastels and step-by-step instructions for drawing the following sharks:
- Great white
- Hammerhead
- Zebra shark
- White (or black) tip reef shark
- Night shark
- Flying sharks
- Shark fin
- Cookiecutter shark
- Goblin shark
- Whale shark
Each tutorial is loaded with fun facts about each shark, so your children are learning while they create!
Enjoy Shark Week in your homeschool with outdoor art!
These New Englanders love spring and summertime for a multitude of reasons. Near the top of that list is our love of outdoor art. We love to take our supplies out to the patio and let the creative juices flow. For the past couple weeks, in anticipation of Shark Week, my little friends have been creating lots of al fresco sharks!
This has been a wonderful way to enjoy art outdoors and learn about sharks for Shark Week!
Here is what we used:
The best part of this mini-unit study is that it was heavy on fun and low on required materials. We grabbed our doodle diaries, some chalk pastels, our outdoor easels, and the shark ebooks … and then we got to work!
What the little guy thought about this program:
Enjoy Shark Week in your homeschool with books!
It’s no secret that our family loves books! While we enjoy books on a variety of topics, I swear, we could open a library devoted to dinosaurs and sharks! Here are just a few of our family’s favorites, from nonfiction to fiction!
Now, it’s your turn: Does your family love Shark Week? Do you incorporate Shark Week into your homeschool? Share here!
Nice job guys! I’m impressed! My kids aren’t into sharks yet but I saw this online and thought maybe your kids might be. It might be a bit too advanced for them? Not sure. http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2016/05/learn-about-sharks-bite-sized-pieces-new-mooc Can’t beat free! Tracking movements of a wild shark sounds really cool!
Thank you, Mary!
Oh my goodness! This has MADE my day! All those sharks – y’all did every one! Your son is such an encouraging shark enthusiast AND artist – what a fantastic artist’s notebook full of sharks. The video!! Your children and mine would have so much fun ‘talking shark’ together. This is such fantastic learning. Can’t wait to show Nana! Thank you. Yes you are ALL artists!
Well you made our month! The kids have enjoyed this so much and they have worked so well together! Thank you for all that you do!
Hello from Nana at Hodgepodge! Oh, my goodness! I cannot believe the “schooling sharks” at your house! What wonderful work you have done…it has to be some of the best work that I have seen! Thank you using our book, and the video allows me to see your work in person! You are really, really ALL artists! Keep up the good work!
Love from
Nana
Nana! Thank you for all that you do. You have brought such joy to our home with your chalk pastels. Thank you <3
[…] as much as I’d love to fully immerse ourselves in sharks, or Greek mythology, or candlemaking, or Shakespeare, I know that passions and interests come and […]