How I Teach Homeschool High School Fine Arts

Heidi 0 Comments January 17, 2014

Here in New York State we have pretty strict homeschool regulations. In order to homeschool high school you have to meet a certain number of credit hours in specific subjects. For Fine Arts which includes things like music, art, and theater we are required to have 1 Unit (credit hour) which is the equivalent of 108 hours.

As you can see on my 4 Year High School Plan Printable I have spread that credit (in the end it will actually be a credit and a half) over the four years of high school. There are a number of ways in which we will fulfill these hours over the course of high school as well.

Activities We Use To Fulfill Fine Arts Credit:

Since our daughter started homeschooling (2nd grade) she has been taking violin lessons. Taking an instrument is a great way to fulfill Fine Arts credit. Not only does she have a teacher who helps her learn to read music, teachers her to play the violin, and instill a love of music, music theory, and the history of music in her, but she also practices on a daily basis. Lesson are 30 minutes and practice each day is 20 minutes. Just in practice alone she will accrue close to 60 hours of this credit in one year.
Theater is one of my big loves, and is a great activity to include in your Fine Arts credits. I was the Stage Manager in high school and have always loved to attend theater productions. With our children I probably attend around 4- 6 theater productions each year. From the local high school productions, to children’s theater, and even a Broadway quality show here and there.
We try to accomplish one art project each month. Many years ago our daughter expressed an interest in having a more consistent amount of art. While non of us are artists by any stretch, it was something she was interested in so I went on a search to find resources that would work for me to incorporate art into our homeschool.

Resources and Art Projects We Have Used:

See The Light Art Projects – I did a review of the Tiffany Window Project

Teaching The Color Wheel can be as simple or as complex as you would like. With so many possibilities for creating projects using the terms you have learned.
Using Pick and Draw to create drawings
Chuck Close Portraits

There are many options when it comes to creating Art With Canvas and Painter’s Tape
This Paper Silhouette Project was a huge hit with the kids. I framed them and my husband hung them on his wall at work.
This Fall/Pumpkin Oil Pastel Resistant Project was one I really loved and would like to to again.
The projects and learning that surround Learning About Perspective Art were some of my favorites as well. The kids to this day still really like drawing city scapes.