Homeschool Fine Arts Credit (a Charlotte Mason Inspired Approach)

Online high school fine arts lessons that can be done independently or together as a family during homeschool Morning Time.

This year, our family has been studying the time period between the ancients and the moderns. When we got to the Renaissance, our curriculum suggested adding in the rich art and music of the era. And I knew I could depend on Music In Our Homeschool to have exactly what I needed – the Charlotte Mason Inspired High School Fine Arts class!

I wouldn’t say I’m a full blown Charlotte Mason homeschooler, but I’m close. I want there to be beauty in our homeschool, and I want my children to have an education that is well-rounded and focused on the creativity God has instilled in man as His image-bearer. Charlotte Mason’s methods espouse this same belief, so I often use her methods in my homeschool.

Look on education as something between a child’s soul and God. Modern education tends to look on it as something between the child’s brain and the standardized test.”

Charlotte Mason

Because I believe the arts are a reflection of the endless creativity of God, I require a Fine Arts elective course for my high schoolers before they graduate.

READ >> Preparing Your Homeschooled Child for College {even if they don’t go}

Music In Our Homeschool has a wide range of Fine Arts offerings (see my review of their Shakespeare Class!), and while we are currently using Charlotte Mason Inspired High School Fine Arts in our homeschool, there are many classes to choose from. But, don’t ignore this course simply because it has “Charlotte Mason” in the title and you don’t consider yourself a Charlotte Mason homeschooler. This really is a fantastic class no matter what kind of homeschooler you are!

And likewise, don’t simply buy this class to fill an elective or graduation requirement. See this as a way to broaden your child’s horizons and teach them to see God’s hand in the sacred and the secular.

This class needn’t be only for your high school students either! In fact, in our homeschool, I do not have my high schoolers take one Fine Arts class. We do Fine Arts as part of Morning Time nearly every single day!

In this way, ALL of my children are getting a Fine Arts education that spans ALL of their homeschooling years.

READ >> Morning Time with Multiple Ages

And lest you think a High School level Fine Arts course is too complicated and difficult for young children, let me share a bit about the Charlotte Mason Fine Arts lessons from Music in Our Homeschool and why it is wonderful, not only as an independent study for your high schooler, but for corporate study with all of your children together.

First of all, if you are planning to use this course alone as your child’s Fine Arts credit, you will need to read the FAQ’s at the beginning of the course. It will tell you how many hours need to be spent on the course for 1/2 or Full credit. (Because our family does Fine Arts nearly every day as part of Morning Time, I do not count their credit this way.)

You will also notice a definitively Charlotte Mason aspect of this curriculum – notebooking!

Now, this is not necessary to the curriculum, and frankly, our family does not use it often, BUT, notebooking is a VERY good way to solidify what your student is learning. In fact, in my opinion, it is much better than tests and quizzes, and creates a documentation of what your children are learning that is much more interesting!

LISTEN >> Notebooking Made Easy (Raising Arrows Podcast #42)

Charlotte Mason Inspired High School Fine Arts starts with the Renaissance and goes through the Modern era. MIOH has done a fantastic job of keeping sexuality out of the lessons as much as possible – one reason I feel confident using the lessons with everyone during our Morning Time. (If you choose to do these lesson corporately, be sure to preview the materials each week to be certain there is nothing objectionable to your family.)

Each set of lessons focuses on an artist, a composer, and a poet (very Charlotte Mason, don’t you think?!). Your child will become familiar with the styles of each of these artists as they listen to, read, and observe their work.

When you open a lesson, there is an overview of who you are studying, plus a day by day list of lesson plans. For instance, on Monday of Week #1, you read about the composer Palestrina and listen to 2 of his masses and fill out the Music Appreciation worksheet.

By the way, I LOVE the Music, Art, and Poetry Appreciation worksheets used in the Charlotte Mason High School Fine Arts course. They are FANTASTIC and so thorough!

When we are studying an artist, I open the artwork in a new window and turn my computer where all the kids can see, and then I use the Art Appreciation questions to further study the art. It has opened up many great conversations and observations with my children! They are noticing details in the artwork they never noticed before!

There are 9 months of lessons in the course, so you are getting a massive amount of valuable content! Because you have lifetime access to the class, you can have each of your children take the class when they get to high school as a Fine Arts credit, you can go through the course with all of your children during a school year to add a Fine Arts component to your homeschool, or you can do what our family is doing and use the course here and there as it correspond to your history lessons.

No matter how you use it, it’s a valuable asset to your children’s homeschooling education!

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED!