Best Homeschool Art Curriculum for 6th Grade

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Sixth grade is a wonderful time to incorporate art into your homeschool, as students in this age range are developing their creativity and able to work fairly independently. There are several great homeschool art curriculum options that incorporate fine art instruction with art history and art appreciation. Four of our favorite programs are listed below. To learn more about each one, keep reading.

Our picks for the best homeschool art curriculum for 6th grade:

Best All-Around

ARTistic Pursuits Middle School Series

If you are looking for an all-around rich and rewarding art program for your homeschooled sixth grader, we highly recommend the middle school series by ARTistic Pursuits. The program does a wonderful job of introducing students to the elements of art, art composition, types of artistic media, and art history through straightforward lessons that require no previous artistic training. 

One reason we love this program is that it requires no parental instruction. Students can read the short, easy-to-understand lessons and then complete the assigned art project on their own. Each lesson introduces the student to a new artistic technique, and the works of different famous artists are also highlighted as examples throughout the book. 

Sixth graders will want to start with the first book in the series, The Elements of Art and Composition, which will take one school year to complete. At the end of the year, your student will have completed 68 original drawings in pencil and ink. 

In addition to the book, you’ll need to purchase some art supplies. We’ve listed the required supplies here, with links to our favorite versions of these materials.

  • a drawing pencil set that includes various pencil grades from 2H to at least 4B
  • 1 vinyl eraser
  • 1 metal pencil sharpener
  • 1 sandpaper block
  • 1 drawing pad
  • 1 Bristol or other drawing pad for ink
  • black waterproof drawing ink
  • 1 #8 round bursh
  • 2 #101 Imperial or similar pen nibs
  • 1 pen holder

Although it is not required, you may also want to purchase a drawing board.

Best Video-Based

See the Light Art Project DVDs

Another fantastic homeschool art curriculum option for your sixth grader is the See the Light Art Project DVDs. These DVDs do an excellent job of combining hands-on art instruction with an introduction to various art concepts and art history. For students who learn well with video-based demonstration, or for families with multiple students working together, we highly recommend this DVD series.

The boxed set includes nine DVDs with a total of 36 lessons, perfect for a student completing one lesson a week over a standard 36-week school year. Each of the nine DVDs focuses on one master artist. Artists covered include Louis Comfort Tiffany, Wayne Thiebaud, Henry Rousseau, Georges Seurat, Georgia O’Keefe, Marc Chagall, Edgar Degas, Winslow Homer, and Vincent Van Gogh. 

Each focusing on one of these nine artists, the DVDs are further broken down into segments – which can be used as weekly lessons – based on specific art concepts and techniques. Ultimately, students will create works of art inspired by the styles of these nine artists. Overall, this is an excellent, fun, and enriching video-based art program for your sixth grader.

Please note that See the Light Art, the company that produces this DVD series, is a Christian-based company, and a Biblical worldview is woven into these lessons. 

Best Classical Christian Program

An Introduction to Art History

If you are looking for a Classical Christian approach to teaching art to your homeschooled sixth grader, we recommend the Introduction to Art History series by Barry Stebbing. The program combines instruction in the history of art with regular lessons in fine art techniques. It can be used on its own and is also a wonderful compliment to the Classical Conversations program.

The series has four parts, each of which take one school year to complete. These four parts are organized chronologically. Part One focuses on Rembrandt, Carl Linnaus, and Edgar Degas; Part Two on the art of Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome; Part Three on Early Christian Art; and Part Four on the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the 1600s. It is not necessary to complete the four parts in order. Choose whichever part your sixth grader is most interested in or coordinates best with the rest of his or her curriculum. 

This program is approachable for students and parents alike, combining art history with art appreciation and fine art instruction for an experience that is integrated and enriching. Each course (or “Part”) includes a spiral booklet/teacher’s guide, which gives instructions for a full year of lessons, a set of full-color art masterpiece cards, and a set of art lesson cards. The other required materials are listed here, with links to our favorite versions of these supplies:

  • set of 12 colored pencils
  • set of 8 water-soluble markers
  • 1 medium nib black drawing pen
  • 1 #6 round brush
  • 1 three-ring binder (please note – some versions of the curriculum package already include the binder)

Best Interdisciplinary Approach

Art Through the Core Series, Visual Manna

If you are looking for a way to incorporate art study into your sixth grader’s core curriculum instruction, consider the excellent Art Through the Core series produced by Visual Manna. The series includes the following titles: 

This series uses art in an impressive way, highlighting important artists and showing what art reveals about other important subjects, such as American History and math. Along the way, students also produce their own artworks. 

Each book in the series is available in print format and can be used as an enriching supplement to your core subject materials. In some cases, these books may also be able to stand in for your core curriculum – this is an excellent option if your student loves art but struggles with traditional textbook approaches to subjects like math or history. This is also a great program to use with students of different ages. The seven titles in this series can be purchased in print form or together as digital PDFs on one convenient CD-Rom. 

Conclusion

There are several excellent homeschool art curriculum options for sixth graders. You’ll want to think about your student’s interests and learning style and your own homeschool philosophy as you choose the best program for your family. If you have questions or would like more information on this topic, please email us!