Have I Got A Story For You – Renaissance
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When was the last time your child begged for another history lesson, saying with an eager voice “It’s so exciting!!”. If that hasn’t happened in your home, I encourage you to give HIGASFY (Have I Got A Story For You) a chance.
My 2nd grader instantly fell in love with this colorful and engaging art history video course from the first lesson.
A special thanks to Timberdoodle Co. for sponsoring this post by providing us with a discounted copy of Have I Got a Story for You – Renaissance in exchange for our honest review. All opinions are our own!
Mrs. Beth, the instructor, is a very gifted storyteller. Her vocal tone and facial expressions weave a historical picture that will have your kids (and you) on the edge of your seats. This is a million times better than reading the boring black-and-white art history textbook from my childhood!
With 12 high-quality episodes lasting around 20 minutes each, your student will get a good overview of the time period portrayed, and some of the greatest artwork from that time. I loved that throughout the series, over and over we heard an explanation of what the Renaissance time period was and how people lived during that time.
Yes, the focus is on artists and their artwork, but we learned so many vital historical events through the stories as well. The Black Plague, wars and invasions, church history, famous rulers, and more!
They weren’t just mentioned in passing either, but explained, taught, and reviewed so as to give the stories deep context, and help the child to remember real history!
The 12 episodes are geared for grades 1-8 and come with a 72-page PDF file you can view on your device or print out. The lessons can be accessed through the HIGASFY website or downloaded to your device. We like to stream it on our Smart TV to watch together as well.
In the Renaissance series, three artists are introduced: da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Several lessons are dedicated to each artist. In the PDF file, each lesson then has three workbook sections.
First up is the Art & Extracurricular Activities, where there are several options for the student to choose from in various academic categories including: Draw/Paint/Color, Writing, Science, and Geography. The options vary from drawing and painting to research, map work, and discussion questions.
Next is an Artist Vocabulary Word List that gives definitions for many of the new or historical terms introduced in the lesson.
Lastly are a few Critical Thinking Questions that help students reflect on the lesson and their own lives.
My daughter loves the video lessons immensely and often wants to watch more than one episode at once. Sometimes this means forgoing the activities and coming back to them later, or skipping them altogether. However, the creative activities she has chosen to do have been fun and the discussion questions help to solidify the main points in her mind.
Each episode is also peppered with the fun personality of GASFY, an animated drop of green paint. He’s a character full of emotion, ideas, and curiosity. His conversations with Mrs. Beth cause laughter, answer questions, and provoke critical thinking. And of course, the kids love him!
Before purchasing Have I Got a Story for You, my initial thoughts were that it was an unnecessary elective for 2nd grade and wouldn’t be worth the price tag. As we watched the series and did the activities my opinion quickly changed and now I absolutely can’t wait to do the next 3 art history series in the coming school years! (And my daughter is bummed she can only do one series per year!)
As a parent-teacher, I am so thankful for video courses that teach history in a way my child loves, while giving her a solid education. I’m grateful that the lesson can be done independently of me, though I have to help her read through the lesson activities and questions. Older children would be able to do that on their own as well if they were independent readers.
In conclusion, we loved every one of the 12 HIGASFY Renaissance lessons and can’t wait to study the Baroque, Impressionist, and Post-Impressionist time periods in the future!
You can check out all the series of Have I Got a Story for You here.
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