Third Grade Art || Timberdoodle Curriculum Kit Review

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Art is always a highlight in our home when we unbox our Timberdoodle curriculum kits. For 3rd grade, there are three art components in the kit.

A special thanks to Timberdoodle Co. for sponsoring this blog series by providing a complimentary curriculum kit for our honest review. All opinions are our own!

While Timberdoodle curriculum kits have all the basic elements (math, reading, science, history), we love that they also include the fun stuff like art! The third-grade curriculum kit has a mixture of drawing, painting and a wonderful dose of art history too.

The Nature Explorer’s Drawing Guide for Kids

If you have a budding artist, or a nature-loving kid, they will go head over heels for The Nature Explorer’s Drawing Guide for Kids. This book encompasses how to step-by-step draw 40 different animals, plants and insects, but it doesn’t stop there like most learn to draw books.

The first few pages of the book gives detailed techniques and tips for drawing with building shapes, and this is the basis for the step-by-step design instructions.

In addition to drawing with shapes, they give guidance for color layering, blending, gradients, highlights, shadows, and analogous colors which lay the foundation for advanced art skills. There are also pages on how to make textures and patterns, which is especially important when drawing nature.

My daughter wasn’t used to their method of drawing when we started, which is draw large shapes, add more details, and then go back and erase some of those larger lines. While experienced artists know that erasing and refining is part of art creation, most kids don’t naturally understand that concept. I love that this book teaches it and gives them lots of practice!

We also both love that opposite of every drawing page is a profile and observation page which gives information and facts about the animal or plant. At the back of the book are 15 two-page spreads for Nature Journaling, allowing students to draw what they observe outside, write about it, ask questions, and note details.

Written by Brad and Krystal Woodard, founders of the Brave Kids Art Club on YouTube, this book engages young (and older) artists to explore new techniques and get outside into nature to observe and draw on their own.

Paint by Number Museum Series

Faber-Castell art kits are a favorite in our house for their high-quality, vibrant designs that make creating stunning artwork a snap. This year, the Paint by Number Museum Series has 4 gorgeous painting sets that each feature a famous painting that the student can recreate on a small canvas with the guidance of a paint-by-number design. Little artists will learn new painting techniques to render their masterpieces. Meanwhile, you can dig further into the history of the original painting and artist if you wish.

While the canvas has outlines and shapes, the numbers are on a separate guide sheet that also gives directions for the colors and any layering techniques. My daughter wanted my help to make sure she got the right colors in the written order, but as she got more comfortable with the technique, she needed less help.

The instructions are simple to follow and the kit comes with high-quality paints and a paintbrush, in addition to a hang tab or easel back for display.

I appreciate the museum series as it helps to make art history come alive for the student, as they are literally walking in the footsteps of famous artists. The glow of accomplishment at the finished product is pretty amazing too!

Have I Got a Story for You Baroque – Art History

Last year we jumped into Have I Got a Story for You Renassaince Art History and completely fell in love. HIGASFY Baroque period is no different! With 12 video lessons taught in an engaging and dynamic fashion, you can complete the course in a semester, or spread it throughout the year. Mrs. Beth and her little animated paint drop Gasfy tell stories from history while showing great paintings and artwork that will captivate kids of all ages.

This is a great subject to do as a family as it’s designed for grades 1-8, with a PDF guide of critical thinking questions, art, geography, and writing projects, vocabulary words, and more. My daughter loves doing the art projects the most, but it’s easy to pick and choose what work will best challenge your student based on their age and ability.

Final Thoughts on 3rd Grade Art

Creativity is such an underrated aspect of childhood and school. My daughter always has basic art elements available to her for her own creative pursuits, but she’s learned so much about technique and art skills through practice with art in school. Check out the 3rd Grade Timberdoodle kit here.