Which Curriculum is Right for You?

If you’re wondering how to incorporate art into your child’s week or how to make teaching art a bit easier, then bless your heart.

You’re my kind of person.

I can very confidently make it easy for you if you are looking for an art curriculum that will deliver an art program to your child or entire school district that will do three very important things:

1. Ensure children ages 5-12 receive a balanced, standards-based, creative and technique-rich art program that is high on developing art skills for just the right age.

2. Make it effortless for a teacher to implement above art program with supporting resources, teacher aids, curriculum’s and videos.

3. Receive the support, encouragement and training to help you feel confident and creative.

This August, enrollment to The Sparklers’ Club will be accepting new members. The most common questions Team Sparkle receives is what curriculum or art program approach is best for them.

New Art Teacher

Congratulations! I say that with the most heart felt sincerity because I truly believe that being an art teacher is the best job in the world. But if you started this year, you were definitely thrown into the deep end.

The absolute best curriculum that we offer for new art teachers is our EPIC curriculum. It’s based on the elements of art and principals of design (Elements, Principals, Integration, Curriculum).

This curriculum is strategically designed to teach the elements sequentially throughout the year and though the grade levels. So what first graders are learning build upon the skills they learned throughout the year as well as in previous years.

With a brand new planning resource, 12 art Bundles that are based on an element, a principal or both, this 12-month curriculum gives you loads of creative possibilities.

This is my first year teaching and I felt like I have little guidance and was thrown to the wolves.  The Sparklers’ Club is a lifeline for an over-stressed new teacher like me.
— Angela (new member)

Experienced Teachers

Many teachers have standards, curriculum’s and processes down pat. That’s why the majority of our members who have been teaching for a while enjoy selecting Bundles based on their own personal interests or curriculum.

With over 100 art Bundles to choose from, Sparklers who like to try new techniques (clay, print-making, fiber arts, puppetry) or explore various themes (travel, science, animals, contemporary artists).

I have been teaching art for 18 years and felt some of my lessons were getting stale and it was taking me longer to come up with fresh exciting lessons so I signed up for DSS and I am loving it!!
—Tammy Jo Spillman

Parents or Home-School Families

One of the BEST resources for parents who don’t have any art experience is art tutorial videos. And there’s no better combination of a rigorous, creative and highly enjoyable art curriculum that our Art Through the Ages Curriculum (ATTA).

The ATTA Curriculum is designed to expose students to the breadth of art history, condensed into 10 bundles ranging from Prehistoric to Contemporary Art that can easily be covered in the span of a school year.

All of the lessons from kindergarten through seventh grade have been aligned to the National Core Arts Standards and have Common Core connections already built in.

The ATTA Curriculum isn’t just lesson plans. WE included curated resources like visual slide decks, engaging worksheets, helpful planning documents and EVERY single lesson features an accompanying instructional video for kids so that you can spend your time in more impactful ways.

The Exploratory Art Teacher

Exploring Art Supplies through Environments (EASE) is a done-for-you art curriculum for grades K-7.

With nine different environment-themed art bundles, you and your students will explore art making that emphasizes a single medium meant to help grow and improve art skills while also learning about the different parts of the planet around us.

The EASE curriculum has been thoughtfully designed to align with art standards and provide a clear path for you to follow with your students.

Implementing the EASE curriculum allows students to build art skills while exploring their artistic abilities, express themselves authentically and find joy and fulfillment in the creative process.

You can hep your students overcome challenges and develop their artistic confidence through the environment-themed projects and thoughtful application of a single technique or medium.

Creating Connection and Community in the Art Room

The Global Art Passport (GAP) Curriculum is a done-for-you roadmap for teaching young artists about the unique and amazing world we live in through fun and engaging lessons.

It is a year art curriculum for grades K-7 organized into 7 Bundles. Each Bundle contains 15 lesson plans (2 each for K-6, plus 1 lesson plan for 7th grade). Each lesson also has an accompanying slide deck to help students explore a region of the world and learn important art elements and principles.

Start the year off with creating individual passports that students can use to document their travels and as a place to collect their passport stamps.

The GAP Curriculum also includes teaching resources such as worksheets, booklists, supply lists and region fact sheets.

The Four Seasons Mini Curriculum

The Four Seasons Mini Curriculum is a done-for-you art curriculum for grades PreK-7.

Celebrate the seasons in your classroom with the beautiful and dynamic lessons of Fall Colors, Winter Wonderland, Spring Blooms and Summer Splash.

Streamlined to make teaching easy for you and engaging for your students, this curriculum includes full, standards-based lesson plans with accompanying slide decks, drawing guides, handouts and modification ideas to support you as you guide your students in the creative process.

Seasonal lessons always make show-stopping hallway displays, so we’ve included a bulletin board idea in each lesson and a printable classroom decor pack, too.

Need a little more help deciding?

We’ve developed the Ultimate Guide on Designing an Art Curriculum to help you find your perfect match.