Including Art in Your Homeschool: A Review of Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh

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Our children love art – especially our seven-year-old daughter. She is always asking me if we can make a craft, paint, or sew. She loves expressing herself in art and music. But I don't always like the prep work and cleanup required. So, I love art kits like Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh because everything we need is in one package with minimal clean-up needed. 

Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh is part of the 2022 Sixth-Grade Curriculum Kit. The package states ages 5-99 which seems just about right. A young child may not create as intricate designs but they will still enjoy recreating Van Gogh's famous artwork. 

What is Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh? 

This is an art kit with four scratchboards produced by Djeco. It comes with a booklet and a wooden stylus for scratching away the top layer of the cards.

The four paintings that inspire the scratchboards that are included in the kit are (although my interpretation may be mistaken): 

1. The Starry Night 
2. Sunflowers 
3. Fishing Boats at Sea
4. The Large Plane Trees 

The Inspired by kit by Djeco is designed in France, so you will find the information and instructions printed in French, English, German, Spanish, and six other languages. I've found most Djeco products are self-explanatory, though. You can figure them out without too much written instruction. 

Ideas for Using Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh in Your Homeschool 

Read about Vincent Van Gogh prior to starting your artwork. Look at the four paintings used for inspiration and others to look for themes, favorite subjects, and colors. Just keep in mind that Van Gogh led a troubled life where money problems plagued him, and he ultimately committed suicide. You will want to preview any materials regarding his life before you share them with your children. 

After recreating the paintings using the scratch cards and stylus, ask your children if they recreate these paintings or others by Van Gogh with other mediums. Take out your paints, watercolor pencils, or even crayons to get creative. 

Finally, go on a field trip. There are many museums that have Van Gogh paintings on display. If you do not live near one of them, visit the website for the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to view his works of art and learn more about the artist. (They even have a spot labeled for children, but I would still preview it before sharing it with your own children.)

Our Thoughts 

I really like that there is no wrong way to produce the art on the scratch cards. You can leave as little or as much blue as you wish. Or you can reveal lots of the colors underneath as you create your own work of art. 

It all fits neatly in the envelope. It is easy to put away in between working on the pictures. As a family that has a lot of homeschool materials and resources, I value resources that are neat and tidy to put away for storage. 

It would be great if there was more than one stylus as both my children would like to work on their pictures at the same time. But having one leads to our practicing our patience. 

Our nine-year-old son stays it "helps you make art" and is a "guideline for making art." He noted that you can add things. He added his own boat to his boat picture and a letter M on the sail. Our seven-year-old daughter enjoyed working on the trees card together with me. She said Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh is "good for kids." She liked that they showed you examples so you could draw similar pictures yourself. 

I would recommend Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh to families who wish to include art in their homeschool days in a unique way. The lessons about Van Gogh and the completion of the scratch cards can take as long or as short as you wish. This provides you with great flexibility and is a good fit for the 2022 Sixth-Grade Timberdoodle Curriculum Kit.

Looking for more Unique Products from Timberdoodle? 

Read my review of Tenzi here: Dice, Decks, and Boards: Tenzi Game and Tenzi Card Deck. 

Read my review of a fun crystal art kit here: Art in Our Homeschool: A Review of Tiger Crystal Art Card Kit.