Art & Music Education

In her book The Hidden Art of Homemaking, Edith Schaeffer argues that everyone has a talent or skill ready to be discovered and put to use for the glory of God. Often, that talent lies dormant, and the individual is frustrated by the empty spot in their life it should fill. Finding your talent should be a priority, though it's no drudgery—discovering what God has made you good at is a joyful and exciting process.

Similarly, Olympic gold medalist Eric Liddell never put his running before his duty to Christ; instead, he used his talent as a sprinter to glorify God. As he expresses in the brilliant film Chariots of Fire, "I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure." God gives us talents to use in His name, and our joy in them is really our joy in Him.

Eric Liddell's talent led him to compete internationally; the "hidden art" Schaeffer describes is a little more modest, though no less glorifying to God when pursued humbly and gratefully. For Schaeffer, one's hidden art can be something as simple as arranging flowers on the kitchen table, or as elaborate as writing a story or painting a landscape. Everyone has different strengths, and each should learn to cultivate their own.

Our goal in teaching our children art and music isn't to raise a bunch of Van Goghs and Mozarts. If your child is a creative genius that's wonderful, but even if she can barely stay in the lines when coloring, her gifts are just as valuable to the Lord, and her discovery of them is just as important for her growth and personal happiness.

There are a few books in this section designed to help kids appreciate great art of the past, to learn about composers, or to identify the work of different painters and architects. However, most of what we offer is intended to help students across the whole range of ages to acquire and develop whatever skills they may have in sketching, painting, composing, instrument-playing, sculpting, acting, etc.

It's important to remember that no one will ever do anything perfectly, and first attempts are generally met with complete or near-total failure. Failure is often seen as an enemy, or simply as a hurdle to be overcome. Real failure, however, is integral to eventual success and (more importantly) to learning and character development. If a child managed to get everything right the first time, there would be no room for improvement, no reason to work hard.

Exercising one's creativity is essential. Humans were created in God's image, which means in part that we are creative beings, and whenever we're creative in ways that honor God, we're imitating Him. To the extent we can train our kids to do this, we should. Encourage them to do the best they can, because in the end they're doing it for God, and He expects nothing less.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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138 Items found Print
Active Filters: 11th grade (Ages 16-17), Used Books & Materials
1000 Artists' Books
by Sandra Salamony with Peter & Donna Thomas
from Quarry Books
for 9th-Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
101 Hymn Stories - audio book on CD
by Kenneth Osbeck, read by Wayne Shepherd
from Oasis Audio
for 6th-12th grade
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
102 Favorite Paintings By Norman Rockwell
by Norman Rockwell
from Crown Publishers
for 7th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
159 Celtic Designs
by Amy Lusebrink
from Dover Publications
for 5th-Adult
in Abstract & Mosaic Coloring Books (Location: COL-ABS)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
African-American Arts: Music
by written by Angela Shelf Medearis and Michael R. Medearis
from Millbrook Press
for 6th-Adult
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Animal Sketches
from Current, Inc.
for 6th-12th grade
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Art of Drawing People
from Walter Foster
for 7th-Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Art of Interpretation
by Nicholas R. Elledge
from Institute for Cultural Communicators
for 9th-12th grade
in Speech & Debate (Location: SPEECH)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Art of the Graphic Memoir
by Tom Hart
from St. Martin's Griffin
for 9th-Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Art of the Renaissance
by Peter and Linda Murray
1999 reprint from Thames and Hudson
for 9th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
ARTistic Pursuits High School Book 1
3rd Edition Classic Series from Artistic Pursuits
for 9th-12th grade
in ARTistic Pursuits (Location: ELE-ARTPUR)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
At Play: Teaching Teenagers Theater
by Elizabeth Swados
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 7th-Adult
in Theater, Drama & Film (Location: ELE-THEAT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Baby Blessing
by Welleran Poltarnees
from Laughing Elephant
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Beatles vs The Rolling Stones
by Jim Derogatis and Greg Kot
from Voyageur Press
for 9th-Adult
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Beginning Painting DVD - Mini Course
for 1st-Adult
in How Great Thou Art (Location: ELE-ARTHGTA)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
Best Known Gilbert & Sullivan Operas and Bab Ballads
by William Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan
from Halcyon House
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Bodleian Library, Oxford
by Susan Clarke
from Jarrold Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$1.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Music
by Gill Rowley
from Bounty Books
for 8th-Adult
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Brunelleschi's Dome
from Penguin Books
for 11th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation (Location: HISW-REN)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Built to Last
by George Sullivan
from Scholastic Inc.
for 8th-Adult
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Carl Larsson's A Home
by Carl Larsson and Lennart Rudstrom
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Celtic Blessings
from Paraclete Press
for 6th-Adult
in Adult Coloring Books (Location: COL-ADULT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Chapels and Meeting Houses
by Kenneth Lindley
from John Baker
for 8th-Adult
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas Carols
by Karl Schulte (selected and arranged by), illustrated by F. D. Lohman
from Whitman Publishing Company
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Color Yourself Smart: Human Anatomy
by Wendy L. Leonard, illustrations by Philip Ferguson Jones
from Thunder Bay Press
for 6th-12th grade
in Anatomy Coloring Books (Location: SCI-ANACOL)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Complete Color-Coded Music Flash Cards
for 7th-12th grade
in Music Theory (Location: ELE-MUSTHE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating a Graphic Novel
by Nat Gertler and Steve Lieber
from Alpha Books
for 8th-Adult
in Cartooning (Location: ELE-ARTCART)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Complete-A-Sketch 123
by Mel Peterman
from Insight Technical Education
for 6th-12th grade
in Complete-A-Sketch Technical Art (Location: ELE-ARTCAS)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
Complete-A-Sketch Advanced CD-ROM
from Insight Technical Education
in Complete-A-Sketch Technical Art (Location: ELE-ARTCAS)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
Concepts of Piano Theory - Level 2
from ReSa Publications
Piano theory book for ages 10 and up
in Clearance: Art & Music (Location: ZCLE-ART)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Creative Drawing
by Howard J. Smagula
from Brown & Benchmark Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Creative Haven Abstract Designs - Coloring Book
Creative Haven
by Brian Johnson
Csm from Dover Publications
for 7th-Adult
in Adult Coloring Books (Location: COL-ADULT)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Cry from the Earth
by John Bierhorst
from Four Winds Press
for 6th-Adult
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Cut and Assemble a Crusader Castle in Full Color
by A. G. Smith
from Dover Publications
History Reference/Art Project for 7th-Adult
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Dore's Illustrations for "Paradise Lost"
by Gustave Dore
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
$14.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Draw the Titanic
by Andrew Staiano, illustrated by Jason Pederson
from Scholastic Inc.
for All ages
in Drawing for Beginners (Location: ELE-ARTDRAW)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
by Betty Edwards
from Jeremy P. Tarcher
for 7th-Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
by Betty Edwards
from Jeremy P. Tarcher
for 6th-Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$6.50 (2 in stock)
Drawing with Pen and Ink
by Arthur L. Guptill, edited and revised by Henry C. Pitz
1968 Printing, Revised Edition from Reinhold Book Corp.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Drawing: Buildings
Learn to Draw Step by Step
by Gene Franks
from Walter Foster
for 6th-Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Enjoy Your Recorder
by Trapp Family
from Magnamusic Distributors
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Essential Claude Monet
by Catherine Morris
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 9th-12th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Essential Dictionary of Music
by Lindsey C. Harnsberger
2nd edition from Alfred Publishing
for 4th-Adult
in Music Education & Reference (Location: ELE-MUSREF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Essential Jazz
by Henry Martin
1st edition from Schirmer
for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: Art & Music (Location: ZCLE-ART)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Floral Borders on Layout Grids
by Stefen Bernath, designer
from Dover Publications
for 6th-Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Francis W. Edmonds
by H. Nichols B. Clark
from Smithsonian Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Clearance: Art & Music (Location: ZCLE-ART)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Frederic Chopin
by Victor Seroff
from Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
God & the History of Art - Package
by Barry Stebbing
from How Great Thou Art
for 4th-12th grade
in How Great Thou Art (Location: ELE-ARTHGTA)
$40.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Encyclopedia of Music
by Norman Lloyd
from Western Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Gondoliers, or, The King of Barataria
by Gilbert & Sullivan, adapted by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Sheilah Beckett
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Great Artists - Great Composers: Portraits
from Amadeus Press
for 6th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Great Book of Dragon Patterns
from Fox Chapel Publishing Company
for 6th-Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Great Bridge
by David McCullough
from Simon and Schuster
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$20.00 $9.00 (1 in stock)
History of Western Music
HarperCollins College Outline
by Hugh M. Miller & Dale Cockrell
5th edition from HarperCollins
for 7th-12th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
History Sings
by Hazel Gertrude Kinscella
from University Publishing Company
American Music History for 7th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
How to be an Explorer of the World
by Keri Smith
from Perigee Books
for 6th-12th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
How to Draw Cool Things, Optical Illusion, 3D Letters, Cartoons and Stuff
by Rachel Goldstein
from DrawingHowtoDraw.com
for 5th-12th grade
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
How to Sketch
by Alwyn Crawshaw
for 9th-Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Illuminated Page
by Janet Backhouse
from University of Toronto Press
for 7th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Costume
by Doreen Yarwood
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$22.00 (1 in stock)
Illustrated Wordsworth's Guide to the Lakes
by William Wordsworth, Edited by Peter Bicknell
from Congdon & Weed Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in Great Britain / England (Location: HISMC-BRIT)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
In August Company
from Morgan Library
for 9th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
In Search of Norman Rockwell's America
by Photography by Kevin Rivoli, Artwork by Norman Rockwell
from Howard Books
for 3rd-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Introduction to Drawing Animals
by Kay Gallwey
from Chartwell Books
for 6th-Adult
in Drawing for Beginners (Location: ELE-ARTDRAW)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Italic Letters
by Inga Dubay & Barbara Getty
from Continuing Education Press
for 9th-Adult
in Getty-Dubayâ„¢ Italic Handwriting (Location: HAN-ITALIC)
$24.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Kate Greenaway
by Rodney K. Engen
from Harmony
for 6th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Learn & Master Piano with Will Barrow
by Will Barrow
Homeschool Edition from Legacy Learning Systems, Inc.
for 6th-Adult
in Piano Instruction (Location: ELE-MUSPI)
$60.00 (1 in stock)
Learn to Play the Guitar
by Nick Freeth
from Parragon Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Guitar & Bass Instruction (Location: ELE-MUS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
LEGO Architect
by Tom Alphin
from No Starch Press
for 8th-Adult
in LEGO Sets (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Leonardo da Vinci
by Richard McLanathan
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 8th-Adult
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Life & Times of Chopin
by Adelaide Murgia
from Curtis Publishing Co.
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Life of Picasso Volume II
Book 2 of 4
by John Richardson with Marilyn McCully
First Edition 2nd Printing from Random House
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Lifepac: Art - Teacher's Guide
from Alpha Omega Publications
for 7th-12th grade
in AOP Art & Drawing (Location: ELEDRA-AOP)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Line Upon Line
by Janice Arduini
from Christian Liberty Press
for 6th-12th grade
in Drawing for Beginners (Location: ELE-ARTDRAW)
$10.60 $5.00 (1 in stock)
M.C. Escher Kaleidocycles
Box from Purple Pomegranate Productions
for 6th-Adult
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Magic Flute - Book with 2 CDs
Black Dog Opera Library
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, text by David Foil
from Black Dog & Leventhal
for 8th-Adult
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Maria Tallchief: America's Prima Ballerina
by Elisabeth P. Myers
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 6th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Masters of Music: Debussy
by Percy M. Young, Illustrated by Richard Shirley Smith
from David White
for 8th-Adult
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Mathew Brady
by James D. Horan
from Bonanza Books
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Michaelangelo
Masters of Art
by Gabriella di Cagno
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 5th-Adult
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Mix Your Own Oil Colors
by Jeremy Galton
from Walter Foster
for 5th-Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Modelling for Amateurs
How to Do It #20
by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis
from The Studio Publications, Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Moon and Sixpence
Modern Library
by W. Somerset Maugham
from Heritage Press
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Movies As Literature - Book and Student Workbook
by Kathryn Stout, Richard Stout
from Design-A-Study
for 9th-12th grade
in Theater, Drama & Film (Location: ELE-THEAT)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Mozart: A Bicentennial Tribute
by Wendy Thompson
from Chartwell Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Music & Moments with the Masters - Comprehensive Study Guide
by David & Shirley Quine
from Cornerstone Curriculum
for Preschool-Adult
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Music of the Great Composers
by Patrick Kavanaugh
from Zondervan
for 9th-Adult
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$21.99 $15.00 (1 in stock)
Music Pack
for 3rd-12th grade
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Music to Remember
by Lillian Baldwin
from Silver Burdett Press
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Nanook of the North
by Robert Flaherty, edited from the film by Robert Kraus
First Printing from Windmill Books
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Natural Way to Draw
by Kimon Nicolaides
from Houghton Mifflin
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
New International Dictionary of Music
by Philip D. Morehead
from Meridian Book
for 9th-Adult
in Music Education & Reference (Location: ELE-MUSREF)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Norman Rockwell's America
by Christopher Finch, Illustrated by Norman Rockwell
from Reader's Digest
for 3rd-Adult
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
North American Churches
by Marilyn Chiat
First edition. from The Pilgrim Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music
by Ted Libbey
from Workman Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Music Education & Reference (Location: ELE-MUSREF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Outdoor Sketching
by Ernest W. Watson
First Ediition from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Painting (The Flying Artist's Guide to Watercolor)
by Philip Berrill
from SpiceBox
for 9th-12th grade
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Peer Gynt
by E. H. Grieg, illustrated by Yoshiharu Suzuki, adapted by Makoto Oishi, translated by Ann Brannen
from Silver Burdett Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Pencil Broadsides
1961 Second Printing from Reinhold Book Corp.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Practical Graphic Design
by Paul Bunch & Melvin Peterman
from Insight Technical Education
for 9th-12th grade
in Career Planning (Location: HSR-CAR)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
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