I was paid a wee bit to write this review, but just like with all things from The WOLFe Pack, what you will find here is an honest opinion from a seasoned homeschool mom with a Master’s Degree in Education and a decade of experience in the classroom…who also happens to be a mom with way too much on her To Do list, too few steps in her day and only 9 months left on her homeschool clock.
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Sparketh Online Art Courses
When offered the chance to review SPARKETH, I hesitated. I wrongfully assumed they offered arts and craft ideas for elementary aged kids. But, I did my due diligence and found that they advertise themselves as “offering unlimited access to 1000+ art video lessons for 6 to 18-year-olds.” When I read that they offered lessons for teens, I became more intrigued and asked my teenager, who was about to start his Senior Year, if he would be interested in signing up. He jumped at the chance. Little did I know that he had been secretly wanting to learn to sketch. Alrighty then, kid, SPARKETH shall be yours.
Read on for a full review!
WHO IS SPARKETH?
I do not usually include images of the owners/creators/founders of resources I review, but after reading the “Our Story” section of the SPARKETH website, I just had to share them with you. The founders, Tim and Dwayne, have a super fun story which includes, among other things, a lifelong friendship, magic tricks and Shark Tank. You can read their full story here, but the bottom line is these are two super cool dudes with a mission to “help the next generation become the most creative generation.” They also have a full support staff who, I am sure, work tirelessly behind the scenes to help everything run smoothly. And, then, “in the front of the house,” they have several art teachers actually leading your students through step-by-step art lessons.
WHAT IS SPARKETH?
The site says, “SPARKETH is an at-home solution for kids and teens to learn art.” I absolutely love the fact that they refer to themselves as a SOLUTION. So many homeschool parents, myself included, struggle to fill their students’ art needs. And, this is definitely an awesome solution to that problem. It’s convenient, inexpensive and purposeful. It delivers an art education to your kids and teens.
WHO SHOULD USE SPARKETH?
SPARKETH has courses for all ages and every skill level.
HOW DOES SPARKETH WORK?
The site is extremely easy to use and allows you to search for courses by
- topic
- medium
- teacher
- skill level
- length of time
- and more
For the purpose of this review, I searched for a beginner course with colored pencils that would take less than 30 minutes. I had several options but chose “The Simple Burger” which consisted of 6 video lessons and should be completed in 23 minutes.
And, it delivered as promised. The videos were short, to the point and easy to follow. My teacher happened to be Dwayne, one of the founders, who has a sweet personality and clear communication skills so following his directions was easy. I especially loved how the process was broken down into smaller segments and divided into different videos. It allowed me to concentrate on one small part of the project at a time {bun, meat, cheese…}
Now, will my burger make it into the Burger Art Hall of Fame? No. But, considering I truly have no natural art talent, have never taken an art class {other than college Art History,} and not even sure if I have ever drawn a burger before, I don’t think I did too badly. Plus, if I wanted to, I could submit my art to be included in their gallery….though what I saw there, from other students, was much better than my burger!
When my son gets further along in the courses and feels more confident {he is a teen boy, after all,} I’ll hopefully include some of his artwork. 🙂
I decided to do another easy course so I could experience a different teacher. I basically searched for the same parameters: drawing, beginner and short. Out of the options, I chose “Draw a Horse” with Amy.
Amy is young and, at times, a wee bit awkward, but her little verbal glitches are actually endearing and just makes her seem genuine. Her love of art is evident in her smile and I can see how many students would appreciate her personality. Even as she sweetly told a short story about how her favorite horse movie inspired her love of art, her directions were clear and concise.
And, again, the course delivered what was expected! A horse! Okay, it might be a little wonky, but I succeeded in drawing a quick horse and very easily learned how to break the legs down into joints, how to draw a base, etc.
WHAT KIND OF ART DOES SPARKETH INCLUDE?
SPARKETH offers a wide variety of art lessons including, but not limited to, and in no particular order:
- sketching
- water colors
- acrylics
- tape art
- Magna
- oil painting
- cartoons
- gradient patterns
- perspectives
- portraits
- and much, much more!
HOW LONG ARE THE SPARKETH LESSONS?
The courses vary in length from 10-90 minutes and are all broken down into a series of shorter videos.
CAN MY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT EARN CREDIT WITH SPARKETH?
The site does not reference anything about High School credit, so I think this answer will depend on your state. For us, YES, this will absolutely count as High School credit.
HOW MUCH DOES SPARKETH COST?
SPARKETH keeps their pricing very simple. You can pay $25/month or $250/year and receive unlimited access to everything on their site. There is no levels to choose from and you won’t get any suggested upgrades. It’s just $25/month for unlimited access or you can save some money and pay for a full year for $250.
DO I HAVE TO BUY A BUNCH OF ART SUPPLIES FOR SPARKETH?
No, you don’t. But, they do have a supply list of suggested items in case your student wants to enhance their experience. My son did several lessons with just normal #2 pencils {thanks to ACT Prepping, we have loads of those handy} and blank paper. He did recently ask for some “special pencils” and sketch paper which we purchased for less than $20 on Amazon. But, if you’ve been homeschooling for more than a minute, you likely have some of these items lying around already.
HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SPARKETH?
If you would like more information about SPARKETH, click here or the image below. Or if you want to ask me any questions about our experience, feel free to leave a comment or email me at katie@thewolfepackden.com.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS ON SPARKETH
Ever since 2020, the market of on-demand video lessons has exploded. The option to have experts teach our kids in various subjects is an absolute life-saver for homeschool parents. Truly. I don’t say this lightly; I almost sent my son to public school when I felt he had outgrown my math skills. But, thankfully, I found an online option that quite literally saved our homeschool and transformed my son’s future.
But, not all online video lessons are created equal. There is something special…something undefined but something necessary, that needs to be in place in order for the format to work. The closest word I can come up with is “joy”. The teacher needs to genuinely and naturally exude joy about the subject matter while being clear and concise.
My son and I have tried several options across different subjects and have only found “it” a couple of times. We found it with math and I think we have found it for art. Check out SPARKETH and see what you think.
Sparketh Online Art Courses
