Learn To See Learn To Draw
August 11, 2009 by Kids Crafts · Leave a Comment
Drawing is a skill, like riding a bike or throwing a ball. The key is to understand what you’re drawing. Once you understand your subject the act of drawing becomes a less daunting process. In this video, Larry Withers will show you how to draw by introducing and building upon a series of simple drawing skills. Now anyone, regardless of art experience can learn to draw… and draw well. Chapters include: 1. Materials and tools, 2. Let’s loosen up, 3. Looking for simple shapes, 4. Drawing with line, 5. Creating tone, 6. Importance of light and shadow, 7. Constructing your drawing, 8. Drawing a still life, 9. Drawing interiors, 10. Drawing landscapes, 10. Rendering difficult objects…and more
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Not as Great Just as Simple
I thought this Dvd would be off the hook but it’s just OK. I feel like he could have given more depth details and maybe expand some of the chapters. This DVD is divided into 12 chapters. Each chapter has its own exercises, which i think they were good(not all of them). The teaching is Mainly about looking for simple shapes, Lines, Tones, Light and Shadows, Perspective and Landscapes. Like i said, it doesn’t give a lot of Depth Details about each subject. I’m just so glad that they came up with a DVD for Drawing cuz u get to see the person in action like u would in a classroom and it gives u a feeling of encouraging.
Salsa Lessons Dance Like a Star
August 10, 2009 by Kids Crafts · Leave a Comment
Salsa Lessons Dance Like a Star
Learn to Salsa! Become a dancer with this easy to learn program. With shows like “Dancing With the Stars” topping the ratings, ballroom-style dancing is more popular then ever!
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Too basic for me.
This is excellent for a real beginner but for me it was too basic even though I am new to Salsa I’m not to ballroom dancing. It is similar to mambo with different timing, but it won’t be a total loss. It will help my husband with the basics & we can get some additional steps from the demo. However, if I had it to do again, I would pay a little more & order from The Learn to Dance Salsa collection. I was able to view a sample at [...]. I liked it better because it was more upbeat & I felt it taught more material instead of so much repetition on just the basic step, a simple left turn & underarm turn. Plus, it was in a class atmosphere showing people learning as well as occasionally focusing on the couple teaching, for a better understanding of the steps, if necessary….unlike Dance Like a Star which only showed the couple teaching. The LTDS DVD was just a faster paced class for me & I would recommend it for beginners…. WITH A SENSE OF TIMING. But for the beginner with 2 left feet I’d stick with DLAS. Also, even though you can purchase the LTDS DVDs from the [...] website, I personally wouldn’t because I TRUST & I am EXTREMELY satisfied with Amazon.com.
So…… “IF IT AIN’T BROKE, DON’T FIX IT”!!
A Day in the Life of a Village in Africa
August 8, 2009 by Kids Crafts · Leave a Comment
A Day in the Life of a Village in Africa
What is it REALLY like to live in Africa? Scenes of daily life in the village of Sayaga, a small farming village in southwest Burkina Faso. Filmed in 2002 by Christopher D. Roy, Professor of African art at the University of Iowa, the DVD includes scenes of food preparation, building a house, children in school, spinning thread, weaving, making pottery, forging iron, mask performances, a traditional funeral, sand divination, balafon music, and much more. To provide a balanced view of life in Africa I have included scenes of city life in Accra, Ghana as part of the introduction. Professor Roy has taught African art history at the University of Iowa for thirty years, and he has been doing research in Burkina Faso for thirty-seven years. He recently published The Land of Flying Masks: Art and Culture of Burkina Faso (Munich: Prestel, 2007).
The DVD is suitable for K-12 students, college students, and anyone interested in life in Africa.
This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com’s standard return policy will apply.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Day in the life as a teching tool
I used “A Day in the Life of a Village in Africa” as a counter view to the video of “Things Fall Apart.” My class read the book and as my usual reward I showed them a corresponding video presentation. The videos offered a wonderful starting point for in class discussions, reflections and of course the exam essay. Apart from the extra school work I feel my student’s knowledge was enhanced by viewing this video.
The Basket
August 6, 2009 by Kids Crafts · Leave a Comment
Peter Coyote (E.T., Erin Brokovich) and Karen Allen (The Perfect Storm) star in this touching family drama about the unifying power of basketball in a community torn apart by war. Both a riveting sports film and a tale of triumph over adversity, The Basket is “a hoop dream movie with a whole lot of heart” (Dallas Morning News)! In 1918, when the wheat-farming townspeople of Waterville, Washington, welcome home their first wounded son from WWI, they’restruck by the harsh reality of war. And just as bigotry and hatred toward two German orphans dividethe close-knit community, a new schoolteacher, Martin (Coyote), rolls into town with some strange ideas and an even stranger leather ball. Through the brand-new game called basketball, Martin strivesto bring harmony to the town…before it tears itself apart!
User Ratings and Reviews
1 Star An Insult To American Values
This film is not a salute to rural America of the past as its cover suggests. It is an anti-war propoganda piece of the left. It is an insult to every American now serving in our armed forces and to all who have chosen to serve this nation in the past. A central character in the film is the father of a boy who lost a leg in the trenches of World War 1 and the guilt he now feels for “sending” his son to war.
Rather than a salute to small town America, this film is an attack on the very values so many Americans hold so dear. There are more Americans who feel pride in the sacrafices their sons and daughters make in the service of their nation than there are who feel guilt for “sending” them to war.
The mothers and fathers of children who choose to serve in our armed forces do not “send” their children to war. They raise children who know there are some things worth fighting for.
5 Stars The Basket
A story within a story. Rent or buy this DVD. Great acting,
great scenes, great plot. Wonderful family-type film.
5 Stars Wonderful
A Hallmark type film, written by some wonderful people (I know them). The film has a great story line and a wonderful moral. Good family film. Two thumbs up as far as I’m concerned!!
5 Stars This movie was a class act!
This movie had everything - beautiful cinematography, a great storyline, great acting by Peter Coyote and Karen Allen, fantastic music. You won’t be disappointed with THE BASKET!
3 Stars Tolerable but nothing special
For most Spokanites, the fun of seeing familiar surroundings and spotting actors that you might know personally tended to distract them from the content of the film itself. I rented the video hoping that this movie would measure up to all of the publicity it received here in Spokane while it was being filmed.
I hoped it would be good; when I finished watching, I was just relieved that it wasn’t any worse than it was. It is not a complete waste of time, but I can’t say I was left with any deeper insights into the human condition, although I know this movie was trying mighty hard to send a message.
I did appreciate the focus on anti-German discrimination during World War I, which is something we tend to forget about. However, most of that discrimination was focused on recent immigrants and naturalized US citizens who were obviously foreign-born. War orphans, I seriously doubt, entered into the mix. Logistically speaking, I cannot figure out how American troops were in a position to be killing German civilians on German soil.
Also the story of the discrimination is told in a rather ham-fisted style, as we are beat over the head, again and again, with the fact that the dad hates these orphans because his own son died due to Germans, etc etc etc. How many times do we have to have this illustrated to us? Many scenes seem to be simply repetitive.
The subplot, featuring a fictional German opera, also beats you over the head with clumsy, all-too-obvious symbolism. Yes, yes, we all get that the plot of the opera mirrors the events unfolding in the town. The faux-Wagnerian music is almost impossible to bear at times.
The ending of the movie was also a bit too corny for my taste. Everything seemed to wrap up a bit too tidily. I suppose you have to make the audience feel good.
This wasn’t a terrible movie; however, with some changes in the story line and some tighter editing, it could have been a rather moving little movie.
Blues Clues Arts and Crafts
August 5, 2009 by Kids Crafts · Leave a Comment
If the phrase “Blue scadoo, we can, too” means anything to you, and you know that salt and pepper are actually a married couple with French accents, you probably have a potential consumer of this 50-minute video residing in your household. During two 25-minute segments, our host Steve and his animated dog Blue together serve as a Martha Stewart for preschoolers by showing them how to make a stage-worthy sock puppet, bake a scrumptious banana cake, and mix yellow and red paint for that perfect shade of orange. Now the tricky part of owning this tape is that your child is going to want to sew, bake, and paint each time he or she watches this stimulating video. Are you prepared for such chaos? –Kimberly Heinrichs
