Teaching art to homeschoolers

[witchygrrl]

This is an idea that my DH and I thought of in case he cannot teach in the public schools due to lack of jobs. I'd like to explore it with you ladies.

He is a certified art teacher for grades 5-12. He has two BFAs, one in ceramics, and one in jewelry/metals, and many credits beyond these BFAs. However, he is also very skilled in 2D arts, like drawing, illustrating, and painting. How would one go about marketing services to homeschoolers, and would homeschoolers want someone who is skilled in these ways? What would be an appropriate charge? We live in MA, BTW. TIA!

[magnolia_mama]

That's a great idea! My dd is extremely interested in art and draws quite well for her age. She would love to have art lessons and we would be willing to pay for them, but haven't had any luck in finding anyone who offers them.

Maybe he could market for private lessons (to the general public) and also group lessons to homeschool co-ops, etc. Not sure on the cost. I guess it would be similar to what musicians charge for lessons?

Best wishes to your husband!

[elizawill]

yes! i would love for my kids to take classes like that! the best way to advertise (or the way i discover what's available) is through yahoo groups in my local area. as for cost, that depends. the more affordable it is, the better the turn out will be, at least this is the case in our area. i'm in charlotte & the classes that sell out every.single.month are the the ones that have lower costs. i also prefer to pay monthly, as oppossed to $110 for an 8 week course (it makes it more manageable for me). anyway, i'd look around at competitor's in your area (within the homeschool community) before deciding the price. once you get a couple of homeschoolers reeled in, they will be your best marketing tool!

[Aeress]

We would love art classes. I surveyed our homeschool group and found weekly or monthly class fees to be easier on families. We also found that "session" style classes worked best- like Pottery class 1x a week times 4 weeks, or class 1 intro to metal art, week 2 make jewelry, week 3, make a picture frame etc.

We tend to pay 10 per class, per child or 5. I know this seems low, but we are a very rural group, so keeping costs down helps more families participate.

[kathymuggle]

I would not limit it to HSers. I have taught art to:

-adults in the evening, both privately and through places that offer general interest courses.

-to school kids during workshops. Email the school a pamphlet, tailor it to the individual grades, and include the cost of supplies. Charge per child. I typically charged 5 or 6$ per child - which was 100-120 a class depending on class size. This route was particularly lucrative as schools often book more than one class at a time. Make it simple - this includes cost of supplies.

For kids in particular I like to include supplies in cost, or add a supply fee. Getting supplies can be difficult for most parents, and to be frank they do not always know what to get/can be overcharge by stores. Moreover, parents understandably do not want to invest in expensive supplies if they do not know if their kids will like something.

As per cost - I think it really varies by location. Find out what a community centre is charging, find out what a private teacher is charging and take it from there.

In any event, I would pay around $90-120 for an eight week art class. I would pay more for things I knew involved expensive equipment (pottery, glass, metal). I have paid up to $240 for a 12 week ceramic class for myself. It included the glazes and access to all equipment, but no the clay.

[caefi]

We took an art class just like your suggesting last year. The cost of the class was $50/mo. She also did some summer workshops. She offered classes in the afternoon-early evening - filling up the afternoon classes with as many of the homeschoolers as she could so that the after-school hours could be offered for those in school.

It went well enough for her that she is doing it again this fall. My DD had an awesome time and learned a lot.

[akwifeandmomma]

Yep, we're looking into art classes for the fall, actually.
Classes in my high COL area vary between $40-70/mo., and/or $10-20/class. Weekly camps (~3 hours/day for a week) are $150-300 depending on type/medium/etc.

[elizawill]

Originally Posted by Aeress

We tend to pay 10 per class, per child or 5. I know this seems low, but we are a very rural group, so keeping costs down helps more families participate.

this is the cost here as well. it is low, but that's why i love it! i can actually afford things, lol. we only pay $5 a class and $4 per sibling. this is our cost for tae kwon do, gymnastics, and art. we can pay weekly or monthly. our horseback riding class is a little more, but it's only $10 pp, which still totally rocks.

[lach]

I used to run art classes for homeschooled elementary students, so I know that there is a lot of interest! I say go for it. Google for some homeschool groups in your area, and contact the leaders. There are a bunch of MA homeschool yahoo groups. You can also post on Craigslist. Posting at the public libraries in towns near you would be a good idea. After he gets started, word of mouth will be your best advertisement.

I also agree with the previous poster not to limit himself to homeschoolers. Having a class for homeschoolers is awesome, because you have much more time to do it in (classes can be held M-F from 9-3, unlike classes for traditionally schooled students which can really be only held in the late afternoon and maybe the early evening for older students). But he should also consider having classes for traditionally schooled kids. And younger kids, too: I took my DD to a toddler art class when she was about 18mo-2.5 and it was lots of fun. Nothing I couldn't do at home, but it was nice to get out of the house and it was REALLY nice to have someone else in charge of the cleanup! And around here most preschools are 2 or 3 days a week, mornings only, so people are always looking for things to do with their preschool aged children. Adults would be interested in art classes too.

It also wouldn't hurt him to contact places like local Ys, community centers, high schools that offer adult ed classes at night, and things like that to see if they'd like anyone to teach a class in any of the things that he'd like to teach. He wouldn't exactly be raking in the dough with these classes, but word of mouth would be good advertisement.

[bluebirdiemama]

That's a great idea! He could do group classes for basic art for a small fee, or one-on-one for kids wanting more advanced instruction, and charge more.