Homeschoolers Unleash Creativity in Paint Nights With Sara & Co

For many families in the Mat-Su Borough and across the state, homeschooling and correspondence schools have become a popular option to the traditional brick-and-mortar education, offering flexibility with different pathways to complete their education.

In the Mat-Su Borough, Alaska, homeschool and correspondence students enrolled in a district program like Mat-Su Central School follow the Mat-Su School District curriculum guidelines, which will likely includes art as part of core subjects, requiring students to submit work samples and track progress.

One such studio families can use is Paint Nights with Sara & Co in Wasilla, which has seen a tremendous jump in their homeschooling program over the past four years.

“It’s been growing great over the past few years. Families have been really awesome,” says owner Sara Squartsoff-McKinley.

“It’s huge,” concurs Laurie Lashlee, Studio Manager and Instructor at Paint Nights. “Just that on its own has become a big part of what we do here.”

The studio offers different levels of difficulty, from Tiny Brushes for K-2, to Little Brushes for 3rd to 5th grade, to Bigger Brushes for kids aged 12-18.

With anywhere from 13 to 16 students in the younger classes, Lashlee says it can get a little crazy, but she and Squartsoff-McKinley work to instill fun in the lessons they’re teaching.

“It’s a lot. Some of them have trouble when using scissors the first few times, or glue can be a challenge, which can always make for an interesting time,” they laugh.

Lashlee explains that students start off with the basics of art-the seven elements of art-and are able to build from there, using creativity to interpret the lessons, much like students would find in a traditional classroom learning math or reading skills. “Each class does the similar work, but the older students are expected to do more. Emphasis is placed on the same lessons…but the older students have more complex projects.”

They also make accommodations for students needing assistance, as they have students with ADHD or are on the spectrum, allowing a parent or trusted adult to help the kids through the course. Lashlee says they also try to create hands-on media projects outside of crayons or paint. For example, the young students learned about fiber, learning how artists can paint with fiber and produced their own work in a similar fashion. Another lesson saw the kids learning about weaving and selected an animal to weave. “It’s not just worksheets--its hands-on things that the kids get to do.”

Squartsoff-McKinley and Lashlee take all of the projects the homeschool students create throughout the school year and creates an art show at the end of each semester, as well as binders for students to take home to use and reflect on what they learned.

The studio also offers monthly art subscription boxes, which Squartsoff-McKinley says are also popular for homeschool students when families cannot make it into the studio. The boxes include three or more projects a month with step-by-step instructions, including photo instructions, and the tools and materials needed to complete the projects. Subscriptions can be year-long, or 6-months, or month-to-month. The themes change every month, and Lashlee says they have ever repeated a theme to the boxes. “We put a lot of thought into what we offer for the families.”

To learn more about the homeschool and subscription boxes offered at Paint Nights with Sara & Co, please visit www.paintwithsara.com