Starting Sketchers classes are live-streamed at 4:00PM EST on Thursdays and 11:00AM EST on Fridays. A video of the class lesson will be made available on Friday or Saturday after the class. There is no current cap on the number of students in class, but as classes grow, new class time offerings will be added based on group feedback.

Starting Sketchers Draw Club  (1/2hr per week, Foundational Drawing for Ages 5-8, Thursdays 4:00-4:30PM OR Fridays 11:00-11:30AM EST, Conducted on Zoom) If you can't make one class time any given week, you are welcome to join the other. 

NOTE: This class is ongoing, year-round, and can be purchased monthly (4 sessions, $6/session), by the semester (18 sessions prorated weekly, $4.50/session) or yearly (48 sessions including summer, $3.50/session). All of the 8-15 year olds in a single family can join for the price of one. Discounted pricing available for groups of 10 or more from different families that want to meet together to draw (see website).

Starting Sketchers is our early learning Draw Club class. It's never too soon to start! We tackle a fundamental drawing task every week (drawing cartoon humans, animals, things and abstract designs) and explore a social skill as we go along (like responsibility, generosity, joy, determination, empathy and many more).  

Classes are live-streamed and feature step-by-step drawing for three weeks, followed by a one-week Studio Project (recorded session) to apply your newly learned skills all into one drawing (at this age, this is still a step-by-step video, though kids are encouraged to add their own flair and inspiration). 

Class Structure: 3 minutes of lesson focus, history and examples, 22 minutes of drawing (10 minutes drawing, 2 minute break, 10 minutes drawing), and 5 minutes to add to and embellish your drawing your way.

Students receive a Zoom link and a JPG template to print each week a couple days before class. There are two template options...one to draw along with me, and one with the finished drawing on it already so that your student can follow along on the lines, or color along as we draw. If you miss a class or classes, they will be posted as private videos on YouTube for two weeks following the session, so you can always catch up when your time frees up.

Supplies: You can get as fancy as you'd like, but Draw Club only needs a pencil, eraser, some copy paper, simple colored pencils or crayons (preferably with two or three of each color...ie. light, medium, dark green), and a couple of permanent ink pens (fine point and medium point). You will also need access to a printer to print the drawing template each week.

Here's an example of our first class with the student interactions edited out. Each week we post a video like this to YouTube in case you missed the live session (or prefer working with a video). The live sessions stay up for two to three weeks.

Our classes are geared toward all learners, but over the years we've had many students with AD/HD, anxiety and mild Autism and Aspergers Syndrome. We cannot promise we're a good fit for all neurodivergencies, but below is a list of ways that your student can expect accommodation in our classes. Please contact us if you have questions.

Flexible Scheduling- Students can join either of two live class options or do the lesson from our YouTube videos of class posted after the live sessions are finished.

Noise Management- During the drawing time, the students will be muted so there are no extra distractions. We take a break every 10 minutes and unmute, and then mute the session again when starting to draw. Questions can be directed to the chat during those time.

Behavioral and Environmental Supports- Clear expectations, timely feedback, positive reinforcement and small breaks are all implemented during our sessions.

Personalized Learning Strategies/Professional Support- We do not evaluate a learner's learning style as part of our class, but when student's share their work with the teacher, we do offer suggestions for improved success and provide encouragement for their work.