While Vincent Van Gogh is perhaps best known for his paintings landscapes, flowers, and people, he also painted and drew a number of different animals. In this extended unit study, we will explore these mostly lesser-known, but still quintessentially Van Gogh works. AND, since I am primarily a zoologist, I will identify and throw in some fun facts about the animals themselves! ;)

Students are also welcome to share their own Van Gogh-inspired artwork on the classroom board. :)

WEEK 1: introduction and background information on Van Gogh's life, art, and love of nature; introduction and background information on identifying animals in his art 
WEEK 2: animals found in paintings 1881-1885 (early years in the Netherlands)
WEEK 3: animals found in paintings 1886 (moved to France) - 1890(death)
WEEK 4: looking for animals in sketchbooks and letters; wrap-up

>>>This is a guided ***FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE*** unit study version of the original live class!!!<<<

*ASYNCHRONOUS CLASSROOM: 
-This class has NO pre-scheduled live meetings or pre-recorded video meetings. However, requesting an "office hours" live Zoom meetup is always an option. 
-Initial materials will be distributed via the classroom board with commentary and discussion questions posted, and it is up to each individual student to download/view the materials and then participate in classroom board communication with both the instructor and any other students enrolled in the same session. Additional materials and instruction will be provided based upon individual students' questions and interests! (Additional note for this class: there are also optional art activities offered, and students who choose to try them may post their artwork to the class board)
-New material will generally be posted at the beginning and middle of each week (varies by class), with the classroom board open for daily discussion and Sundays serving as weekly checkpoints.
-I will also be available throughout the session via the classroom, direct message, and email to answer any questions you have -- I strive to respond to all contacts within 12 hours (and usually much sooner!).

While there may be supplementary notebooking pages/worksheets and optional quizzes provided as part of the weekly lesson materials in any given flex class, these will not be collected or graded unless the student/parent requests it. If you want/need a formally graded course, this can be arranged ahead of time -- otherwise, this will be run as a fun (but thorough!) unit study. 

*IMPORTANT NOTE ON AGE LEVELS: 
>Please note that I have two different age cohorts set up for this course, 7-12 and 13-18, in order to comply with Outschool's five-year age difference policy; however, this is essentially the same course that the older students will be doing. Therefore, students need to either be reading proficiently, or have a family member available to help with the reading and written communication in the classroom. 
>When designing these sorts of unit studies, I generally prefer to give *all* interested learners open access to the same general resources and knowledge base, without prejudging age as a limiting factor to understanding -- I know full well there are plenty of younger children out there who can comprehend general audience science, and who know more about their favorite animals than most adults do! ;) If there are bits in this unit study which are beyond one's scope of understanding or just not of interest, it can be entirely at the discretion of each individual student/family to take what they want from the lesson materials provided, and just leave the rest. (However, I will always be available and happy to help explain anything, and, if necessary, provide simplified/substitute materials for you!)