Hands-On Art History–Discovery through Creativity
I have tried to be more intentional about adding art into our homeschool through crafts and new {to us} mediums because Molly loves any kind of hands-on creativity. Unfortunately, it’s sometimes been an uphill battle as Trevor is more into discovery-based learning through hands-on experiments. He claims he doesn’t like art.
Meeting both these needs, and having BOTH Molly and Trevor get into a lesson has been a challenge… until now.
I was thrilled to discover a fabulous new company that brings history to life through its art. I was even more excited to have the opportunity to try out a project with the kids. Art in History is an amazing company with a mission to “provide unique hands-on activities that educate, engage, and inspire.”
And they do.
Interdisciplinary Learning through Art
Art in History offers plain pottery replicas of historic artifacts from both world history and US history. Each kit comes with:
- teacher’s guide download
- a pottery replica
- individual acrylic paints
- sponges and brushes
- 2 paint pallets
- craft paper
- a storage box
Because all of my kids are fascinated by Ancient Egypt – so much so that it is a time period we keep revisiting through play and school – we requested a replica Ramses II Canopic Jar. I’ll let Trevor tell you what canopic jars were used for:
The teacher’s guide is amazingly detailed. It covered geography, ancient culture, the history of Egypt from its “Old Kingdom” through to the reign of Ramses II and the end of Pharaohs. There’s a full color map of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia so students can identify where things took place.
Brain-Based Learning
These art kits are amazing tools for solidifying learning for your kids. Research tells us that brains are parallel processors. This means that they are capable of performing several functions at once. In fact, when a child’s brain is immersed in a topic, he learns it better and with greater future recall.
Because these are not simply art kits, they are history kits, too, immersion learning is a natural result.
Hands-On Education
I’ve said it before, but as it’s a passion of mine, I’ll say it again… kids learn best when they’re actively engaged in their learning. A hands-on approach to education is best, and a sure way to help kids internalize their learning.
My kids agree that this project from Art In History fit them both perfectly. {Even Logan got into the game a bit – which is why our finished project turned out a bit darker than the sample motifs included in the teacher’s guide.}
Molly was able to sponge and blend paints, while Trevor really enjoyed trying out the different characters of the hieroglyphic alphabet and reading all of the information that came along with our kit. In fact, despite having studied Ancient Egypt off and on four the past three years, Molly and Trevor both learned new things, and want to study more.
Our Final Thoughts
Without reservation, we’d recommend these projects. We’re already looking through the catalog to decide if we should purchase the other three canopic jars so we have a complete set, or if we should try something else. Trevor, surprisingly, is very interested in purchasing more of these kits, and has even asked for another for his birthday this month.
Trevor has never asked for an art or craft kit for a present before… ever.
If you plan to study a time period for which Art in History currently offers a project, I’d highly recommend ordering it to enhance your kids’ learning and appreciation of the topic.
Overall, I think this is one of the best projects we’ve done together. The kids were so excited to hold a “real” canopic jar, and to touch something similar to the artifacts they’d read about and had seen at the Art museum was special to them.
The kids felt accomplished, and can tell everyone all about the process of mummification {stay tuned for a post about our apple mummy}. I am so thankful we learned about Art in History and can’t wait to check out more of their products.
Take a look at the Art in History site, check out their YouTube videos, follow them on Twitter, or like them on Facebook. Then, come back and tell me which project you’d love to check out.