Homeschooling and The Historical Heroines Coloring Book

Homeschooling and looking for engaging lessons about history and science? Try The Historical Heroines Coloring Book!

A dear friend recently contacted me about his sister who homeschools her daughter and has incorporated the book I recently illustrated into her lesson plan. (Love!)

(My friend's response upon seeing this coloring page by his niece):
"Yay!! And do you quiz her about the people that she colors after? I’m curious if it helps with learning."

(Her reply)
"Yes, I make her tell me about them and she recaps. I think it does help because it breaks up the plainness of most book work and lets her be creative while learning."

I'm so thrilled about working on this Historical Heroines project. I've had several messages from friends like this one. The information really seems to sink in with this coloring activity, and there's curiosity for more.

If you have a story or an image you'd like to share with me about your experience with The Historical Heroines Coloring Book, please feel free to email me or tag me on Instagram. I'd love to hear from you!

What's been happening this year: Update 4 of 6

Update #4: The Historical Heroines coloring book!

This was hands down one of the coolest projects I've ever been a part of. I couldn't be more grateful to have been chosen as the illustrator.

Crowd-funded and quickly labeled as a "Project We Love" on Kickstarter, this coloring book was conceived by the brilliant, eco-conscious and science-minded author Elizabeth Lorayne.

As explained from her site, "The Historical Heroines Coloring Book: Pioneering Women in Science from the 18th and 19th Centuries was born out of a desire to inspire and empower children, teens, and adults with coloring pages celebrating 31 women in science who followed their passions and let their brilliance and hard work speak for themselves — making significant impacts in our world."

For several months, I was fortunate to spend my days researching, drawing and painting these various STEM heroines. I read their histories, their personal letters, their eulogies. Because of this project, I now study bugs as they crawl by, I pay attention to the leaves and their growth patterns on my walks, and I look at the sky with much more curiosity. Elizabeth's desire to inspire worked!

I'll update my blog soon with some excerpts of the completed book, but here are a few of the sketches I made along the way...

Portrait of Mary Somerville, pencil, Copyright 2017 Kendra Shedenhelm

Portrait of Alice Ball, pencil, Copyright 2017 Kendra Shedenhelm

Portrait study of a young Beatrix Potter, watercolor, Copyright 2017 Kendra Shedenhelm