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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

I review many great products from wonderful companies as part of the Review Crew. Every year, I anxiously wait to see if there will be a review for Home School in the Woods because we love their hands-on projects. We had so many great choices this year, but we chose their Hands-On History Activity-Pak: Artists. We have been having so much fun!

Home School in the Woods: Hands-On Projects for Kids

Are you familiar with Home School in the Woods? I wasn’t familiar with them until I joined the Crew back in 2020, and after that, I was hooked! Since then, we have used their curriculum and resource on the Civil War, Ancient Greece, Wonders of the World, Elections, and some of their timelines too!

So, why do we keep using Home School in the Woods?

We love their hands-on projects. Through these hands-on projects, kids explore history. Kids don’t read about something and do a worksheet.

NO WAY!

Kids create projects that help them understand and remember what they are learning.

Home School in the Woods has even added a HUGE collection called the Essentials Timeline Library with 1444 timeline figures that begin with ancient history and ends with modern times. It is a fabulous collection. There are so many possibilities for making history more fun.

Another thing is Home School in the Woods does a great job of making products that can be adapted for multiple ages in your homeschool. The units are recommended for grades 3-8. However, my kiddos are in grades 7 and 9 grade. Since they are older, I adjusted the Artist Lap Pak to fit their needs.

Hands-On History Activity-Pak: Artists

We received a digital download for this review of the Artists Lap Pak. I opened the file, unzipped it, and was ready to begin. I received a file of PDFs, images, and a Start file.

All the directions are in the Start area. Here, you find advice on how to put the projects together and the final lap-pak. You will also find all the PDFs to print out for each project. Plus, each activity is in its own location, so you can easily find what you need.

With each activity, you have clear directions on how to assemble the hands-on project. They explain the type of paper, how many copies, and how to put things together. It’s great!

For this artist study, kids have 5 activities to complete.

• Art Media– Kids learn about the different art categories and the various art techniques used for each type.
• Art Movements– Here, kids learn about the movements in art from the 15^th century to the 20^th century.
• Artist Exhibition– With this fun project, kids learn more about artists from each art movement and create a book of information about the artists.
• Paint Box Vocabulary– Art has its own vocabulary, as with any subject. This fun project helps kids learn essential words in art.
• Paint Like the Masters– The kids have studied the masters, and now it is their turn to paint, draw, etc., like them.

Once the activities are completed, there is a fun review game called the “Art Gallery.” It is a file folder game you make and play.

Lastly, kids create My Personal Art Sketchbook before assembling their Artist Lap-Pak. This is where kids explore the world around them and keep their own sketchbooks like an artist. At the bottom of each page is a quote from an artist.

This Artist Lap-Pak is a fun way to learn about influential artists and art. These hands-on projects make learning meaningful and engaging to kids.

Using this Artist Lap-Pak in Our Homeschool

During the review period, we used this Artist Lap-Pak three times a week (our summer schedule). However, since my kiddos are in 7^th and 9^th grade, I made them do a little more research on much of the information. Therefore, we did not complete the whole lapbook.

Honestly, getting my kids to work on this review was not a struggle. They enjoy the projects even at their age.

For each activity, I printed off the sheets for each kid, read through the directions, and they went off to work. However, for the first activity, Art Media, we went through it together. We looked up all the terms they weren’t familiar with and looked up examples of the technique.

For example, none of us had heard of encaustic wax before. So, we googled the term and then looked at images of this technique. If you are curious, encaustic wax is a technique in which you use a special wax for painting. You heat up the wax and layer the wax on top of each other to paint.

Pretty cool, huh?

We learned A LOT of techniques. I will have my kids go back through this list and pick some of these new techniques to try later. But, for the sake of the review, we moved on, so we could try the other activities.

As I write this review, we are currently working on Activity 5: Paint Like the Masters. Boy, the kids are learning a lot through this activity.

As an example, the first assignment was to paint like Michelangelo. Therefore, the kids had to choose a scene from the Bible, tape a piece of paper under a table, and get to work. The kids learned how difficult drawing is while lying on their backs and working above their heads, never mind years like Michelangelo. They did have the option to paint, but neither one of them would attempt it.

As my kids complete their projects, they store them in a plastic bag. This way, when we are finished, we have all the projects in one place, and we can assemble the lapbook.

My kids can’t wait until we get to the file folder game. So many of the other products we have used from Home School in the Woods had review games. My kids and I still play them together. They are that fun for my kids.

Overall, we enjoy the Hands-On History Activity-Pak: Artists from Home School in the Woods. It is a fun way to study the artists through these hands-on projects. You need to check it out for yourself.

Also, the Crew reviewed other Home School in the Woods products. Click the banner below to read all about them.

Happy Homeschooling!