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!

Thanksgiving, family and a free coloring page

My parents drove in from Illinois this Thanksgiving holiday, and we spent an unusual amount of time drawing and coloring. My son has gotten really into what he calls "flare cards" — kind of like monster cards with different strength qualities — and we all pitched in to make about 50 or 60 over their visit. I also made copies of some of my line drawings, like the cups below, and we added color, designs, and my dad even made his into a family tree.

If you'd like to have a copy of my cups drawing for your own family activities, you can find a free, hi-res version here. I'd love to see what you create, so please don't hesitate to email me at kendra.shedenhelm (at) gmail.com or tag me on Instagram. I hope you enjoy it!

Cups drawing, free download available here

My son added various designs, while my dad made them into a family tree (pets included!)

An example of Flare Cards. Just need blank index cards and an imagination for monster-creating.

Adding an audience to my guitar player

I'm finishing up my portfolio for the #NYSCBWI Conference this weekend, and I've been working on adding an audience to my guitar player collage. I'm not sure which girl to go with, and I'd love some feedback? Comments are welcome, or you can email me at kendrasred (at) gmail.com. Thank you!

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Making fonts with my kid

This morning, my son's school was delayed due to the snow, so we spent the extra time creating our own fonts on paintfont.com. My son worked on his while I shoveled, and when I came back in, I realized he'd made pictures, instead of letters — his own hieroglyphics! Or secret code.

Below is Archer's super-cool picture font (look at all those cool characters!!). My handwriting font follows. We had a great time, and I highly recommend trying it!