History-Themed Art Projects for Hands-On Learning

Inside: FREE History-Themed Art Lessons for Your Homeschool

History has been, by far, my favourite subject to teach and learn alongside my children throughout our homeschool years. But not all learners are happy to simply read and write about history. A great way to keep your hands-on learners happy and engaged when doing literature-based history lessons in your homeschool is to incorporate art lessons into your history studies. It’s also a great way for kids to create a visual representation of their learning!

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Using Art for Hands-on History in Your Homeschool

Hands-on learning for history doesn’t have to involve mummifying a chicken! Yuck. We have found art projects to be an enjoyable alternative to extensive and time-consuming history activities. Whether your kids use art to make their history notebooks more visually appealing, create a beautiful art journal, or just do the occasional art project to up the fun factor on a Friday afternoon, these history-themed art projects are sure to come in handy! All of these lessons, projects, and tutorials are available for free, but if you want to get serious about the cross-curricular benefits of adding art to your history studies, there are a couple of GREAT art programs out there. Masterpiece Society and ChalkPastel both do a phenomenal job of homeschool art instruction and both have history-themed packages available that I’ve listed at the end of this post.

History-Themed Art Projects by Time Period

Here’s my great big list of Art projects, conveniently organized by time period. I’m using the designations used by The Story of the World since that’s the history spine we use in our homeschool.

Ancient Times – Ancient through to the last Roman Emperor

Middle Ages – The fall of Rome through to the rise of the Renaissance

Early Modern Times – Queen Elizabeth II through to the Gold Rush

Modern Times – The Victorians to the end of the USSR

ANCIENT HISTORY ART PROJECTS

Draw yourself as an ancient Egyptian pharaoh with this Ancient Egyptian Art Lesson | Miss Roser on YouTube

How to Draw an Ancient Egyptian Head | Artyfactory

Ancient Roman Mosaic Art Project | TeachSimple

Realistic Cave Paintings: An Ancient History Art Project | Our Journey Westward

How to Draw a Roman Soldier | Art for Kids Hub

How to Draw a Viking | Art for Kids Hub

How to Draw a Pharaoh Art for Kids Hub

Coliseum Video Art Lesson | Free sample lesson from ChalkPastel’s Ancient History Video Art Lessons

MIDDLE AGES/MEDIEVAL HISTORY ART PROJECTS

How to Draw a Sword | Art for Kids Hub

Chalk Pastel Shield | Free sample lesson from ChalkPastel’s Knights & Crusaders Video Art Lessons

How to Draw a Knight | Art for Kids Hub

Medieval Castle Chalk Pastel Tutorial | Your Best Homeschool

Medieval Illuminated Letter | Miss Roser on YouTube

Illuminated Manuscript Letters | Rainbow Parrot Art on YouTube

Chalk Pastel Crown | Free sample lesson from ChalkPastel’s Medieval Video Art Course

EARLY MODERN HISTORY ART PROJECTS

How to Draw Ben Franklin |Art for Kids Hub

Abraham Lincoln’s Hat (Chalk Pastel Tutorial) | Lesson with Nana from ChalkPastel on YouTube

George Washington Chalk Pastel Lesson | Free sample lesson from ChalkPastel’s American History Video Art Lessons

Hamilton Mixed-Media Art Project| Table Life Blog

Civil War Canon | Free sample lesson from ChalkPastel’s Ancient History Video Art Lessons

MODERN HISTORY ART PROJECTS

How to Draw a Solider | Art for Kids Hub

How to Draw a Soldier’s Helmut | Art for Kids Hub

How to Draw a Realistic Tank and How to Draw a Tank for Young Artists | Art for Kids Hub

How to Draw Ruby Bridges | Art for Kids Hub

How to Draw Rosa Parks | Art for Kids Hub

How to Draw Harriet Tubman | Art for Kids Hub

How to Draw Albert Einstein | Art for Kids Hub

How to Draw Martin Luther King Junior | Art for Kids Hub

History-Themed Art Curricula

Want a complete set of lessons for each time period? These paid lessons are available from two of our favourite providers and will enrich your homeschool history plans while completely covering the art component of your homeschool year!

Masterpiece Society’s Art Through the Ages Courses

We have LOVED the Masterpiece Society’s mixed media art lessons over the years! While Masterpiece offers lessons for students of all ages, these courses are recommended for ages 13 and up because of the various mediums, details, and skills involved in each lesson.

You Are an Artist/ChalkPastel’s I DREW IT THEN I KNEW IT History Video Art Courses

Chalk pastel art lessons are ideal for being low prep, low cost, quick, and easy to clean up! No expensive art supplies are required! Great for all ages too!