Nature Animation Challenge: DAY SIX!

Lights, Camera, ACTION! Today’s challenge was to finally shoot the animation, after 5 days of planning and set preparation. All told, I ended up shooting a little over 100 still images for my animation. Here is one sequence that I shot:

For tomorrow’s challenge, it’s time to put everything together to create your animation! Since I use a Mac, I will be putting my images together using iMovie. There are, however, other programs that will work just as well. MS Powerpoint would work–it’ll just take you a little longer, since you’ll have to insert your images individually onto slides. I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to see how it all comes together!

‘Til tomorrow…happy explorations!

Recycled Basket Weaving Project Idea!

In the midst of holiday travels, cookie decorating, and wonderful times with family and friends, I thought I’d sneak in a quick  post for a homemade recycled gift idea. Gail’s blog: that artist woman provides a variety of art project ideas. One of her recycled art projects, Recycled Basket Weaving, is a quick and easy  way to reuse plastic and paper cups and bowls–and the finished project looks awesome! If you’re looking for a last minute gift idea, or just a fun little side project, give these a try!

‘Til later, happy explorations!

and a very Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Flower/Pollinator Installation!

I tried out this lesson with a group of 8-12 year old campers and absolutely loved the way it turned out! Not only do students learn more about flowers and pollinators through creating their own, but they also learn about art installations and constructing an exhibit. This lesson took my students about 3 class periods to complete (45 minutes each). Enjoy!

You will need:

-paper plates

-posterboard/thick paper

-paint/markers/oil pastels

-glue (hot glue gun might hold the construction together a little better than Elmer’s)

-reeds/sticks/rods at least 2′ tall

-air dry clay

-pipe cleaners/pom-poms/foam/buttons/etc.

-wire

-lace/sheer fabric

Instructions (DAY ONE):

1. Talk about flowers, their parts/design with your students.

2. Provide them with 5-7 sheets of thick paper (cardstock works well). Ask them to fold one piece in half and cut out a shape for their petal. This should result in a symmetrical shape for their petals.

3. Trace and cut out the rest of the petals. Choose a pattern/color for the petals and color with choice of paint, oil pastels, or markers.

4. Cut out a circle for center of flower and color/texturize with choice of materials.

Instructions (DAY TWO):

1. Talk about pollinators with your students. Show pictures and discuss body parts of the pollinators.

2. With air dry clay, ask students to create their own pollinators. They may use additional materials (wire/pipe cleaners/ lace/buttons) in their constructions.

3. Once constructed, students may begin painting or coloring their pollinators with paint/markers.

Instructions (DAY THREE):

1. Glue petals to paper plate for added support.

2. Poke rod/ stick through paper plate and glue center of flower to rod.

3. Glue pollinator to center of flower.

4. If time permits, students may design and color leaves to be added to the stem of their flowers.

5. Talk about installations and decide on a location for the flower installation as a class. Allow students to choose the location for the installation of their flowers.

6. Hold a gallery opening in which students can talk about their work with other students and their parents.

I hope you all enjoy this lesson! Since the materials were not waterproof, our flower installation was taken down after parents had seen the exhibit.

If you have any other ideas or alterations for this project, let me know!

Happy Thursday!

School Gardens: Establishing a Sense of Place

In October 2010, I attended the TAEA (Texas Art Education Association) Conference, where I had the opportunity to meet two fascinating art educators—Kim Bierwith and Genifer Best. Being nature enthusiasts, Bierwith and Best had met several years prior at a professional development workshop at the Teton Science School in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Although both educators taught art within a traditional public school setting, they were motivated to incorporate more outdoor learning into their curriculum. After the workshop in Jackson Hole, Bierwith and Best remained in contact, sharing ideas and motivating one another to apply the things they had learned from the Teton Science School.

During their presentation, titled “Exploring the Outdoors Through Art II,” Bierwith and Best relayed their experiences as they built their own gardens and nature-rich areas to encourage experiential learning in their art classes. Through donations and a partnership formed with the Texas Master Gardener program, the art students from a traditional public school in the Houston Independent School District were able to turn old, abandoned tennis courts into a beautiful garden. Once the garden was operational, students began to create artwork to decorate the garden and the surrounding neighborhoods were invited to participate in community gardening days during the weekends.

Built natural environments, such as the gardens created by Bierwith and Best’s students, while requiring dedication, fundraising, and networking on the part of the art teacher, are excellent ways to encourage experiential learning. Moreover, they foster a positive sense of place, as students invest their time and energy into beautifying their school grounds. For art teachers wishing to build their own school garden, there exist numerous resources. Master Gardener, as mentioned by Bierwith and Best, is a national volunteer organization that assists with garden lectures, exhibits, demonstrations, school and community gardening, phone diagnostic service, research, and many other projects. This group, as well as others like it such as “Roots and Shoots” and BRIT (Botanic Research Institute of Texas), provide a wealth of information and assistance to teachers wishing to create a garden on their school grounds. Websites such as RealSchoolGardens.com offer fundraising support and instruct educators in the best approaches to planning and building a school garden.

In addition to these resources, many authors have published books regarding the construction of environments to promote outdoor, experiential learning. Robin C. Moore and Herb H. Wong’s Natural Learning: Creating Environments for Rediscovering Nature’s Way of Teaching describes a schoolyard’s transformation from a large asphalt wasteland to an engaging and inspirational environment, nicknamed “The Yard.” At the end of the book, Moore and Wong provide curricular suggestions and resources for educators or schools wishing to create a similar environmental space.