Art Activity: Grow and Show: Drawing from Nature to Express Yourself!

Objective

Children will understand that the garden is alive and like them, expresses emotions in many ways!

Key Learning Concepts 

Children will make connections between sensory elements in the garden and their sense of smell, touch, sight and sound. They will use colors and symbols to express how they are feeling by drawing garden components. They will learn ways to express their emotions and describe them to others.

Materials:

Field Journal or Paper (8 ½ X 11 or 11 X 17)

 Coloring Materials

Activity Instructions:

1. Children start in the Garden space: The teacher will guide the children through a nature/garden walk. They will be instructed to gently touch leaves and soil, smell, and listen to sounds in the space.

2. After each component, ask the children “What did you see? How did it feel? What did you hear? What does that smell like - does it remind you of anything? Try to help children connect sensory experiences to emotions.

3. If you can, bring samples back to the classroom.

4. Return to the classroom space: Pass out the journals or a sheet of paper to each child.

5. Instruct the children to engage with the garden components again and as a class, let them talk about what they remember about the walk.

a. As an alternative (if unable to go into the garden space; this activity can also connect to the yoga affirmations and children can draw their assigned garden component from the previous yoga activity. If necessary, remind the children of their garden component. If the class has not completed the yoga activity, randomly assign components.

b. The six garden elements are: seed, soil, plant, flower, butterfly, and rainbow.

c. The children should draw their element big enough to fit the entire page.

6. After completing the drawing, the teacher will guide the children through the process of coloring in their garden element to fit their emotions.

7. First, the teacher will prompt the children by asking: “What feelings do the colors have?” Then, the children will color their drawing to match their emotions.

8. The teacher will ask: “What sounds in nature represent your feelings?” The children will draw out the things that make those sounds.

a. Ex. gusts of wind, birds chirping

9. The next question: “Are your feelings small, medium, or big?” The children can mark on the side of their paper how big they think their emotions are.

10. The last question is: “What weather represents your emotions?” The children will color in the background of their drawing to match the weather.

a. Ex. cloudy skies, rainy weather

11. The teacher will prompt the children to draw anything else they feel represents their emotions at this time. The children can have additional time to finish their drawings, if needed.

12. The teacher will collect the children’s s journals or drawings

13. The teacher will create a bulletin board of the children’s drawings. The teacher will organize them based on the elements, and as a whole the children’s artwork will create a garden. The teacher can write out the affirmations that go along with each element with the children’s artwork.