Why Creative Arts-Practices in Science Lessons?
I believe creative practices are essential to learning and engagement. Blending art with outdoor science education helps students to build visual connections with the world around them. Through art, students can engage in creative, imaginative processes that allow authentic expression beyond written words. Art-based practices are universal in making the learning experience more inclusive for students who struggle with writing or where language is a barrier. The artwork students create can also be a tangible item they take home, serving as a reminder of what they learned and perhaps building future connections to that experience.
Children from around the Puget Sound area come to the IslandWood Student Overnight Program for a four-day outdoor education program. Being immersed in the forest can be a wonderful experience, but it can also be intimidating being away from home for the first time. I have found that starting my teaching week by taking children on a nature walk helps ground them in their surroundings, followed by an art project as a way to build community and personal connections with the environment. Art practices can be calming activities to help children connect with a new place.
As an outdoor educator in the IslandWood Graduate Program, I often craft lessons combining a nature story and art project. A favorite place on campus that students love is the Bog Tree House. After a solo walk through the Forest Loop, the children meet me in the Bog Tree House. We listen for bird songs, look at bird guides, and take turns reading a book, "The Girl Who Loved to Draw Birds,” by Nova Beck and Mimmi Beck. I love this book because it was written and illustrated by a young girl and her mother, which I mention to the children as inspiration for them to illustrate and write their own books someday too! For the activity, I distribute pencils and paper from a "Grab and Go" nature journaling kit (which includes paper, pencils, and colored pencils). As we take turns reading the story, the children draw birds using the bird guides as reference. They are also welcome to draw birds from memory, or create their own imaginative bird drawing. These drawings may be referenced during the week, as children might recognize a bird on the trail that they drew or from the bird guide. Pairing a nature story with nature journaling can also be done with a focus on mushrooms, ferns, or any particular theme you choose. It is a creative way to set up the learning experience for the week.
For an outdoor evening program, we have taken a walk to Creaky Tree Meadow to look up at the stars. Then we head into the Art Studio, where I read the poem, "We Who Produce Pearls: An Anthem for Asian America” by Johanna Ho. We discuss how stars have guided people through difficult times in history, as well as given dreams to hope for. Then we make glow-in-the-dark constellations representing our own hopes and dreams. This is a way to link culture, history, and science with an art lesson. There are limitless possibilities to combining art across the disciplines.
At IslandWood, the Artist in Residence (AiR) also supports arts-based pedagogy for graduate students in the Education for Environment and Community program. Practicing artists from the Puget Sound area are selected to teach a professional workshop to graduate students, as well as an art workshop with children in the Student Overnight Program. Artist specialties range from poetry, singer/songwriters, dance, paper collage, plein air watercolor painting, tree-ring printing, up-cycled art, and more!
A lesson I was particularly drawn to was Inky Tree Art, inspired by IslandWood Artist in Residence, David Repyak. The supplies are simple to assemble: India ink, Flat paint brushes, Watercolor paper, Pencils, Water in small containers, Ink droppers, Straws. Below is a way that I have adapted the art project as part of a science investigation:
Inky Tree Art as a Science Lesson
Monday: Let’s explore and imagine with a walk through the Art Studio Wild Zone! Some prompts I share, before the children set out to explore: “How do trees grow? Use your body to imitate the direction that a tree is growing around you. Is it straight up like a pencil pointing upward, or are parts of the tree going in different directions? Today we’re going to use our imaginations and some art supplies to create wacky inky trees. We will consider what we know from observations and previous experiences, in painting the tree growth both above and below the ground. Each day of the week, we will learn more about trees, and share our observations with one anther and in our nature journals. Then, on Thursday, we will get to revisit our Inky Trees, and draw the creatures and plants you noticed from your adventures on the trails this week!” We walk to an area in the wild zone, where several Western Red Cedars and Alder trees grow. Children love to crawl over and under fallen trees, climb up on a tree stump, feel the texture of bark, walk along logs, large roots, and hug a tree!
After a few minutes of free exploration, we head into the art studio for the project. We share what we noticed about the tree growth - the wacky, fun directions that branches grow, the varied textures, and crazy root systems that are visible from fallen trees. Then, it’s time to get artsy! I demonstrate how to draw a baseline for the ground, and a general line for where the tree will be centered. An eye dropper is used to ‘paint’ some lines for the tree trunk with India Ink. Using a straw, students blow the ink in different directions, and the wacky tree starts to “grow” branches out in different directions. Below the baseline, the same technique is used to paint the tree roots. Flat brushes are used to paint the soil portion of the artwork. Then we leave the art to dry, and will revisit it on Thursday.
Tuesday: Life above the soil: Tree Identification. What trees do we see? What is growing on the tree, around the tree? What wildlife do we see around trees? The children are given tree identification cards, and assigned to be an “expert” for that tree as we walk the trails. We also learn a song to identify the five main trees that grow at IslandWood. Music, movement, identification cards, and journal observations combine to support students in learning to identify the trees.
Wednesday: What lives under the ground, below the roots of trees? In the garden, we have the opportunity to explore macro invertebrates that live in the soil. Soil from the compost is often rich with earthworms, beetles, and other small creatures. We take a sample of forest soil and garden soil, to compare what creatures live in each environment. Using microscopes to view the macros, students practice nature sketching from observation. Identification charts aid students in identifying what they see. Across the room are exclamations of how exciting it is to notice little creatures moving in the dirt, that might have easily been overlooked in the garden. Questions arise, such as: “What is THAT?! Is it some kind of beetle?” Or,“Whoa, this worm is so amazing? What is that part of the worm called?” These questions prompt curiosity to look up things on identification charts, and excitedly sketch them in their journal. This form of student-led inquiry provides children with the autonomy to implement creativity and science learning.
Thursday: Let’s review and revisit our Inky Tree Art! I invite students to share what we experienced each day, since Monday. What trees did we learn about? What creatures did we see around trees, living above and below the soil? It’s time to pull out the Inky Tree Art. I provide field guides for plants, mushrooms, birds, and animals. Colored pencils are passed around to draw on their inky trees, adding the things that they noticed and experienced this week. It is wonderful to see personal connections each student has made to this place through the images they draw. One student drew a cup of stinging nettle tea in a tree branch, as a memory of the tea we made in the garden. Another student drew earthworms in the soil, as a connection to our soil investigation in the wet lab. Birds, mushrooms, deer, moss, and more start to appear on the inky trees. It’s magical to see their learning come to life though art! When it’s time to say goodbye at the bus, I hope their artwork will be a special reminder of this week. They have their inky trees, imagination, and science connections through art, that will stay with them beyond our time together at IslandWood.
Why Creative Arts-Practices in Science Lessons?
I believe creative practices are essential to learning and engagement. Blending art with outdoor science education helps students to build visual connections with the world around them. Through art, students can engage in creative, imaginative processes that allow authentic expression beyond written words. Art-based practices are universal in making the learning experience more inclusive for students who struggle with writing or where language is a barrier. The artwork students create can also be a tangible item they take home, serving as a reminder of what they learned and perhaps building future connections to that experience.
Children from around the Puget Sound area come to the IslandWood Student Overnight Program for a four-day outdoor education program. Being immersed in the forest can be a wonderful experience, but it can also be intimidating being away from home for the first time. I have found that starting my teaching week by taking children on a nature walk helps ground them in their surroundings, followed by an art project as a way to build community and personal connections with the environment. Art practices can be calming activities to help children connect with a new place.
As an outdoor educator in the IslandWood Graduate Program, I often craft lessons combining a nature story and art project. A favorite place on campus that students love is the Bog Tree House. After a solo walk through the Forest Loop, the children meet me in the Bog Tree House. We listen for bird songs, look at bird guides, and take turns reading a book, "The Girl Who Loved to Draw Birds,” by Nova Beck and Mimmi Beck. I love this book because it was written and illustrated by a young girl and her mother, which I mention to the children as inspiration for them to illustrate and write their own books someday too! For the activity, I distribute pencils and paper from a "Grab and Go" nature journaling kit (which includes paper, pencils, and colored pencils). As we take turns reading the story, the children draw birds using the bird guides as reference. They are also welcome to draw birds from memory, or create their own imaginative bird drawing. These drawings may be referenced during the week, as children might recognize a bird on the trail that they drew or from the bird guide. Pairing a nature story with nature journaling can also be done with a focus on mushrooms, ferns, or any particular theme you choose. It is a creative way to set up the learning experience for the week.
For an outdoor evening program, we have taken a walk to Creaky Tree Meadow to look up at the stars. Then we head into the Art Studio, where I read the poem, "We Who Produce Pearls: An Anthem for Asian America” by Johanna Ho. We discuss how stars have guided people through difficult times in history, as well as given dreams to hope for. Then we make glow-in-the-dark constellations representing our own hopes and dreams. This is a way to link culture, history, and science with an art lesson. There are limitless possibilities to combining art across the disciplines.
At IslandWood, the Artist in Residence (AiR) also supports arts-based pedagogy for graduate students in the Education for Environment and Community program. Practicing artists from the Puget Sound area are selected to teach a professional workshop to graduate students, as well as an art workshop with children in the Student Overnight Program. Artist specialties range from poetry, singer/songwriters, dance, paper collage, plein air watercolor painting, tree-ring printing, up-cycled art, and more!
A lesson I was particularly drawn to was Inky Tree Art, inspired by IslandWood Artist in Residence, David Repyak. The supplies are simple to assemble: India ink, Flat paint brushes, Watercolor paper, Pencils, Water in small containers, Ink droppers, Straws. Below is a way that I have adapted the art project as part of a science investigation:
Inky Tree Art as a Science Lesson
Monday: Let’s explore and imagine with a walk through the Art Studio Wild Zone! Some prompts I share, before the children set out to explore: “How do trees grow? Use your body to imitate the direction that a tree is growing around you. Is it straight up like a pencil pointing upward, or are parts of the tree going in different directions? Today we’re going to use our imaginations and some art supplies to create wacky inky trees. We will consider what we know from observations and previous experiences, in painting the tree growth both above and below the ground. Each day of the week, we will learn more about trees, and share our observations with one anther and in our nature journals. Then, on Thursday, we will get to revisit our Inky Trees, and draw the creatures and plants you noticed from your adventures on the trails this week!” We walk to an area in the wild zone, where several Western Red Cedars and Alder trees grow. Children love to crawl over and under fallen trees, climb up on a tree stump, feel the texture of bark, walk along logs, large roots, and hug a tree!
After a few minutes of free exploration, we head into the art studio for the project. We share what we noticed about the tree growth - the wacky, fun directions that branches grow, the varied textures, and crazy root systems that are visible from fallen trees. Then, it’s time to get artsy! I demonstrate how to draw a baseline for the ground, and a general line for where the tree will be centered. An eye dropper is used to ‘paint’ some lines for the tree trunk with India Ink. Using a straw, students blow the ink in different directions, and the wacky tree starts to “grow” branches out in different directions. Below the baseline, the same technique is used to paint the tree roots. Flat brushes are used to paint the soil portion of the artwork. Then we leave the art to dry, and will revisit it on Thursday.
Tuesday: Life above the soil: Tree Identification. What trees do we see? What is growing on the tree, around the tree? What wildlife do we see around trees? The children are given tree identification cards, and assigned to be an “expert” for that tree as we walk the trails. We also learn a song to identify the five main trees that grow at IslandWood. Music, movement, identification cards, and journal observations combine to support students in learning to identify the trees.
Wednesday: What lives under the ground, below the roots of trees? In the garden, we have the opportunity to explore macro invertebrates that live in the soil. Soil from the compost is often rich with earthworms, beetles, and other small creatures. We take a sample of forest soil and garden soil, to compare what creatures live in each environment. Using microscopes to view the macros, students practice nature sketching from observation. Identification charts aid students in identifying what they see. Across the room are exclamations of how exciting it is to notice little creatures moving in the dirt, that might have easily been overlooked in the garden. Questions arise, such as: “What is THAT?! Is it some kind of beetle?” Or,“Whoa, this worm is so amazing? What is that part of the worm called?” These questions prompt curiosity to look up things on identification charts, and excitedly sketch them in their journal. This form of student-led inquiry provides children with the autonomy to implement creativity and science learning.
Thursday: Let’s review and revisit our Inky Tree Art! I invite students to share what we experienced each day, since Monday. What trees did we learn about? What creatures did we see around trees, living above and below the soil? It’s time to pull out the Inky Tree Art. I provide field guides for plants, mushrooms, birds, and animals. Colored pencils are passed around to draw on their inky trees, adding the things that they noticed and experienced this week. It is wonderful to see personal connections each student has made to this place through the images they draw. One student drew a cup of stinging nettle tea in a tree branch, as a memory of the tea we made in the garden. Another student drew earthworms in the soil, as a connection to our soil investigation in the wet lab. Birds, mushrooms, deer, moss, and more start to appear on the inky trees. It’s magical to see their learning come to life though art! When it’s time to say goodbye at the bus, I hope their artwork will be a special reminder of this week. They have their inky trees, imagination, and science connections through art, that will stay with them beyond our time together at IslandWood.
