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CURRICULUM AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENT * 2 HOURS * LEVEL 2

Page 9

Earthworks: Art and Nature

Field Trips in Nature

A fantastic option to expose children to the beauty and art in nature is to take a field trip. 
Young children love to get outside and explore, encouraging this with a simple nature art field trip is both fun and engaging. These field trips can be local excursions to the playground or open field.

​It is preferable to choose a location on school property with various natural elements such as trees, grass, sand, flowers, and various foliage. Many schools have areas with nature trails which have downed logs, small streams or large boulders. Even inner city schools and child care facilities have an outdoor playground that can be used for nature exploration.
A child’s environment has been shown to positively or negatively impact their learning and development in many ways (Carrus, Pirchio, Passiatore, Mastandrea, Scopelliti, & Bartoli, 2012). Including exposure to the outdoors is one fundamental component of a successful classroom environment that will tip the scales toward a positive impact. Similarly, the lack of exposure to the outdoors can have a negative effect on children. Educators are often unable to create teachable moments outside because of time constraints. Combining art and nature is a wonderful opportunity to create instruction and benefit the children, while maximizing learning time. 
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A brilliantly engaging and simple art and nature lesson comes in the form of land art. Take the children to a safe outdoor area such as the playground or school field and encourage them to create land art. Land art is a process-focused art activity that includes gathering natural materials to create something of beauty to the artist. This can be as simple as a spiral of stones or the progression of colored leaves. ​
Land artist and author Richard Shilling recommends “open your eyes when out and about and see what you find. Take a closer look at leaves and pebbles and all the interesting things you might find, inspect their colors and shapes and let those things inspire you to make something. That is exactly how I go about things. It’s about feeling the place YOU are in and peeling back the layers of that place, to appreciate it more deeply. That look a child gets in their eyes when they find a crab under a rock – that is what it is all about! If a leaf inspires you to make something then great, but if not, no matter. It is the opening of your eyes, ears and heart, the exploring that is important.”