On May 9, I was part of Moharimet Elementary School's culminating day for their "Year of the Forest". Each year they take on a theme that connects to classroom projects, on going curricula, and field trips. This year, they stayed close to home- the school is located in a beautiful forest area, next door to park land, and they even have a sugar shack on school grounds!
May 9 was filled with all kinds of activities including visits from nature center staff, Smokey the Bear, and my "Making Art in Nature" program.
We were lucky to have a beautiful day and my program took place on the school's nature trail. We began each group's experience with brainstorming what creatures live on or near their trail, and might visit artworks the students build. Many students had brought collections of natural materials from home or outside school- favorite rocks, shells, pine cones, etc. Students then worked in teams, collaborating on locating sites and designing their works, creating dozens of beautiful natural sculptures.
