Like most of you, our in-person classes have been changed to distance learning and we need to come up with challenges and projects the kids can do on their own at home. The first week I had my students create stuffed animal still lifes or still lifes with objects that were meaningful to them (depending on the grade level). The following week we made found object color wheels, like this one below.
This week it is all about going outside and doing some nature journaling. These are some of the prompts I’ve given different grade levels.
1. Colors of Nature: Take a box of crayons or colored pencils, and your nature journal (or blank pieces of paper) outside. What colors do you see in nature? Match these colors to your crayons. Make swatches of these colors on your page. Create a picture using these colors.
2. Backyard or neighborhood landscape: Take a walk outside to an interesting area of nature. This could be your own backyard or a part of your neighborhood. Sit down with your pencil and crayons/colored pencils and try to capture what you see.
3. Leaves: Do you see any leaves on the trees? Can you find any leaves on the ground? Try to find a leaf on the ground and tape it to your page. Draw it with realistic detail and close observation.
4. Gather more artifacts from nature to tape to your journal- grasses, seadpods, twigs, etc. Create an artwork using these items from nature and your own art supplies.
5. Signs of Spring: Create an artwork with the theme of “Signs of Spring.” Look around outside. What do you see that shows that it is Spring? Can you find any signs of the changing season. Draw a picture that shows what spring means to you.
6. Clouds: Look at the sky and create a page of clouds. Copy the shapes that you see of the clouds in the sky. Use your colors to show the colors of the sky and clouds. What colors do you see? This prompt is from the prompts on this page.
7. Animals and Insects in Nature- Do you see any animals or insects outside now? Draw these creatures in their natural environment.
8. Birds- Use a picture of a bird that you find in a book or online and draw it as realistically as possible. Draw it outside and listen for the sounds of birds.
Thank you for sharing these ideas.
Thank you! These are brilliant ideas, and so easy to do with social distance. My little artist is going to love all of these!