TeachingSpace

Wee Green Artists

Source:

Wee Green Fingers Fun Pack (SNH)

OBJECTIVE

To make pictures out of leaves, twigs, stems, flowers, fruits and stones

Time

30 minutes or longer

You will need

flowers, stems, tree seeds, berries etc which are safe to play with and can be gathered by the children camera (optional)

Before the activity

Find a warm dry place where the children can be outside and have access to natural, safe materials that they can gather. If it is too windy or wet to make pictures outside, go for a foraging walk to find materials. Alternatively ask the children and parents to go on a foraging walk at home and to bring in materials like chive heads, maple and sycamore seeds, rush stems, autumn leaves etc. Do the activity outside in the playground so that the art work can be made in any chosen spot or as big or small as the children want. After a windy night is a good time to gather fresh materials blown from trees like little twigs, leaves, seeds, fruits and lichens.

The activity

Show the children how to make a dragonfly from natural objects, or get them to help you make leaf circles to make a fiery comet or a sun. See the wee green artist’s card in the ‘Wee green fingers fun pack’ (see downloads, below) for illustrations of examples. Once you have got them started, see what ideas they can come up with for making insects, birds, fish or patterns - all kinds of creations! Take a photo of the artistic creations and then re-use materials for another picture.

Suggested Follow up

Use water and big brushes to paint a picture on a dry playground

Try the activity Earth Pictures in this section

Downloads