Recently went camping with my son's class trip, and was determined to do a little bit of painting while in the beautiful mountains of Virginia. In addition to the more typical activities that the class did while camping such as canoeing, caving, cooking and playing frisbee, I lead the class in a sketching from nature session. I pointed out to the group of 7th graders the idea that they'll remember some of the visuals of the trip if they take the time to really study the details in drawing it that one doesn't necessarily get by taking photos. It was interesting in reviewing the drawings afterward that each artist chose different areas of the same landscape to draw as well as the far range of styles that emerged in using the same materials.
Also, adding one of my favorite visuals from the trip, the cooking of the shoes ritual that took place after the creek walk where we did our part to clean up the park, picking up trash and recyclables that had found there way into the creek and adjoining banks. Was thrilled to see the enthusiasm that these kids showed in cleaning up the area, and the teamwork they employed in getting trashbags that were overfilled back to base.
