Beyond the Classroom Walls

Saturday our class ventured outside the classroom to explore the outdoors. For a little while I have been interested in the connection youth have to the outdoor environment, and how children seem to be spending less and less time exploring and playing outside. I have read several articles on the benefit of spending time outside, and wanted to explore how I could help children become better connected to the environment through art. The class was a little hectic and it took awhile getting ready to go outside. I was a little nervous taking the students outdoors where they would not be contained by the classroom walls, and running the risk of loosing a student! However, with all children accounted for at the end of the day, the risks Alice, Amanda and I took were well worth it. Not only did the students learn about butterfly habitat and being 'good neighbors' to other inhabitants of the earth, they also had the opportunity to take advantage of nature (in a positive way for both people and the environment!) to play and explore. The creativity and enjoyment the students showed during class proved to me that art and ecology can successfully join together, and help students build a better connection with nature. One student even took initiative to build a third, smaller habitat sculpture in which she and other students created a home for the butterflies that even incorporated interior decoration. Visit our blog about the project: http://ecobasedarted.wordpress.com/