The Autumn term brought many beautiful sounds and sights to our garden. The children noticed the growing plants, the tall trees and the colours of the sky. We were curious about the way in which the trees had changed over the summer. We collected the Autumn tree- trimmings from the ground and built nests with them. We wondered why the gardener Paolo would cut down the branches from the trees; “It’s too big!” the children observed.
The garden observations, over the Autumn months, guided the children to develop an awareness of their role in the environment and launched our Unit of Inquiry into “Responsibility” where our central idea was: “Sharing the planet with other living things gives us opportunities to be responsible.” As we spent time playing in the garden, I noticed that the children showed an interest in collecting sticks of various sizes and turning these sticks into homes for insects. In the classroom, we inquired into how fallen branches and trees were used as a safe place for living things such as snails, caterpillars and birds.
After a weekend of windy rainstorms, Imelda brought in a branch she had cut from her own garden tree. The children were interested in its shape and had many theories as to why Imelda had to cut it down. “It is dangerous! Too many birds made it break” (William). We wondered,“Maybe the birds built a nest in the curvy branch?” (Gioia) and, “What happened to the nest and the birds if the branch is gone?” (Ginevra)
We wondered what kind of tree the branch came from. We thought it might be like the trees we found in our garden. Instead, Imelda showed us the pictures of her garden tree. It was very similar to a palm tree! “Like at the beach!” (Edoardo)
Imelda explained that when she cut the branch, she noticed that many other branches on the tree were also bent. She also noticed that birds would perch on the tree and eat its fruit. We wondered what the fruit looked like: “a banana,a coconut!” (Dario). Imelda explained that she noticed birds such as “doves, swallows, and chickadees” would come to sit in her tree and eat its fruit. She told us that the fruit that grows on the tree are “dates”.
Imelda’s tree branch made Reception Rockets wonder what kind of birds live in our garden trees and surrounding the school. We took our binoculars and sat quietly in the Quad and the garden to observe the kinds of birds that flew by. After some time, we noticed the many white birds in the farmfields beyond the school grounds, and the swallows and chickadees in the school garden. “They are grey and look black in the trees!” (Edoardo and Dario). The birdwatching sessions and observations of garden trees gave the children the opportunity to explore our line of inquiry on making connections to the environment as they began to identify “Our responsibilities for our environments.”
Back in the classroom, we reflected on what the birds would need to survive the cold winter months, and we decided to make birdfeeders. We also researched the kinds of local birds that may come to visit us when we we are not at school. Using our skills in observation and research we also understood that birds often come when there is silence and no human interruptions.
Our interest in garden life also inspired the children to make drawings of trees, birds, flowers and to notice the colour of the sky. This connected us to our Unit of Inquiry “How we express ourselves: Symbols, with the central idea: symbols can be used in many ways to express ourselves.”
We collected leaves and sticks, observing them through the microscope and were impressed by the lines and dots these natural objects presented. One morning, I brought out a white canvas and asked “How can we represent life in our garden on the canvas?”
We reflected and decided to start with “We can paint the sky!” (Ginevra). We took out our binoculars again to observe its colours and the shapes of the clouds. We observed:
“It’s blue, almost white.” (Vicky,Dario)
“It’s more like the yellow of the sun!”(Edoardo,Ginevra)
“The clouds are like marshmallows!”(Marco)
To create the variations in the sky, I proposed that we make our own swatches of sky using three primary colours plus white. I invited the children to also use a variety of tools to create their swatch, such as forks, sponges and brushes. This exploration would guide our line of inquiry “How symbols can help us to communicate our thoughts and ideas.” This would be the form that our Art would take.
The children were excited to recreate the colour of the sky as they saw it. “White makes it lighter.”, announced Vicky at her table. As they painted, the children discussed how to keep some parts of the blue in their sky lighter or darker. “If it is too dark (the blue) then it’s like night” reflected Beatriz. “I want to make the “tramonto” she decided, “because it has purple in it!”
It was time to press our swatches onto canvas! As each child came to press his/her swatch, they observed how the colour transferred onto the canvas. “It is not the same colour! It is lighter” we observed. We also noticed we had to press “hard” if we wanted to transfer more colour. The children changed their minds about how to complete their sky halfway through the canvas printing , “We can use the roller, it’ll be faster” Marco suggested. Beatriz added her “Tramonto” on top of the finished blue as she suggested, “Il tramonto you see first, then the blue, before the night” Beatriz was telling a story about the sky, and it inspired us to think about how we would make a story for the birds we saw in our garden.
When the children were pleased, they looked back at the canvas with satisfaction. Our sky was beautiful and complete! Now it was time for the birds to fly through it. Imelda and I re-proposed the branch to the children, asking: “How can we place the branch and where will the birds go?”
“We glue it and then the birds go here(pointing to the branch).” (Dario, Ginevra)
Imelda came back for our next session with the branch tied onto the canvas “Wow! It’s beautiful!” exclaimed the children. I asked “Will the birds fly or sit on our branch?” I offered the children bird stencils to trace. As the children took the stencil of their choice they remarked, “Mine is sitting. Mine is flying!”
The children took great care to trace and choose the colours for their birds. Using the pastels required a great effort in fine motor skills. Intently, they coloured in between the lines, making sure to leave no white spots. After they were finished, I asked the children to reflect on our birdwatching from the few weeks before. I asked the children:
“Your birds are colourful, but how did our birds in the garden look when it was flying or sitting in the tree?”
“It has to be dark!” Ginevra exclaimed.
“Like a shadow” said Edoardo
“Then, does it mean that we have to colour it black?” I asked. There was a silence. The children didn’t know what to say. Until Beatriz said “But I like my colours! I don’t want to colour it black!”
I replied, “Is there a way to make the colours show and still make the bird dark?”
I introduced to the children a “scratching technique” with the use of a toothpick. I showed the children that if I coloured black pastel on top of the colourful paper and scratched it with a toothpick the colour would come through. I added a further thought by saying “You can make the designs of the bird, and that way all the colours will come out, like a rainbow!”
The children were skeptical, but soon realized that the lines they scratched revealed magic rainbows. Designing the patterns on their bird gave a chance for creativity too. Once the children were satisfied, we took our birds to the canvas to hang them.
We admired our birds in the tree and wondered what we should title it. We decided that after our Autumn break we would give it a name. When we returned, it was Ginevra who excitedly told us,“ I went to the museum in London and saw a lot of birds. I found a picture just like the one we made!”
Ginevra’s show and share of her trip to the London museum gave the opportunity for the children to reflect on the many symbols and meanings that museums can have. Ginevra’s perspectives on the art she chose to speak about to us, helped Reception Rockets reflect about their own perspective on artworks in museums and in their very own designs.
It encouraged us to think about our line of inquiry “Reflecting on our symbolic thinking”. Taking out the canvas again, we wondered what the title of our canvas could be. During snack time, we carefully observed the movements and design our artwork held. At my asking “ Which words (Italian or English) do you think of when you see our painting?” The children remarked, influenced by each other’s words:
“Volo di ucelli” William
“Un numero di ucelli” Dario
“Piuma Bella. Volare.” Chloe
“Piuma caduta” Edoardo
“Fiume” Marco
“Cielo meravigliosa” “Flying bird” Ginevra
“Vive” Ilaria
“Ucello” Leonardo
What a wonderful selection of words. I told the children that the title we give an artwork also suggests a story. So, after much discussion,and a vote, we settled on “Flying birds”
As we continued our reflections, I asked the children if they wanted to put their canvas on display so everyone could see. “Like in a museum! Like the one in London!” Ginevra exclaimed. “Yes! Like that!” I said. The children agreed it would be wonderful to have our piece of art in a museum.
In January, I came back with the news that we would be submitting our canvas to the “Biennale del Bambino” in April, at Villa Guidini, in Zero Branco. The children are excited!
THE LEARNING: The transdisciplinary themes that emerged from the observations of a broken tree branch, gave depth and connections for the children as we concurrently explored two Units of Inquiry. The children developed a strong sense of appreciation and respect for their natural surroundings at school. They also showed great creativity, commitment and enthusiasm as collaborators in completing their artwork. They were reflective thinkers and communicators as they thought about the form and perspectives they wanted to portray in their personal piece of art (the bird). The children used not only their fine and gross motor skills throughout the observations of birds, but also their research skills as they interpreted and represented their understandings of how birds move and live in their garden space.
NEXT STEPS: Since our collaborative art, the children are more aware of the living things moving in our garden. Our Next Steps include making our own symbolic stories and how they will be represented graphically. We will also continue our inquiry into “Responsibility”, looking at how our actions affect other living things (including us!)
I am pleased to invite you to our opening ceremony of the “Biennale del Bambino” where “Flying birds” will hang, alongside others, in an exhibition that aims to symbolically represent “Movement and rhythm in Art”.
