Post contributed by Jocelyne Adkins, Program Director
Spring is so beautiful, with blossoms emerging from tree branches and the earth to paint our landscapes with gorgeous color! Spring color is also fleeting, so we took the opportunity to photograph some early signs of the season on our nature walk today. We also collected blossoms blown from trees (magnolias & maple tree flowers), small fallen branches, stones, dried cracked earth, pinecones, bark, and more! Rolly-pollies and ants were carefully examined, but returned to their homes : )
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| Front: Laila and Joseph; middle: Jackson; back: Andrew and Anika |
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| Andrew, Anika and Joseph observing a rolly-polly |
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| Anika and Joseph |
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| Ornamental pear trees with white blossoms |
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| Daffodils |
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| Pink hyacinth |
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| Left to right: Jackson, Joseph, Andrew, Anika & Laila. Background: magnolia tree blossoms |
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| Yellow forsythia bush |
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| Tulips and groundcover |
Back in the classroom, we selected one or more of our items from
nature to inspire a watercolor painting. It was rewarding and
heart-lifting to see how carefully the children examined their
specimens, noting overall shapes, colors and their variations, and
textures (older students). The completed watercolor illustrations are beautiful renderings of nature and we invite you to take a look below.
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| Jackson |
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| Anika |
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| Leila |
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| Jalen's still life |
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| Isaac |
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| Emory |
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| Ethan |
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| Joseph |
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| Emily |
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| Norah |
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| Anika |
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| Andrew |
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| Jackson |
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| Ethan |
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| Xavier |
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| Jalen |
p.s.
even the small collections of specimens that the students collected in
their buckets had an artful air, so we included them here too : )
