A recent December morning, Chewonki Foundation visited the art room at Wiscasset Elementary School with both live animals and a collection of items from nature. Students in fourth and fifth grades moved through four stations drawing and painting from observation. They were encouraged to draw what they saw. They learned that observational drawing from life can teach them a lot of new skills, like patience and acceptance when the animal moves, and that drawing visual textures like fur, feathers and scales can be made to look a lot more realistic when you are drawing from life. Slowing down and quietly using eyes and hands to draw the natural world is such a gift when so much of life is busy and based on technology.

The next day. fourth graders took their monthly trip to Hidden Valley Nature Center. They looked for “planted” litter on their way in and discovered how long each item took to break down. Students talked about alternatives to single-use plastics as they ate their snacks. Once their snacks were tucked away, the students enjoyed meeting up with the tree friends they adopted in September. They observed tracks of animals visiting their trees and noticed the difference in how deciduous and evergreen trees held the weight of snow.

When the students returned to the barn, they delighted in exploring the skulls and pelts of animals native to Maine. They determined what types of food an animal ate based on the types of teeth in the skull. As different pelts were passed around, the students explored the variety of textures and colorings, determining the purposes of each. As the students explored these animal artifacts, they used the skills they had learned the day before during Chewonki’s visit to art class.
Fourth and fifth graders benefited from being able to take time to slow down and look closely, a skill that will serve them well.