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5 Montessori Rocks and Minerals Art Lessons

This blog post is a part of a three-month series: Montessori Art in the Natural World: Kids Nature Journal Color Lessons. This series is about growing kids’ knowledge about the natural world by taking them outside their home or classroom and challenging them to create focused art, based on the nature around them. Every aspect of nature—seasons, layers of the earth’s soil, energy, rocks and minerals, fossils, landforms, water, flora, fauna, the atmosphere—can all be represented and expressed through art lessons. These Montessori rocks and minerals art lessons encourage your students to use natural rocks in their art projects and learn more about nature, rocks, and our world’s lands!

5 Montessori Rocks and Minerals Art Lessons

The natural rock cycle can be an interesting topic for Montessori students to learn; when you bring ideas from the Coming of the Universe and the Earth Great Lessons and combine them with rock art lessons—your students will really become engaged! You might even see them paying more attention to and investigating rock formations in the natural world.

It doesn’t matter what grade level you are teaching, rock art lessons can be fun for all Montessori students. I often work with rocks in my art studio and art programing classes, and have done many of these activities with children of all ages—sometimes even adults! You can use these art lessons to help introduce subjects like igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, metamorphic rocks, or fossils; you can even use these rock art activities to help build fine-motor skills for early childhood students through rock arranging.

Here are five different ways to integrate art making with rock lessons in all areas of visual arts.

Montessori Rocks and Minerals Art Lessons:

  1. Rock painting
  2. Natural art arrangements
  3. Designing biomes
  4. Sketching rocks
  5. Making pigments from rocks 

Sticks n' Stones, Painting Art Projects For Kids

Painting on Rocks

Rock painting with acrylic paint is one of my all-time favorite art projects and kids love it too! This lesson can teach so many skills, such as brushstrokes, color mixing, creating textures, and making lines. Rocks are a wonderful surface to use as a canvas, plus, they’re 100% sustainable and can be found in any environment.

5 Montessori Rocks and Minerals Art Lessons

Natural Art Rock Arrangements

Arranging rocks into concentric designs is a fun way to teach kids about balance and develop their concentration skills. It also gets kids outdoors and sparks discussions about different types of rocks and how to select specimens for arrangements. With these types of Montessori rocks and minerals art lessons, I try to focus on collecting, sorting, and organizing the natural objects. While kids are organizing and arranging, they’ll also learn about key art elements like symmetry and balance. 

Designing Biomes with Rocks

Letting children design their own biomes with rocks they’ve collected is a great way to teach them about diverse natural biomes. You can even teach students about the Coming of Human Beings, and how humans have migrated to and from different biomes throughout history. There are many biomes children can design using rocks: rivers, mountains, caves, savannahs, and forests, etc.

5 Montessori Rocks and Minerals Art Lessons, spramani elaun art teacher

Sketching Rocks Shadows

Drawing is an important skill all students—especially at elementary ages—should have. I often use rocks to teach 3-D perspectives, identifying color value, and how to create shadows in drawings and paintings. Rocks can usually be found in every type of outdoor landscape and can be captured in outdoor nature journal sketching. Start this activity by collecting rocks locally; then you can have students make sketch marks in the shapes of the rocks they’re observing. The next step would be to have your students observe how light placement (like the sun in the sky) casts shadows, and have them include the shadows in their sketches.

5 Montessori Rocks and Minerals Art Lessons, art teacher spramani

Making Pigments from Rocks  and Minerals

Explaining to students how natural pigments can be made from minerals and rocks is a wonderful way to teach them to observe color in nature and connect how art and colors are made. Natural dyes and pigments can come from a wide variety of nature objects, including rocks! One of simplest ways to teach kids about rock composition is to have them make paint  from grounded rock minerals; for details and instructions on how to do this, check out this blog:

How to Make Paint, Inks & Dyes from Nature

Where to Start: Setting Up a Rock Painting Table

Again, painting rocks is one of my favorite activities to do with Montessori kids! The activity itself allows kids to be independent and creative, and the finished project is just so fun and colorful! It’s very simple to do, the majority of “work” just involves setting up a space for students to work.

You will need:

5 Montessori Rocks and Minerals Art Lessons

How to do it:

  1. Wash rocks in water and wipe clean (this ensures the paint sticks); completely dry rocks before painting
  2. Prepare and fill a palette with a variety of paint colors
  3. Set out paint brushes (a variety of brush sizes allows kids to create whatever brush stroke they desire)
  4. Paint one layer of color at a time; set aside to dry before painting the next color
  5. Once students finish their desired image, set rocks out to dry; rocks dry best when left in direct sunlight

One Step Further: Montessori Nature Activity Outdoor Journal Checklist

Here’s a bonus nature art activity for you! While your students are out collecting rocks outside, have them take out their nature journals and record their observations. (For information and instructions on how to create a nature art journal, click here.) 

Nature journaling is a relatively independent activity, but you should still guide your students to make sure they’re following scientific principles and standards. This Nature Journal Checklist will help you make sure your students are including data that helps them implement both scientific and artistic principles during their expedition.

To download the checklist for FREE, click here.

Print it out or save it on your phone so you have it with you the next time you lead your students outside to journal or collect nature objects for crafting.

A Short Cut Just for You: Buy Painting Step-by-Step Curriculum

spramani elaun paint curriculum for kids

One of the reasons I really like painting on rocks is because it opens up a whole world of painting for kids. A rock is such an interesting and unique canvas; once they start painting there, they’ll want to learn even more techniques. Before kids explore all the different ways to paint, it’s important that they learn proper paint brush and brushstroke techniques to help them develop their painting skills.

My Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum has 57 master lessons that take kids from setting up a paint station and holding a brush all the way to creating beautiful nature landscapes and painting different types of animals! Each lesson is featured as part of a sequence and includes all the information—materials, demonstration technique, and direct and indirect aims—you need to properly present the activity to your students.

To purchase the curriculum, click here.

arts and craft book by Spramani Elaun

Spramani’s Books

Teach children visual arts

Art Book Shop

Curriculum For Children

Get step-by-step art curriculum to teach visual arts. Check out our 4 art curriculums:
Painting
Drawing
Color Theory
Clay Modeling

Buy Art Curriculum

All rights reserved © 2024, Nature of Art®

No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreign language without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.

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Drawing and Painting Water | Montessori Art Activities

This blog post is a part of a three-month series: Montessori Art in the Natural World: Kids Nature Journal Color Lessons. This series is about growing kids’ knowledge about the natural world by taking them outside their home or classroom and challenging them to create focused art, based on the nature around them. Every aspect of nature—seasons, layers of the earth’s soil, energy, rocks and minerals, fossils, landforms, water, flora, fauna, the atmosphere—can all be represented and expressed through art lessons. The water texture art techniques in this blog will help your students learn how to paint water to use in their nature art projects. Drawing and painting water is an excellent way to teach students more about nature and our world’s waters!

painting water

With 71 percent of the earth’s surface being covered with water, chances are, your kids will encounter drawing or painting some kind of water feature in their artworks or biome field notes. Luckily, there are a ton of water texture techniques that can be explored for learning about our ocean salt water, fresh water, frozen ice formations, and water within our atmosphere. Focusing on our planet’s natural water systems is also a great way to connect them to nature! Another fun way to engage students in studying zoology is to draw or paint whales, sharks, rainbow fish, crocodiles, eels, and algae in the water they live in. 

Teaching students a unique way to express water images will make learning about the science aspects of lessons a lot more fun. Drawing and painting water textures open up childrens’ curiosities and will lead to interesting and enriching conversations within your Montessori classroom.

Fun Water Art Learning Prompts:

You can continue to guide your students’ interests and curiosities by exploring the questions:

  • Why is the ocean blue?
  • Why do some parts of the ocean (or large lakes) look darker or lighter? (This is also a great question to help them explore color values and color tones!)
  • What is a coastline?
  • What causes waves in the ocean? Why aren’t there waves in lakes?
  • How much water covers our planet?
  • Why is the largest body of water salty?
  • What kind of animals live in the different depths of the ocean?
  • How do freshwater biomes and saltwater biomes differ?
  • How are sea mammals and fish different?
  • Why is water so important to human life?
  • How can we protect our planet’s water systems?
how we montessori art lessons painting and drawing

Learning About Nature By Painting Water Texture 

Kids learn by connecting information through the process of expressing, which leads to meaningful learning. As a teacher, you can lead students through many engaging water texture art lessons which will help them make their artworks unique and personal. Rather than students slapping down blue paint to represent oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, or streams, they can look closer to the natural patterns found in water and try to replicate the movements and textures in their artworks. 

Water texture drawing or painting can be explored in primary and elementary grades. Younger students will need more hands-on assistance and need to work process-based, giving them more time to discover and explore. Lower and upper elementary children will be able to do the projects completely independently by following demonstrations and steps. There are many techniques to create water texture art with interesting lines and patterns, such as:

  • Crayon wax resist
  • Salt sprinkled over watercolor
  • Bubble wrap
  • Painting yarn to create line textures 

Where to Start: Bubble Wrap Water Painting Montessori Art Activity

Drawing and Painting Water | Montessori Art Activities

There are so many ways to create water texture drawings and paintings, but this technique is one of my favorites! It’s so much fun for kids and easy to do too. (Plus, it helps you recycle any bubble wrap you get from packages!)

One Step Further: Download My Montessori Nature Journal Checklist

how to teach kids montessori art lessons

If you’re lucky enough to live by a body of water you can take your students to, I highly encourage you to have students make and record their observations in their nature journals. (For information and instructions on how to create a nature art journal, click here.) 

montessori arts and crafts, painting and drawing

To download the checklist for FREE, click here.

I created this Outdoor Nature Journal Checklist to help you guide your students in their observations and recordings to make sure they’re following scientific principles and standards. This will help ensure your students are including data that helps them implement both scientific and artistic principles during their expedition. Print it out or save it on your phone so you have it with you the next time you lead your students outside.

montessori painting lessons and curriculum

A Short Cut Just for You

I like painting water texture activities because it opens up a whole world of painting for kids. It shows them how you can paint with tools other than fingers or paintbrushes! However, it’s essential that kids do learn paintbrushes and brushstroke techniques to help them develop their painting skills.

My Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum has 57 master lessons that take kids from setting up a paint station and holding a brush all the way to creating beautiful nature landscapes and painting different types of animals! Each lesson is featured as part of a sequence and includes all the information—materials, demonstration technique, and direct and indirect aims—you need to properly present the activity to your students.

To purchase the curriculum, click here.

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Crafting With Natural Found Objects | Montessori

This blog post is a part of a three-month series: Montessori Art in the Natural World. This series is about growing kids’ knowledge about the natural world by taking them outside their home or classroom and challenging them to create focused art, based on the nature around them. Every aspect of nature—seasons, layers of the earth’s soil, energy, rocks and minerals, fossils, landforms, water, flora, fauna, the atmosphere—can all be represented and expressed through art lessons including, nature crafting and crafting with natural objects.

Crafting With Natural Found Objects | Montessori

Crafting With Natural Objects

There are so many fun ideas and engaging, hands-on ways to teach your Montessori students about nature through crafting with natural objects. It’s a wonderful gateway to introduce and connect kids to the natural world. Also, the outdoors offers an endless selection of natural objects that are just waiting to be found and designed into clever nature crafts. 

These are a few commonly found, natural items that can be used for crafts:

  • Alabaster
  • Corn husks
  • Eggs shells
  • Feathers
  • Flowers
  • Gems
  • Gourds
  • Grasses
  • Leaves
  • Mushrooms
  • Pinecones
  • Rocks
  • Sandstone
  • Seashells
  • Seed pods
  • Twigs
  • Weeds
Crafting With Natural Found Objects | Montessori cultural studies
This is a simple dress similar to what may have been worn by Sacagawea 

History and Natural Found Objects

Crafting with natural objects is a great segway to teach students part of the Coming of Humans Great Lesson!

So much of human history and culture revolves around crafting. Our ancestors used natural found objects for making important tools that helped them survive their day-to-day lives. They would collect stones and bones to use for grinding, scraping, mortars for cooking, and as weapons to protect their villages from attacks and predators. They used stones and seashells in gift-giving. In addition, seeds and feathers were often used in ceremonial activities. These nature crafting activities have been found across all cultures!

Crafting With Natural Found Objects | Montessori

As society evolved, nature crafting evolved into a more leisure activity (although many people still used natural objects for daily tools too). Some nature crafts transcended both uses—being useful everyday items and also relaxing and calming to create! For example, in colonial times, the early settlers would craft candles from natural beeswax, make dolls from grass and reeds, and quilts were sewn together with naturally-woven materials. Crafting with natural objects was a normal event for so many generations. Unfortunately, many kids today have never been introduced to these types of nature crafts.

Many parents ask me the best ways to teach kids about nature and art and I always tell them to start crafting! Making crafts using only objects found in nature is an amazing way to have children slow down and become more present. This connects them not just to nature, but to our past and ancestors as well.

Take a look at ancient clothing and you can see natural objects—like bones, seeds, flowers, feathers, seashells and so much more—fastened and attached throughout the garments. Native American cultures used many objects found in nature to create elaborate headdresses too.

Crafting With Natural Found Objects | Montessori
Crafting With Natural Found Objects | Montessori

Crafting with Natural Objects Helps Develop Fine-Motor Skills

Almost every crafting activity provides kids with excellent opportunities to develop their fine motor skills! Improving these skills is so important for kids to build their independence. Nature crafting activities like collecting (picking up) small natural objects, pasting, sewing, and cutting all require and strengthen fine-motor coordination.

Nature Crafts Can Teach Kids About Nature’s Limited Resources

Another great bonus of crafting with natural found objects is that they can teach kids important ideas and lessons about the limited natural resources of our world. It gives you a chance to teach students that although Mother Nature is plentiful when it comes to resources, today’s climate change and growing industrialism and commercialism mean we have to be diligent in protecting them. So, make sure you emphasize the need to gather the materials they find in nature responsibly. I love these types of crafts because they help our future leaders connect to nature and understand their role in protecting our environment and keeping our ecological systems balanced.

Crafting With Natural Found Objects | Montessori

Where to Start: Crafting With Natural Objects Ideas for Montessori Students

Forging natural items and using them to create heirloom gifts and artworks is a great way for students to receive from all the benefits of crafting with found nature objects. They are learning history, strengthening their fine motor skills, and taking responsibility for our Earth. 

Nature crafting activities for kids may include creating:

  • Baskets
  • Ceremonial bowls
  • Cornhusk dolls
  • Friendship bracelets
  • God’s eye mandalas
  • Lanterns
  • Memory boxes
  • Nature souvenirs boxes
  • Nature tapestries
  • Necklaces and other jewelry
  • Paper crafts, like collages
  • Pottery
  • Sandcastle jars
  • Sandstone sculptures
  • Shell medallions
  • Windchimes
How-to Teach Nature Journaling to Montessori Kids

One Step Further: Montessori Nature Activity Outdoor Journal Checklist

How-to Teach Nature Journaling to Montessori Kids

Here’s a bonus nature art activity for you! While your students are out collecting nature objects for crafting, have them take out their nature journals and record their observations. (For information and instructions on how to create a nature art journal, click here.) 

Nature journaling is a relatively independent activity, but you should still guide your students to make sure they’re following scientific principles and standards. This Nature Journal Checklist will help you make sure your students are including data that helps them implement both scientific and artistic principles during their expedition.

Print it out or save it on your phone so you have it with you the next time you lead your students outside to journal or collect nature objects for crafting.

To download the checklist for FREE, click here.

A Short Cut Just for You: Painting Curriculum For Kids

Along with crafting with natural objects, students can also use their found nature objects in painting lessons! My Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum has 57 master lessons that take kids from setting up a paint station and holding a brush all the way to creating beautiful nature landscapes and painting different types of animals! And, each lesson is featured as part of a sequence and includes all the information—materials, demonstration technique, and direct and indirect aims. So, you can simply follow the instructions and easily present the activity to your students.

Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum sets the foundation for their art education and will help them transform into little artists! To purchase the curriculum, click here.

Sticks n’ Stones, Painting Art Projects For Kids

arts and craft book by Spramani Elaun

Spramani’s Books

Teach children visual arts

Art Book Shop

Curriculum For Children

Get step-by-step art curriculum to teach visual arts. Check out our 4 art curriculums:
Painting
Drawing
Color Theory
Clay Modeling

Buy Art Curriculum

All rights reserved © 2024, Nature of Art®

No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreign language without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.

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How to Make Paint, Inks & Dyes from Nature | Montessori Activities

This blog post is a part of a three-month series: Montessori Art in the Natural World. This series is about growing kids’ knowledge about the natural world by taking them outside their home or classroom and challenging them to create focused art, based on the nature around them. Every aspect of nature—seasons, layers of the earth’s soil, energy, rocks and minerals, fossils, landforms, water, flora, fauna, the atmosphere—can all be represented and expressed through art lessons including, how to make natural pigments.

Using natural elements

One of the greatest ways to connect children to the natural world is to create and make art using natural elements. There are so many fun ideas for teaching kids how to make natural paint, ink, and dye from pigments derived from nature. These Montessori art activities are not only fun for students, but they can be connected to the Great Lessons. In addition, it will inspire so many other avenues of learning.

How to Make Paint, Inks & Dyes from Nature | Montessori Activities

Coming of Humans Great Lesson

The Lascaux Cave

When I first introduce the concept of how to make natural ink, paint, or dye to students, I start by introducing the Coming of Humans Great Lesson. On Sep. 12, 1940, the entrance to the Lascaux Cave (Montignac, France) was discovered. The now-famous cave is covered in more than 600 Palaeolithic cave paintings! These images are primarily of large animals, which were once native to the region. Amazingly, they are estimated to be up to 20,000 years old! Of course, there weren’t any art stores around then, so these ancient artists had to create their own pigment in order to create these works of art.

Using Natural Pigments in Preshistoric Times

Natural pigments have been used since prehistoric times. The earliest record of their use dating all the way back to 5000 BC! Studying the types of pigments these cave artists used can be a great history art lesson. Also, It may inspire your students to experiment with natural pigments on their own!

how to make paint with kids

This lesson leads students into learning more about the natural world and how pigments can be derived from living and non-living materials. The truth is, all color is driven from organic matter and that’s exciting to discover when you’re a kid!

How Pigments Evolved

Over time, the pigmenting process evolved. We went from processing pigments by hand to commercially manufacturing synthetic pigments. And, we now have the luxury of choosing from an infinite number of pigmented color swatches of so many different mediums!

montessori art early childhood

If you want to learn more about how kids can use colors and pigments to create art and strengthen their art literacy, check out my book Kids Color Theory – Contemporary Color Mixing Guide with Pigmented Colorants for Children by clicking here.

I will show you that teaching kids how to make natural paint, ink, or dye can be a rewarding history lesson connected to multiple art activities.

What are pigments?

One of the activities of this lesson has to do with identifying pigments. But, before you can ask your students to find pigments in nature, you have to teach them what a pigment actually is.

Pigments are either mineral or plant-based. Mineral materials are from rocks or clay, and plant-based materials are leaves, flowers, fruits, and vegetables.

Pigment is truly color from nature, extracted from animals, plant tissue, or minerals. It’s natural colors from the natural world! For example, red beets, purple wild berries, green spinach, yellow turmeric, and brown coffee grounds are all natural pigments. Pigments can be extracted from all these things!

The Difference Between Natural Inks, Natural Paints, and Natural Dyes

The difference between colored mediums like ink, paint, and dye comes down to the binders that they’re processed with. Binders can come from plants, animal fat, or man-made synthetic material. A binder is a glue that holds the pigmented color together to lay on a surface.

Each medium is combined with specific binders for masterful artist application.

  • Inks are usually water-based and combined with water.
  • Dyes are usually combined with a mordant to help stain clothes.
  • Paints are combined with a thick binder so it’s able to adhere to a surface like wood or canvas, and may or may not be washable. 

For example, tempera paint can be combined with egg yolks. Dyes can be combined with mordants to stain clothes without washing out. And, inks can be combined with water or safe water-soluble solutions so that they absorb into the paper. 

A binder can also help a pigment be solid and opaque (not letting light through) or light and translucent (where light can be seen through it). So, I recommend that you use a safe water-based binder to teach these principles.

Where to Start: Natural Ink, Paint, and Dye Activities

There are so many activities your students can do with natural inks, paints, and dyes. It goes beyond just making natural pigments and creating with them.

Identify Pigment Sources

I start the conversation by asking students where our ancestors might have found pigments without art stores around. Then, once they collectively come up with ideas, we head outdoors for observation.

Observe Natural Pigments in Nature

Before I teach students how to make natural dye, paint, or ink, I want them to understand where the natural materials that make the pigment come from. I take the students on a nature walk around the schoolyard, backyard, vegetable garden, or food market to observe the color in living and nonliving matter. I have them look for natural colors and materials that may be able to create pigment.

Also, I have them hunt for color sources they may be able to use to make their own pigments. This creates an important connection between nature, science, history, and art. Approaching art through the lens of the natural world is an essential educational lesson. Also, it’s a great opportunity you won’t want to miss presenting to your students each year.

How to Make Paint, Inks & Dyes from Nature | Montessori Activities

Discuss the Importance of Natural Pigments

Over the past twenty years of working with thousands of kids doing arts and crafts, I’ve seen incredible lessons unfold. The common link is that when children work with natural materials, it almost always leads to deep levels of thought and discussions about the planet’s resources and how things are made or manufactured. These conversations then create awareness about sustainability and current environmental issues. 

Read About the Colors of Nature

Sometimes, I’ll help students find inspiration by reading books to them. A beautiful new book I’m currently loving is The Color of Nature by Pat Murphy and Paul Doherty. 

Create a Shelf Display

You can create a lovely shelf display showing the relationship between natural materials (like fruit, vegetables, minerals) and pigments. Another idea is to use the same material, but display it in its natural state, its processed state, and as the finished pigmented medium along with a painted/drawn example (as shown in the photo below).

How to Make Paint, Inks & Dyes from Nature

Make Nature-Based Pigments

One of the simplest ways I teach kids how to make paint, dye, or ink is by creating the pigments from fruits, plants, and locally-sourced colorful foods. Store-bought items can also be substituted to teach these lessons.

Try making your own natural inks, dyes, and paints using one of these methods. You can make ink with beets – blend beets in a blender with water, strain out the flesh, and add a drop of vinegar (natural ink ideas here)

Make paint with beets or kale veggies – blend your chosen veggie in a blender with water, strain out the flesh, add cornstarch if you want a thicker medium (full recipe here)

Make ink from tea – boil water and pour over loose-leaf tea, allow the tea to steep, strain out tea leaves. You can then add cornstarch (or gum arabic) to thicken (watch dye fabric with tea video here)

One Step Further: Download a FREE Color Theory Lesson

Creating a natural ink, paint, or dye in just one single color can lead to many, many art and color theory lessons. I created Kids Color Theory Practice & Process Curriculum to provide more than 30 art sequences to help kids learn more about this essential domain. It lays the foundation for basic contemporary color concepts that lead to more advanced art skills.

In addition, I encourage exploring the color theory domain with your students in more detail, with this FREE lesson. It will help you get started. And, it includes step-by-step instructions and a list of the materials your students need to complete the activity them to create and explore within this lesson will open their eyes and spark their creativity. To download the Color Theory Mixing Lesson, click here.

Colors Montessori Activities

A Short Cut Just for You: Buy Kids Color Theory Curriculum

I further explore the importance of color theory in my book, Kids Color Theory. In the book, I define color theory, share how to teach it to kids, and give tips for gathering the right materials and setting up a Montessori art environment for students. The book also includes 11 color-mixing lessons to help put your new natural inks, dyes, and paints to use!

To purchase Kids Color Theory, click here.

Veggies can make natural safe paint for kids

arts and craft book by Spramani Elaun

Spramani’s Books

Teach children visual arts

Art Book Shop

Curriculum For Children

Get step-by-step art curriculum to teach visual arts. Check out our 4 art curriculums:
Painting
Drawing
Color Theory
Clay Modeling

Buy Art Curriculum

All rights reserved © 2024, Nature of Art®

No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreign language without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.

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Art for Mental Health | Montessori Art

Art therapy—a quickly-growing field that combines psychotherapy with visual art—is a brilliant way to help children (and adults) hone their self expression, develop their self esteem, and create healthy coping mechanisms. As you can imagine, the benefits of art for mental health are great and far reaching.

The American Art Therapy Association defines ‘art therapy’ as creative expression that can overcome the limitations of language. This makes it a huge advantage for young children in particular, who have yet to develop the language skills and understanding to really be able to articulate how they’re feeling emotionally and mentally. 

Art for Mental Health | Montessori Art

In other words, if it’s too difficult or confusing for a child to say aloud or write down, then drawing, painting, sculpting, or crafting can be an outlet for communicating feelings. Many times, emotions that are difficult to say are easier to express through images.

“Artwork can speak volumes for a child, beyond communicating through speech.”

– Spramani Elaun, Nurturing Children in the Visual Arts Naturally

I do want to note that ‘art therapy,’ in its true form, can only be provided by a trained and licensed professional. In this post, my goal is not to give out medical or psychotherapeutic advice, instead, I want to share the ways I’ve seen art—based on my own experience and observations—help children work through their emotional feelings and mental health challenges. Remember, it’s best to follow your schools safety procedures, and report sensitive information to a qualified professional or your admin.

Mental Health Benefits of Art

There are several very general mental health benefits of art. First and foremost, it gives children the chance to process and express their feelings and get into creative flow states. It also allows them to communicate on multiple levels—visually, tactilely, and kinesthetically. Here are a few other ways art can lead to positive mental health experiences.

Opportunities for self-discovery

Creating art in any form can open the floodgates to a child’s emotions and subconscious feelings. As they go through the art making process, they might encounter thoughts, beliefs, or assumptions about themselves or their world, they weren’t aware of before.

Increased self esteem

One reason positive art talk is so important in the classroom and beyond is because it helps build up a child’s self esteem. When a child creates something, they get a feeling of self accomplishment. Being encouraged through the artistic process can help them build up their confidence.

Emotional release

Making art is a healthy outlet for expressing feelings like happiness, sadness, and fear. When a child is unable to express these emotions or thoughts that are swirling in their minds, art can be their release. Without them even realizing, they may work out complex feelings and leave them in their artwork. An emotional release can also bring kids a sense of calm. 

Stress relief

Mental health challenges, like anxiety and depression, can take a physical toll on little ones. It creates acute stress which often has physical repercussions. Using art as a form of stress relief is a healthy way for children to relax—both their minds and bodies. 

Improved mood 

Art making can be an effective way to improve children’s moods. The sensory aspect of creating art is not only calming, but it also stimulates the release of dopamine, which can make a child feel happier. Regular art making can also be used as a coping strategy. 

Where to Start: 3 Art Activities to Boost Mental Health

Art Journaling

Journaling gives students a healthy outlet to express their feelings and work through their emotions. Students can use art journals to document what happened to them that day or week, or artistically express the different feelings or issues they’re experiencing.

[To learn more about how art journals work and for a how-to for making an art journal, read: Montessori Art in the Natural World: Kids Art Journaling, How to Teach Nature Journaling, and Kids Nature Journal Color Lessons.] 

Collaging

Collaging can often be centering and provide a calm space for self-discovery. Encourage children to explore their feelings, thoughts, dreams, and goals and express them using magazines. Have them glue the images that they’re drawn to to pieces of paper. You can also give them colored pencils or soft pastels to further personalize their works. 

Tactile Clay Modeling

Clay modeling can relieve stress because touching clay induces stimulating neural inputs from many of our sensory systems. When children start touching and forming, the actions are considered active learning. The electrical activity stimulated in their brain becomes a different type of action, firing connections and allowing children to focus on their handiwork only. Start with simple clay modeling exercises, and experiment with the many types of clay available for children, such as non-harden, air dry, and pottery clay.

One Step Further: Register for the FREE Combating Stress with Mandalas Workshop

It’s no secret that children are facing more stress than usual in today’s world, so learning to manage stress is even more important; it’s essential to their mental health. Doodling and coloring can have a huge positive impact on children’s stress levels—and creating and coloring mandalas, in particular, can be incredibly helpful.

If you want more artistic tools to help support your students through stressful situations and circumstances, sign up for my free workshop, Combating Stress with Art. I’m partnering with Montessori teacher, Kristen Richter, to talk about the emotional literacy cycle and share therapeutic art activities you can use in your classroom.

To sign up and save your spot for Combating Stress with Art, click here.

A Short Cut Just for You

If you’d like to learn more about all the benefits art offers to children, read my book, Defining Visual Arts. It provides art literacy standards and gives you a guide to what you should be teaching your students. The book also includes tips for using artistic language, choosing the best art mediums, and putting together art projects for kids of different ages.

It’s truly a solid foundation to help you teach art in your classroom (in a way that’s stress-free for you, and exciting and fun for your students!). To purchaseA Defining Visual Arts, click here.

arts and craft book by Spramani Elaun

Spramani’s Books

Teach children visual arts

Art Book Shop

Curriculum For Children

Get step-by-step art curriculum to teach visual arts. Check out our 4 art curriculums:
Painting
Drawing
Color Theory
Clay Modeling

Buy Art Curriculum

All rights reserved © 2024, Nature of Art®

No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreign language without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.

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Kids Nature Journal Color Lessons

This blog post is a part of a three-month series: Montessori Art in the Natural World: Kids Nature Journal Color Lessons. This series is about growing kids’ knowledge about the natural world by taking them outside their home or classroom and challenging them to create focused art, based on the nature around them. Every aspect of nature—seasons, layers of the earth’s soil, energy, rocks and minerals, fossils, landforms, water, flora, fauna, the atmosphere—can all be represented and expressed through art lessons.

Nature Journaling – Part lll

One of the most relaxing and rewarding parts of being in nature is experiencing its colors and beauty. Nature can teach us a lot about the color theory aspects of art and nature journaling, in particular, is a great way to teach Montessori art lessons.

Montessori Art in the Natural World: Kids Nature Journal Color Lessons

As an artist, art teacher, and naturalist, I find color so fascinating! Color inspires kids to gain new knowledge about the natural world. Nature journaling can be an amazing tool to lead outdoor exploration and discovery. Having your kids take their nature journals outdoors can enrich their learning experience and help them make a meaningful connection between science and art. 

Kids nature journaling activities give educators many chances to teach the Elements and Principles of Design while integrating science methods, such as observation. You can actually teach multiple Montessori color lessons using just the basic nature journal materials, a guided outdoor activity, and engaging your students’ imaginations.

Color in Art & Science

Color theory is a foundational area of visual arts studies. Understanding color and color theory is essential to developing art skills. All artists must learn how different colors complement each other; part of this means understanding the principles of the color wheel and creating mixtures of color values and intensities of different hues.

Beyond being an important part of art, color also plays a significant role in science! Did you know that Sir Isaac Newton not only discovered gravity, but he also observed how light bends as it passes through the prism—which was the first step in giving us what we now know as “ROY G BIV!” So, teaching kids about color is both artistically and scientifically important.

[For more details on creating an art journal and its benefits, read: Montessori Art in the Natural World: Kids Art Journaling, Part I]

Journals to Teach Color

Color theory lessons can be easily integrated into nature journaling. Nature journals offer kids the opportunity to investigate and observe color while recording their nature and outdoor observations.

When they’re completing their nature journals, have students describe the colors they observe with written words, and also by choosing specific color mediums (such as crayons, colored pencils, and/or paint) to represent the objects they see. For instance, they might doodle leaves, tree bark, ponds, or the atmosphere, and then assign these observation notes with descriptive color words.

Examples:

  • “The tree had small, bright green leaves growing.” 
  • “The bark on the tree had a cool feeling and looked dark brown.”
  • “A bird with reddish feathers flew by.”
Kids Nature Journal Color Lessons

Where to Start: Simple Nature Journal Color Prompts

It can be overwhelming to think about taking your class outside for an art lesson. Maybe the idea of rounding up your students and keeping them focused on lessons outside the classroom—when all they want to do is climb a tree or jump on fallen leaves—stresses you out. I get it and I’ve been there! Kids have minds of their own and once they’re outdoors, their playful instincts tend to take over. However, getting them to focus on Montessori color lessons can be done. 

Keeping young students’ attention comes down to giving them something specific to focus on while they’re outside. Color can be found in outdoor environments in all different shades, hues, and tones:

  • The colors of a rainbow (ROY G BIV)
  • The natural pigments found in flowers and minerals
  • The iridescent colors of a butterfly wing
  • The color differences in males and females of a species
  • The green tones in different types of tree leaves
Montessori Art in the Natural World: Kids Nature Journal Color Lessons

Color even plays a role in the survival of particular organisms in certain biomes! There are amazing teaching opportunities to point out how color is represented in the natural environment and different ecosystems. These kinds of observations can lead to fun and insightful scientific discussions in your classroom! Observing nature and recording natural color values are great ways to integrate science and art.  

Color Lesson Ideas

  • Warm and cool colors
  • Colors in plants
  • Colors of wildflowers
  • Colors in different species
  • Colored chemicals
  • Wavelengths of light
  • Pigments in rocks and minerals
  • Color adaptation in different species
  • How chlorophyll makes plants appear green
  • What causes the sky to appear blue

[To learn more about how to get your students started with a kids nature journal, read: Montessori Art in the Natural World: How to Teach Nature Journaling, Nature Journaling Part II]

One Step Further:

Using the prompts above will help give your students focus and purpose while they’re outdoors. While I focused on the importance of including color observations when students are recording in their nature journals, to make it a true scientific activity, students should include other datum and information as well.

Kids Nature Journal Color Lessons

This Outdoor Journal Checklist will help you guide your students and keep them on track to make sure they’re implementing both scientific and artistic principles during their expedition. You can print it out or save it on your phone so you have it with you the next time you lead your students outside to journal.

A Short Cut Just for You

I think nature journaling is the perfect way to introduce art to Montessori students, since it relies so heavily on natural and scientific observations. It opens to the door for so many more interesting art projects!

If you know that you want to bring art into your classroom but aren’t sure how to do it, check out my Theming Art & The Natural World

Art Creation as a Way to Understand the Natural World

arts and craft book by Spramani Elaun

Spramani’s Books

Teach children visual arts

Art Book Shop

Curriculum For Children

Get step-by-step art curriculum to teach visual arts. Check out our 4 art curriculums:
Painting
Drawing
Color Theory
Clay Modeling

Buy Art Curriculum

All rights reserved © 2024, Nature of Art®

No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreign language without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.

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Outdoor Nature Journaling | Montessori Kids

This blog post is a part of a three-month series: Montessori Art in the Natural World. Observing and drawing inspiration from nature is an important way to connect children with the structures and elements of the natural world around them. Pairing art with a Montessori nature activity can teach kids about the Coming of the Universe and Earth and the Coming of Life in a very meaningful way.

Outdoor Nature Journaling | Montessori Kids

Part 2. – Outdoor Nature Journaling

This series is about growing kids’ knowledge about the natural world by taking them outside their home or classroom and challenging them to create focused art, based on the nature around them. Every aspect of nature—seasons, layers of the earth’s soil, energy, rocks and minerals, fossils, landforms, water, flora, fauna, the atmosphere, different biomes, and even the building blocks of universal mitochondria—can all be represented and expressed through art.

Nature journaling is a tool scientists and explorers use to record important field notes and observations. It can also serve as a way to record history. Sometimes we can’t disturb nature, but we can record the experience by carefully observing and taking specific notes. Students can improve their critical-thinking skills through nature journaling.

Nature journals are unique to each individual owner; they’re composed of what inspires the artist, or in this case, student. Usually, nature journals are a variety of artistic expressions based on the natural objects students see outdoors, including:

  • Observation notes
  • Descriptions of experiences
  • Simple diagrams 
  • Simple sketches

Benefits of Outdoor Nature Journaling

Keeping a nature journal strengthens students’ observational skills. For instance, when a child knows they’ll have to draw or record specific characteristics of the natural world, they’ll put care into taking a closer look at their subjects as well as noticing and memorizing details.

Outdoor nature journaling is specifically suited for teaching Montessori students about biomes. It requires students to focus on, analyze, and record different parts of a biome. Each page can be dedicated to a different part of the biome. Montessori nature activities like art journaling can help students become naturalists who are more aware of and feel more responsible for their ecological footprints on earth.

[For more details on creating an art journal and its benefits, read: Montessori Art in the Natural World: Kids Art Journaling, Part I]

How-to Teach Montessori Kids Nature Journaling

Where to Start: Outdoor Nature Journaling

You don’t need very many materials to start outdoor nature journaling; it requires the same basic items you’d need to start general art journaling. For more information on the benefits of art journaling, and how to create an art/nature journal with your students, read last week’s post by clicking here. 

Once your students have a journal to work with, the next step is going outside; they can head out to the schoolyard, their backyards, or even a park or nature trail, depending on when and where they’re completing this Montessori nature activity. Instead of letting them wander, ask them to focus on and sketch one object for 5 to 8 minutes (this helps sharpen their observation skills). Then direct them to move on to another object and time them again. Once they’ve observed and drawn a few different specimens, head back into the classroom.

Before I take my students outside, I always remind them that they may only get a few minutes or even seconds to observe a specimen (especially animals and insects), so it’s important to observe and record details quickly. This will help them look up the correct information and do more research later; knowing how to observe and take notes can help put the pieces of the puzzle together once they’re back inside the classroom and can clean up their drawings.

It’s important to teach your students that nature journaling is about recording details—not creating perfect drawings. The key is to collect enough information quickly in pencil, with detailed observational notes. After they’re done observing and doing additional research, they can update their field notes and finalize their drawings with more details, colors, and descriptions. 

Naturalists, botanists, and book illustrators (artists) use this same observation and drawing techniques; they go outdoors to observe, and collect and record information, then, at a later time, they finish their journal pages with detailed sketches in color pencil or watercolor paint. They also fill in the gaps by doing further reading and research.

Outdoor Nature Journaling Prompts

While I encourage you to do a few “trial runs,” and give your students the freedom to observe and record whatever interests them, eventually you want them to complete and create more focused nature observations.

Every time students go out to fill in their nature journals, I ask them to record:

  • The date
  • The start and end time of their observations 
  • The location where they’re observing
  • The atmosphere (dry, humid, etc.) and temperature
  • A description of the outside landscape
  • How they were feeling that day

You can also ask them to make observations using their sensory system. Ask them to record the answers to these questions:

  • What do you smell?
  • What do you hear?
  • What do you see?
  • How do things feel to the touch?

Other prompt ideas:

  • Recording a species, include:
    • General name of species
    • Size
    • Color
    • Unique features
    • Describe their actions
    • Any noticeable patterns or textures
  • Observe the seasons 
  • Observe feelings and experiences
  • Observe interesting non-living objects
  • Observe plants
  • Observe states of matter
  • Observe local micro-biomes 
  • Observe things in the sky, things in the grass, and/or things in the water

One Step Further:

Outdoor Nature Journaling | Montessori Kids

Now that your students are ready to head outside with their nature journals, I want you to be prepared too! While nature journaling is a pretty independent activity, there are ways—besides just sharing the above prompts—that you can help guide them. This Outdoor Journal Checklist will make sure you have everything you need to keep your students on track and ensure they’re implementing both scientific and artistic principles during their expedition.

You can print it out or save it on your phone so you have it with you the next time you lead your students outside to journal.

To download the checklist for FREE, click here.

Outdoor Nature Journaling | Montessori Kids

Video Training
How-to Theme Art & The Natural World

About this training

Grow your child’s knowledge about the natural world by taking them outside and challenging them to create focused art based on the nature around them.

Every aspect of nature—seasons, layers of the earth’s soil, energy, rocks and minerals, fossils, landforms, water, flora, fauna, the atmosphere—can all be represented and expressed through art lessons.

3 videos to watch

  • Inspire your child’s creative thinking
  • Make art connections with science topics
  • Book resources list download

To purchase the Theme Art & The Natural World, click here.

The Value of Art Journaling for Kids, Montessori Activities
How to Make Paint, Inks & Dyes from Nature | Montessori Activities

arts and craft book by Spramani Elaun

Spramani’s Books

Teach children visual arts

Art Book Shop

Curriculum For Children

Get step-by-step art curriculum to teach visual arts. Check out our 4 art curriculums:
Painting
Drawing
Color Theory
Clay Modeling

Buy Art Curriculum

All rights reserved © 2024, Nature of Art®

No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreign language without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.

Posted on

Montessori Art in the Natural World: How to Teach Nature Journaling

This blog post is a part of a three-month series: Montessori Art in the Natural World: How to Teach Nature Journaling. This series is about growing kids’ knowledge about the natural world by taking them outside their home or classroom and challenging them to create focused art, based on the nature around them. Every aspect of nature—seasons, layers of the earth’s soil, energy, rocks and minerals, fossils, landforms, water, flora, fauna, the atmosphere—can all be represented and expressed through art lessons.

Nature Journaling – Part II

Nature journaling is a tool scientists and explorers use to record important field notes and observations. It can also serve as a way to record history. Sometimes we can’t disturb nature, but we can record the experience by carefully observing and taking specific notes. Students can improve their critical-thinking skills through nature journaling.

How-to Teach Nature Journaling to Montessori Kids

Nature journals are unique to each individual owner; they’re composed of what inspires the artist, or in this case, student. Usually, nature journals are a variety of artistic expressions based on the natural objects students see outdoors, including:

  • Observation notes
  • Descriptions of experiences
  • Simple diagrams 
  • Simple sketches

Benefits of Nature Journaling

Keeping a nature journal strengthens students’ observational skills. For instance, when a child knows they’ll have to draw or record specific characteristics of the natural world, they’ll put care into taking a closer look at their subjects as well as noticing and memorizing details.

Nature art journaling is specifically suited for teaching Montessori students about biomes. It requires students to focus on, analyze, and record different parts of a biome. Each page can be dedicated to a different part of the biome. Montessori nature activities like art journaling can help students become naturalists who are more aware of and feel more responsible for their ecological footprints on earth.

[For more details on creating an art journal and its benefits, read: Montessori Art in the Natural World: Kids Art Journaling, Part I]

Montessori Art in the Natural World: Kids Art Journaling

Where to Start: Teaching Nature Journaling

You don’t need very many materials to start nature journaling; it requires the same basic items you’d need to start general art journaling. For more information on the benefits of art journaling, and how to create an art/nature journal with your students, read last week’s post by clicking here. 

Once your students have a journal to work with, the next step is going outside; they can head out to the schoolyard, their backyards, or even a park or nature trail, depending on when and where they’re completing this Montessori nature activity. Instead of letting them wander, ask them to focus on and sketch one object for 5 to 8 minutes (this helps sharpen their observation skills). Then direct them to move on to another object and time them again. Once they’ve observed and drawn a few different specimens, head back into the classroom.

Before I take my students outside, I always remind them that they may only get a few minutes or even seconds to observe a specimen (especially animals and insects), so it’s important to observe and record details quickly. This will help them look up the correct information and do more research later; knowing how to observe and take notes can help put the pieces of the puzzle together once they’re back inside the classroom and can clean up their drawings.

It’s important to teach your students that nature journaling is about recording details—not creating perfect drawings. The key is to collect enough information quickly in pencil, with detailed observational notes. After they’re done observing and doing additional research, they can update their field notes and finalize their drawings with more details, colors, and descriptions. 

Naturalists, botanists, and book illustrators (artists) use this same observation and drawing techniques; they go outdoors to observe, and collect and record information, then, at a later time, they finish their journal pages with detailed sketches in color pencil or watercolor paint. They also fill in the gaps by doing further reading and research.

Montessori Nature Activity Journal Prompts

While I encourage you to do a few “trial runs,” and give your students the freedom to observe and record whatever interests them, eventually you want them to complete and create more focused nature observations.

Every time students go out to fill in their nature journals, I ask them to record:

  • The date
  • The start and end time of their observations 
  • The location where they’re observing
  • The atmosphere (dry, humid, etc.) and temperature
  • A description of the outside landscape
  • How they were feeling that day

You can also ask them to make observations using their sensory system. Ask them to record the answers to these questions:

  • What do you smell?
  • What do you hear?
  • What do you see?
  • How do things feel to the touch?

Other prompt ideas:

  • Recording a species, include:
    • General name of species
    • Size
    • Color
    • Unique features
    • Describe their actions
    • Any noticeable patterns or textures
  • Observe the seasons 
  • Observe feelings and experiences
  • Observe interesting non-living objects
  • Observe plants
  • Observe states of matter
  • Observe local micro-biomes 
  • Observe things in the sky, things in the grass, and/or things in the water

One Step Further:

How-to Teach Nature Journaling to Montessori Kids

Now that your students are ready to head outside with their nature journals, I want you to be prepared too! While nature journaling is a pretty independent activity, there are ways—besides just sharing the above prompts—that you can help guide them. This Outdoor Journal Checklist will make sure you have everything you need to keep your students on track and ensure they’re implementing both scientific and artistic principles during their expedition.

How-to Teach Nature Journaling to Montessori Kids

You can print it out or save it on your phone so you have it with you the next time you lead your students outside to journal.

To download the checklist for FREE, click here.

A Short Cut Just for You

I think nature journaling is the perfect way to introduce art to Montessori students, since it relies so heavily on natural and scientific observations. It opens to the door for so many more interesting art projects!

If you know that you want to bring art into your classroom but aren’t sure how to do it, check out my Theming Art & The Natural World

Art Creation as a Way to Understand the Natural World

arts and craft book by Spramani Elaun

Spramani’s Books

Teach children visual arts

Art Book Shop

Curriculum For Children

Get step-by-step art curriculum to teach visual arts. Check out our 4 art curriculums:
Painting
Drawing
Color Theory
Clay Modeling

Buy Art Curriculum

All rights reserved © 2024, Nature of Art®

No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreign language without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.

Posted on

Montessori Art in the Natural World: Kids Art Journaling

Montessori Art in the Natural World: Kids Art Journaling

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, I’m excited to kick off a three-month blog series: Montessori Art in the Natural World! This blog post is a part of a three-month series: Montessori Art in the Natural World. This series is about growing kids’ knowledge about the natural world by taking them outside their home or classroom and challenging them to create focused art, based on the nature around them. Every aspect of nature—seasons, layers of the earth’s soil, energy, rocks and minerals, fossils, landforms, water, flora, fauna, the atmosphere—can all be represented and expressed through art lessons.

Montessori Art in the Natural World: Kids Art Journaling

The first part of this series—Kids Art Journaling, Part I—starts with explaining how one of the best ways to observe and record nature is through kids art journaling. Art journals can promote scientific exploration, support writing, allow for freedom of expression through creative artistic techniques. They also help students understand the elements and principles of design and the artistic process.

So let’s start with the basics.

Montessori Kids Art Journaling

What is art journaling?

Art journaling is a way of recording observations, ideas, learned topics, emotions, and self expression through illustrations, doodles, painted images, and collages, using a variety of art mediums. These artistic works are created and arranged in an art journal—a binded book of blank pages; art journals can vary in size and are similar to a self-reflective written diary.

For educators, art journaling can be an extension to other lessons you present. It can give students the chance to reflect on other subjects through an artistic lens, which can help them gain a deeper understanding of what they’ve learned.

It’s most important to note that art journaling can be done in any fashion, there’s no right or wrong way to create an art journal. The owner of the art journal is the curator of its life.

“If kids reflect on their days, they will become better problem-solvers of life.”
― Trevor Carss, author

What do my students need to start art journaling?

You really don’t need much for kids art journaling. The basic materials are simple: kids just need a blank paper, pencil, and eraser to start. You can then transition them into using more colorful mediums, such as crayons and colored pencils, and eventually paint and collage materials. The idea is to mix up the mediums students have access to; offering different materials to create with helps their brains make new connections to the concepts and subjects they’re learning.

If you want more information about how to create an art journal, read this post: The Value of Art Journaling for Kids, Montessori Activities

Montessori Art in the Natural World

How are art journals used for Montessori nature activities?

Integrating the study of the natural world into art journaling can give children their own unique learning experience. Art journaling provides a dynamic spatial intellectual understanding that is wired by their sensory inputs through critical observations, notations, writing skills, and storytelling.

Montessori Art, Natural World: Kids Art Journaling, activities

Where to Start: Head Outdoors for Montessori Nature Activities

Bounded art journals are really exciting for kids! They love having a special place where they can keep all their artwork, thoughts, and observations! BUT, you don’t have to have or do anything fancy to start with—truly, the first step to nature art journaling is to go outside!

Set aside some time for your students to head outdoors and just observe the natural world around them. It can be a backyard, school yard, garden, local park, local trail, or even a city street, so long as there are aspects of nature for them to see. Going outside is even more essential these days, since kids spend so much time in front of screens. Spending just a few minutes outside each day is so important for helping children connect with nature!

how to teach montessori art activities

One Step Further: Watch My FREE Mini Course

So many teachers want to teach their Montessori students art, but they don’t know where to start. They’re not sure what their students are capable of, how to present lessons, or even what items to make available. That’s why I love art journaling—it makes art open-ended and easily accessible (to students and teachers). 

Teaching students art doesn’t need to be intimidating though. Understanding how students learn art makes it easier for you to teach them and help them develop their skills. If you would like to learn more how to nurture children in the visual arts, now’s your chance! Register for my FREE mini digital course, Phases of Art Development. You’ll learn how art making can help students develop their creativity, fine-motor skills, and focus. More importantly, I share what types of projects students at every age are capable of completing safely, and without making a mess.

Best of all—it’s free! To sign up for the course, click here.

A Short Cut Just for You

early childhoood montessori art

I’ve created a ton of resources on how to bring both nature and art into your classroom; if you’re unsure of where to start and want a guide to help you introduce art to your Montessori students, I’d recommend my books: Early Childhood Art: Visual Arts Teaching Guide and Introducing Visual Arts to the Montessori Classroom.

Together, they provide everything you need to know to be able to teach your own Montessori students about art. They’re filled with tips and tricks for setting up an art environment, using proper art materials and mediums, and planning age-level-appropriate art lessons.

how to teach kids montessori art lessons

I know the value of art in the Montessori classroom, especially when it embraces and celebrates nature!

Click here to get your copy of my Early Childhood Art guide!

And click here to get Introducing Visual Arts to The Montessori Classrooms as a digital copy or paperback.

arts and craft book by Spramani Elaun

Spramani’s Books

Teach children visual arts

Art Book Shop

Curriculum For Children

Get step-by-step art curriculum to teach visual arts. Check out our 4 art curriculums:
Painting
Drawing
Color Theory
Clay Modeling

Buy Art Curriculum

All rights reserved © 2024, Nature of Art®

No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreign language without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.

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Montessori Art: Mandala Activity for Stress Relief

Montessori Art: Mandala Activity for Stress Relief

Mandalas are a geometric design pattern that offer several mental and emotional benefits. Mandala, which means “circle” in Sanskrit, is a sacred symbol that is used for meditation, prayer, healing, relaxation, and art therapy for both adults and children—especially when used in a Montessori art mandala activity.

In Hindu and Buddhist cultures, the circular design of mandalas represents the idea that everything in life is connected and the infiniteness of the universe.  Mandalas can also symbolize a personal spiritual journey for each individual viewer.

While there are several types of mandalas, the three most common are: the teaching, healing, and sand mandalas.

  • Each shape, line, and color in a teaching mandala represents different aspects of Buddhism. Monks learn to create these mandalas during their monastic education.
  • A healing mandala is an intuitive design made for the purposes of meditation, focus, and concentration.
  • Sand mandalas are unique in that both their creation and destruction have symbolic meanings. Multi-colored sand is placed in concentric circles, working from the outer part of the design to the center.
Montessori Art: Mandala Activity

Many clinical studies have shown that mandalas can be used to boost the immune system, reduce stress, ease depression, alleviate pain, lower blood pressure and promote healthy sleep.

Designing and coloring mandalas can help your students (or you) focus their attention. That’s why they’re a great exercise for helping kids calm down when they’re stressed. Here are some other benefits of mandalas:

  • They create a feeling of balance
  • They bring peace and tranquility
  • They strengthen fine-motor skills through repetitive movement
  • Looking at them produces a sense of calmness
  • They help with focus and concentration
  • They encourage mindfulness
  • They calm the nervous system
  • Working on them opens pathways to allow creativity to flow
  • The different color schemes in mandalas can be therapeutic
Montessori Art: Mandala Activity for Stress Relief

Mandalas have been recognized by psychology as a therapy tool. The Swiss psychologist Carl Jung believed that mandalas are representations of our minds and that we project our thoughts and feelings onto how we perceive and interpret mandals. And different branches of psychology recognize different benefits of mandalas; for example, transpersonal psychology uses mandalas as an exercise for connections and behavioral psychology uses them to improve memory, attention, and coordination.

The intricate design of mandalas can be intimidating, but children don’t need to be artists to reap the many benefits of mandalas.

Montessori Art: Mandala Activity using nature

Where to Start: Montessori Art Mandala Coloring Activity

Your students can use natural or found objects to make their own mandalas—which doesn’t require any drawing at all. Or, you can download a blank mandala (or purchase a mandala coloring book—there are plenty for sale online) and have your students color them. You can also use Montessori insets to create simple mandala designs to color. 

Making the conscious effort to embrace mandalas and to introduce Montessori art mandala activities in your classroom are the first steps to helping your students feel calmer, more mindful, and less stressed.

One Step Further: Watch My ‘Combating Stress with Art’ Webinar for FREE

Again, even just the action of coloring a mandala can offer your students tremendous mental and emotional health benefits. A few weeks ago, I co-hosted a webinar titled ‘Combating Stress with Art’ with Montessori teacher Kristen Richter, about using mandalas to combat stress, and encouraged the attendees—Montessori parents and teachers—to color mandalas as we went through the information.

The webinar teaches about the emotional literacy cycle and types of stress kids face, as well as a deeper dive into how simple art techniques like doodling or coloring mandalas can help alleviate stress.

Montessori Art: Mandala Activity for Stress Relief

You can download and watch the Combating Stress with Art replay, by clicking here!

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