🍃 🍁 🍂 A class blog from Miss Alana’s Bananas
In week six all three Year 1/2 classes were lucky enough to have Maria, Abe, and Cameron from NaturePlaySA in for our second incursion.
First we made connections to Reconciliation Week. Maria discussed pigment production used by First Nation people and why it has been so important for our learning about their cultures, languages and knowledge.
We read and looked through different books written and illustrated by Indigenous authors. We discussed the words and illustrations.
What did we notice? What could we see that was represented?
We spoke about the ways art can help us appreciate our surroundings. Maria showed us a way to acknowledge the country we learn on by using her story stones that she had illustrated. Then we all got to draw on our very own story stones. We drew something that we love about our environment or something we noticed when looking at the books.
“It was good to see an acknowledgement of the land and fun to use nature to make paint colours.” —Archer (Year 2)
After that we got really busy!
What were we doing?
Making PAINT!
How did we do it?
First we learnt two new words – pigment and binder.
For the pigment and texture we squashed and crushed natural plants, berries, rocks, and charcoal in a Mortar and Pestle. This was FUN! We gave it a clean out each time we wanted to make a new colour!
Then we mixed a special powder called Kaolin Clay. We used it as a binder with a careful splash of water. After that, we used spinach, beetroot, paprika, and turmeric plant powders as more pigments to add to our natural coloured palette to paint with!
There weren’t just splats of paint flying around, there was a buzz in the air as we used our creativity, collaboration, imagination, problem-solving, fine motor and multi-sensory skills throughout the session.
Finally, we got to create a work of art that represented how we see the natural world on a canvas to take home!
Some of us painted sunsets, rivers, the beach, flowers, bees, the moon, stars and trees.
“I like how we could make the paint out of plants and powders.” —River (Year 1)
“I really liked using the mortar and pestle. I made cool colours!” —Lane (Year 1)
“I appreciated how we all got to paint our own canvas and take it home. It was teaching us how to make our own paint and kind of the history of how paint was made or can still be made.” —Josephine (Year 2)
The rain stayed away so we could have a Nature Play!
We are REALLY looking forward to our next NaturePlay Incursion at the beach for Beach School!
