Today, in our one to one nature art therapy session we were gifted the presence of the deer (they pass our way every day but not too often when Elise is here for a session). Elise was super excited the deer had returned.
Observing
What fun observing the deer. We observe how gentle and quiet the deer are. We observe their shadows and how hungry they are. The first deer leaps gracefully over the fence back into the forest while the 3 other deer decide to go under the fence. We can climb over the fence and under it too.
In our one to one nature art therapy sessions Elise plays a lot. Play shouldn't stop when a child reaches school age. I believe play is important for our mental health and well-being not just in childhood but for all ages, ADULTS included!!!
Playing outdoors in nature helps nurture the "whole child" - body, mind and spirit. Through creative nature play Elise learns more about herself and her connection with the natural world. As she plays, her young mind and body get a workout. She is being physically active hunting for treasure. She's running, flying, jumping, leaping like the deer, the squirrels and the birds who have become her friends. She now knows the pine needles and pinecones are prickly and has figured out how to pick them up without being spiked. Elise has discovered the pinecones are also tricky to walk and run on.
Her soul too, is nourished through her creative play, her imagination takes her on adventures and you can see the joy in her eyes and feel her happiness as her face beams with smiles as she creates her unique art.
During our last session Elise began her paper-mache deer. This is a really messy activity with lots of glue, water and paint. A wonderful multi- sensory experience and great for learning about the shape and form of an animal. It's all about the process. Paper mache work is a slow and meditative process which is really lovely to do outdoors. Temperatures may have been bitterly low, yet spirits were high.
Elise loves the tearing and scrunching up the paper, she noted it made a funny noise. She used both her fingers and the brush to pat down the dry tissue paper onto the wet sculpture. She talked and giggled as she added layers on top of layers, noticing the newspaper was disappearing.. We left the deer sculpture to dry. Later, Elise paints the deer and adds details such as ears and antlers from natural materials she found in the forest.
Process over product
It's all about the process, the creative exploration is what gifts us the most joy. Sadly, in toadys mainstream primary and elementary schools, very little time is allocated to allow children to express themselves creatively through nature play, and yet the benefits are huge!
Over the course of the year I have noticed Elise's memory is better - she remembers that she saw 5 deer on her last visit and only 4 deer today. Having sketched the deer and created a sculpture, she now knows how to recognise the differences in the deer - the fawn, doe and buck all look similar but have slight differences.
She could notice the difference when she got to observe the peaceful deer today - such a blessing. Elise also noticed which deer was missing today - "the one with the antlers" she declares and places her hands on the top of her head with her fingers fanned out.
After adding the antlers to her buck, Elise announces we can all be friends - "come - I want to show you something", and she heads off to the fairy den, holding her new friend in her hand - then onto the pine needle eagle (land art) she made a few weeks ago. "Quick the eagle wants to eat us again Marghanita" and off we leap like deer and escape the grasp of the large eagle once more - oh the beauty and magic of imagination - what joy!
The arts offer students more in depth learning about things that really matter - like a sense of wonder; creativity, love and respect;, relationships; how things are connected, resilience, truth and beauty; mindfulness and conservation to name but a few. Let us make sure as we move forward into a new year that we provide plenty of opportunity for children of all ages to experience the arts and the great outdoors.
Full of gratitude to be able to share the joys of learning in the great outdoors with my students. Such a beautiful and sacred journey it is, feeling truly blessed. Wishing you all a magical and enchanting week with our Mother Earth. Know you are deeply loved, Marghanita x
We have several NATURE ART WEEKENDS scheduled for Spring 2020 for Adults. Or you could sign up for one of the online Nature Art Programs we offer that you can join at anytime of the year. If you would like to receive our SPRING/SUMMER 2020 Nature Art WEEKENDS PDF please leave a message below or email me, I would love you to join us at Educating the Heart with Nature Art....with love and gratitude Marghanita x