Homeschooling and Art

I am a mother of three small children, and I am homeschooling them. I have little time, money or to be quite honest, energy but as an artist, I know the importance of art and creativity in a young child's life. Now, don't get me wrong, these children, when left to their own devices are more creative than most people I know. I would, however, love some ideas for some permaculture type projects that I could work with them to instill a love of nature, art, and of course all things permaculture
Thanks!

Hey Jenna,
I understand your point about not having money for art supplies- that is what started me down this path myself- and I don't think you should have to buy supplies to teach your kids about art anyway! It is WAY more valuable for them to learn a love and respect for the land and ecology around them by making art and developing their creativity with what they find at hand. A project I have done for years I call ephemeral mosaics- the idea of them being temporary, and made up of many small pieces- but not ceramic, just the petals and seeds and leaves etc found around me- and changing every season.
Start by having your kids talk to you about the colours they see when they look around them outside, be specific- get them to say more then green, maybe new green or dark green- recognizing there are different greens, how many can they count? Talk about what the colours might be like from the same spot in 5 months time- what does spring look like? how are the colours different for summer? Then get the kids with paper bags or other carry sacks walking around and gathering what is fallen- don't pick! Teach respect for not picking the plants, just gleaning from what they find, and limit each bag to one particular type of material- maybe one bag is acorn caps, another pine cones or maple leaves. If there are things like horse-chestnuts or other seeds- I talk with kids about who we might need to share the bounty with- would anyone want to eat this? Be sure and share, and instill the idea that others in our ecosystem will want some too!
Talk about colour, texture, shape.
Teach your kids to look closely and see if they can identify the growing patterns: the explosions, the fractals, the branching, the packing principals of seeds on a flower head, find spirals.
Pour out everything that has been gathered into neat little piles- make them an attractive colour run, like a paint palette. And then think about drawing with the materials- have little trays or cups they can use to carry the material and teach them about not messing up the paint palette, but keeping the colours pure( tidy), and sharing the colours with each other try and stay away from iconic images like cats and houses, and have them draw those patterns in nature they are looking at- the spirals, the branching of trees, the explosions of seeds or figure out how to make a fractal pattern- how many iterations can they create? take pictures on your digital camera, so they can see the images and then enjoy the wind blowing it all away. Come back the next week or the next month and do it all over again, talk about how the material they find and the colours change- this is a great way to teach kids to see and experience the natural world around them and develop a tactile seasonal awareness! You can make games too, where they start off doing their own patterns, but then have to join to each other and try and collaborate. If you have big stacked herb drying racks, or spare table spaces, let the plants dry out, and use them another day- store in paper so they don't mold after thoroughly drying in case of any residual moisture. Going out on treasure hunts for sticks and little rocks, fallen flowers, spent petals and more is a very mindful and fun thing that I have watched many a little one get lost in for ages, so you can always keep a few bags of materials around dry, and ready to use on a sweepable floor or on a table top on those rainy indoor days....have fun!

I know I'm ten years too late, but maybe this will help other moms like us starting out.
What we did:

Start with easy projects not complicated or long ones. Those aren't just hard on kids, they're taxing for the momma too. (or dad, if you're here). Small accomplishments help you achieve more success over time.
like having kids go on a hike and identify flowers, plants, bugs, etc.
you it first- easy stuff like common weeds and flowers.
then have them draw what they saw.
OR
Collect things to make a collage.
Keep repeating what you know and they'll get interested and take it seriously later.
it isn't art but small garden projects like potted plants (they can decorate the pots with markers even) and use easy growing plants like herbs (marjoram, mint, basil) helps them want to grow their own things.
Don't impose too many rules for the project. Makes it less fun and littles need that freedom to enjoy the art.

There's some pretty good general stuff on youtube. As long as you don't get too hard on yourself- eat the meat and spit out the bones. Do that with literally EVERYTHING on youtube. Getting started doesn't have to be complicated, give yourself grace and remember most of these people started somewhere.


( I edited this post because I got off on a gardening tangent - I have a lot of toddlers distracting me and I was initially on here for a gardening thing, lol)
Hope this helps someone.

When I was a kid, we found a second hand rock tumbler and that started me off learning all sorts of things about geology.

Most places in the world have some sort of semi precious gemstone that are worth looking out for.

It's funny this popped up today, because it's something I've also struggled with as a crafty/artistic mom. I don't want to deal with the messes, and I'm tired. Part of how I've solved it is by teaching whole groups of kids in a co-op. This helps me feel like the lesson prep and cleaning time was more worth it because lots of kids are involved. And, there's usually other parents to help clean up or watch the kids while I clean. This obviously isn't a solution for everyone, though!

My daughter is naturally crafty and will make all sorts of crafts with paper and tape. She even started writing and illustrating her own story when she was 7. My son doesn't care for that sort of crafting, though, and especially was opposed to it when little. But, both kids will often join in, even if just a little, with whatever thing I'm doing, be it needle felting, turning blackberries into twine, painting with milk paint, etc.  

One thing I did last night was ask the kids to think of "Three craft ideas you want to do with me, and I'll chose one in the morning." I was thinking my son wouldn't be too keen, but he made a list of "MamaCraft" ideas: Make twine, make a flower crown, and make a basket. I'll chose one from his list today. My daughter is still thinking of her ideas.

I like this mode with my elementary age kids (they're 8 &11). It gives me options to do, so I can pick what I feel up to, and if allows them to pick things they want to do.

I did a similar thing a few days back, where I asked the kids to think of three things they wanted to do with me. My son had: Go on a bike ride, play minecraft, and something else. My daughter had: Have a picnic, play Candyland, and read history book. I ended up picking Candyland and Minecraft...but also went on a bike ride with a picnic. It was a fantastic way to make memories, and we all felt like we had choices.

Well, I figured our craft day would be us doing crafts together. But, it ended up with Mama making things for both of them. Not the worst result, but not what I was expecting!

My son did have fun making part of his crown, but quickly got bored of it and went to chop wood nearby.

My daughter wanted me to make her a doll at our Tree Fort House (the place where everything must be made from plants around us). I spotted some grass and trailing blackberries, and had some hydrangeas left over from my son's crown, and we made a doll!

Even though they didn't craft or do art, we still bonded, and I was able to make things for them. I'm really enjoying summer, where I have more time to get stuff done.

Jenna Sanders wrote:I would, however, love some ideas for some permaculture type projects that I could work with them to instill a love of nature, art, and of course all things permaculture

How old are your kids? I think that might make a difference in the art projects they can do compared to older ones.

Here's some stuff I've seen 4 year olds enjoy (older kids enjoy them too):

Using charcoal to draw with.

Grinding charcoal in a mortar and pestle to use as pigment for milk paint. The kids really loved painting trees and logs and rocks with milkpaint (see Milk paint for fine art)

Grinding anything in a mortar and pestle! You can grind cochineal bugs to make red to purple dye and pigment.

Painting. Kids really like to paint! You can make your own milk paint or make your own water colors. This is also a fun way to learn about historical pigments

Give them chalk! My kids loved playing with chalk. It's mostly just plaster of paris and pigment, so not terribly toxic.

Smashing flowers and leaves with rocks on paper to see what colors they make. My daughter LOVED this.

I went looking for pictures of my kids playing with chalk, and found this old post from 2020, with this list (my kids were 3 & 6 at the time):

Draw with chalk!

Make pictures out of sticks and rocks

Work with clay soil if you have it

Have them make a design on wood and you wood burn it

Decorate gardens with pretty rocks

Talk about complementary colors. Sort flowers by color. Pair them by cool colors or warm colors, or match complementary colors together.

Show perspective. Have them get down low and look at a garden bed and take a picture. Then get above it and take a picture. Sketch them out with chalk or on paper. They're the same garden bed, but at different angles!

Show shadowing. Help them notice that the same thing looks a different color or darkness when it's in the shade or in the sun. Help them draw it out.

Sketch flowers and animals and trees!

Here's a list for upper-elementary:

Make twine!

Make baskets!

Build tomato cages out of sticks see pictures here

Build with cob or daub

Make lavendar wands

Make flower crowns--easiest to do with rushes or processed blackberry vine or even yarn to hold the flowers together

Make wreaths in much the same way as making a flower crown!

Make a fairy house out of wattle and daub! see steps/examples here

Carve with wood. Make bows, or hair sticks or cool staves.

Look at the ideas in the Teaching kids ethnobotany in the 21st century. thread

Play with wool! They can needle felt, wet felt, learn to spin, dye wool. Even little kids have a blast dying wool. They all seem to really enjoy carding wool. I had some lovely dyed locks from R Ranson's etsy shop, and they went to TOWN carding it.

Embroiery. I had kids embroider their own pouches. Many needed help, but they all drew out their designs and were all proud of their pouches.

People had a bunch more ideas in my What are some winter crafts/activities using only natural materials?, and you can see a list of the activities I'll be doing with my Flower & Forest Fairies class in there, too.

If you stalk my old posts in the homeschooling and kids forums, there's probably more ideas that I've currently forgotten.

R Ransom made a whole thread about making drawing charcoal from local shrubs.

We have both had some success making it in our wood stoves, but there are also people who use tin cans in an outdoor fire pit.

I can think of all sorts of creative drawing, map making, trail marking, etc that could be done with drawing charcoal. It is a good outdoor activity as it can be a bit messy also.

I'm sad that only one person replied all those years ago!  I'll answer for anyone else who might also be looking for some permaculture-related art ideas with kids.

I wrote a children's book last year on this theme, partially funded by a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board.  It's called Wild Art: Awesome Art Projects Using Wild & Invasive Plants & Other Nature Items (aff link) and these are a few projects from it if it helps.

I have also put out a free, nonprofit nature and foraging magazine for kids for over six years called Wild Kids Magazine and I often put nature art projects in there.  All of the archives are online so you can search for keywords like paint, charcoal, or certain plants.  Each issue is about 20 pages in PDF format to read online or print.

Alicia Bayer - I dig your publications. My nine year old twins have also been practicing projects like these, and I really enjoy your publications. We are in Minneapolis, and have been making berry inks with vinegar, baking soda, and whatever else looks cool. Honeyberry works great for these.

Nicole Alderman wrote:Well, I figured our craft day would be us doing crafts together. But, it ended up with Mama making things for both of them. Not the worst result, but not what I was expecting!

My son did have fun making part of his crown, but quickly got bored of it and went to chop wood nearby.

My daughter wanted me to make her a doll at our Lyme?

https://permies.com/t/101799/Tree-Fort-House]Tree Fort House[/url] (the place where everything must be made from plants around us). I spotted some grass and trailing blackberries, and had some hydrangeas left over from my son's crown, and we made a doll!

Even though they didn't craft or do art, we still bonded, and I was able to make things for them. I'm really enjoying summer, where I have more time to get stuff done.

Yes this is my problem, I dont want a craft that is going to turn into me doing it. So far a favorite is homemade ferments, or other edibles. We are about to make home fermented rootbeer for one boys birthday today. I just make a very stout tea from something with tannins (sassafrasroot and leaves wi th peppermint tea in this case), throw in a single black tea bag, sweeten with honey or maple syrup (I do 1c/gallon) then mix it 4 parts tea 1 part kombucha starter. Then bottle it tightly and let it sit 2-4 days. Bubbly and delightful! This way they get to eat and enjoy the plants and herbs they found.

I have also taught my daughter how to make flower chains, which she has taken to the next level. They love gathering organic teas with me. I was thinking about teaching them about Mordants and natural dyes, I found a stand of fragrant sumac and there are numerous dye plants around us. I was going to use white twine.

I've found that one good way to get my kids to do a craft--rather than just me doing it--is to have them learn it while part of a group. These sorts of projects work well in playgroups or homeschool co-ops. The added benefit to this is that the work you spend on preparing supplies, etc, helps more than just your own kids. It always feels a bit disappointing to spend an hour preparing for an activity that the kids might do for 15 minutes. But, if you have a group of kids, it doesn't take that much more prepwork, and it feels more worthwhile because a lot of kids learn. And, your own kids get to have fun doing stuff with their friends.

R Grier wrote:
I have also taught my daughter how to make flower chains, which she has taken to the next level. They love gathering organic teas with me. I was thinking about teaching them about Mordants and natural dyes, I found a stand of fragrant sumac and there are numerous dye plants around us. I was going to use white twine.

Dyes stick best to animal fibers (like wool and silk). If you have any white wool yarn, you'll probably have a more successful dye than with white twine. If the wool is "natural white" rather than bleached, it will work even better (bleached wool seems to be more resistant to dying).

In terms of what dyes well, this seems to be the generally understood order of best-to-worst for dying:

- Silk
- Wool
- Plant fibers like cotton, hemp, nettle, jute
- Synthetic fibers

A mordant will also help the dyes stick better, too. If you can get your hands on alum (like is used for pickling), that will work well and is generally regarded as safe. You could also do the dying in an aluminum, copper, or iron pot, which will give a slight amount of mordanting. The copper will making things more teal, the iron more brown/greenish color.