Backyard Painting–With Nature

Every season offers us a bounty of wonderful surprises.  Taking walks with your kids allows them to slow down, enjoy being outside, notice things they might not see from the backseat of a car, talk with you about them, and develop a sense of wonder and love of nature.

Backyard Painting with Nature 

Take a bag or basket, a pair of scissors and possibly a pair of garden gloves with you to make it easier to collect the treasures you find.  Have plenty of paper plate palettes, a variety of acrylic paints, glue and any other art supplies you think you might want to use ready for when you return.  If you take a walk in your neighborhood be sure to ask permission before collecting anything from someone else’s property. 

In the cool of a spring or summer morning enjoy looking at trees, at leaves, and at everything green.  Enjoy the flowers blooming, both wild and planted.  In autumn when the leaves are turning your kids can observe and enjoy the variety of rich fall colors.  In winter, branches, evergreens and berries inspire us. 

Breathe in deeply and talk about how seasons smell different.  What do they smell that tells them the season? 

Collect things that grab their attention and add them to your basket. 

Pinecones, leaves, tiny flowers (otherwise known as weeds), pebbles, shells, berries, branches etc. 

When you have explored to your heart’s content (or when it gets too hot or cold) bring your finds home and bring out the paper, glue, paints and any other art supplies you want to use.

There is No Right or Wrong Way to Do Nature Painting

Let their imaginations run wild.  They can use leaves as stamps or brushes or as part of the design itself.  However, they want to express themselves with their bits of nature is sure to be brilliant!

Other Ideas for Backyard Nature Painting

You may want to switch up the focus of your nature painting occasionally to keep it exciting and fun.  For example, on one walk you could focus on flowers, or big leaves versus tiny ones, weeds (any plant growing wild or not where it’s supposed to and lots of great plants fit that description), or on a single color.  If you have older kids you might even focus on annuals versus perennials. 

As part of English or Science, they could find out each plant’s Latin name as well as other names they go by in different parts of the country.  When our kids were young we would giggle at some of the other names for eggplant, zucchini, peas and artichokes.  What fun creative way can they incorporate that into their paintings?   

Occasionally you may take a walk where picking is prohibited.  (In Texas for example you can’t pick bluebonnets unless they are on your property because they are the state flower)  In that case, you could pack watercolors and do some plein aire (french for plain air-outdoor) painting or record your finds using the camera feature on your phone. You could print out the pictures and make a piece of art with them.

If you have a budding scientist they could keep a nature journal of their finds.  Things they might want to include would be where and when the walk took place, the type of plant (rock, shell, etc) they found, sketches, thoughts, feelings and other observations.  Maybe they could record the same plant during all the seasons noticing the changes it goes through. 

These kinds of journals are such fun to look back on as they grow.  You and they may be really surprised about what they observed when they were younger.  

Note to Homeschoolers

If you are compiling a portfolio of your child’s work you can’t include a huge poster with plant material glued to it so take a good photograph.  You may not choose to use it later, but you’ll have a permanent record of it if it’s needed.

Looking For More Fun Backyard Learning Ideas? 

• DIY Garden Stepping Stones and Decorations

• Water Painting

• Just a Little Backyard Rainbow Hunt