Students engaging in their important work is simply delightful. Back in 2011, I collected my observations into a little memoir. My goal was simple, demonstrate that at the heart of learning is caring—actually caring about the task at hand. When students care, they become cognitively present. They become active participants, engaging curiosity, creativity, and ultimately, building confidence.
What do students who care gain? Habits. They gain habits of being.
This summer, my personal project will be to edit my little book and set a second edition in print by fall to support the launch of our introductory neuroscience unit for upper elementary and middle school students.
Looking back, the skill of observation is where it all began. With my own children, and all of my students over the years, observation activities anchored the development of healthy habits—habits of being. To observe and then to document the observation with a lifelike drawing and well constructed words, requires slowing down, taking information in via the senses, doing a bit of research, and looking some more. Ultimately, over the years, my experience is that Da Vinci was right:
“All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions.”
And this brings me back to summer. Now’s the time to develop a habit of being.
The habit of observing is habit worth developing—a habit of being.
Observation of simple objects is the best way to begin your Observation Journal—think shell, spoon, marshmallow, apple. Begin this activity in kindergarten and continue through 12th grade! Create an annual binder of student observations—The Observation Journal. These will become terrific keepsakes.
And getting started is easy as 1, 2, 3…
One.
Trace the edges with your pencil follow along with your eyes.
Two.
Begin your sketch, following the outline edges (very s l o w l y). Let your hand “see” all the curves and bumps that your eye sees as you look back and forth from your drawing to the apple. Don’t rush. Making a connection between the eyes and the hand is a slow motion exercise.
Three.
Simple observational drawings can be embellished with a wash of watercolor. Always paint from a puddle, never directly from the pigment tiles. When creating a wash of color for a red apple, Sara reminds us that the red is not the red directly from the tile. “Red in nature is complex. Make a puddle of red and add a tiny drop of green.” It’s the same process for an orange pumpkin, add drops of the complimentary color of the object into the prominent color—a splash of blue— to achieve the natural complexity of the object’s color. Here is an advanced observation where the pinecone color is actually a blend of yellow with a touch of purple:
A good way to get your students ready for a complex observation like this pinecone, is to engage them with simple hand held objects from the kitchen to the natural world. It is also a good idea to engage students with already flattened objects as demonstrated in the photos below:
Once the observational drawing is complete, encourage your students to do some research on the object that was observed, date the entry and add it to the Observation Journal.
As students complete observations, encourage them to engage in clean-up—putting away materials and washing brushes and paint trays. Encourage them to reflect on what was gleaned. It’s likely that what was gained is far more than art, far more than science.
Developing the skill of observing is a habit of being that invites us to imagine possibility. Click through to learn about our Observation Journal: Leonardo da Vinci kit. Pick one up and let the observing begin.
~Kimberly
