Duration: 20 + 10 minutes
SPIRIT Skills
- Creativity
- Valuing people and nature
- Curiosity, sense of wonder and openness
Brief Description:
The children create a picture using natural materials found in the area (nothing should be picked up or torn). It is best to work in teams (you can divide the previous task’s groups further). The children have 20 minutes to work, after which everyone walks around to look at each other’s creations.
The composition can be made freely, but a common theme can also be given to guide the artwork, such as nest, human figure, or ant playground.
How does this develop particular SPIRIT skills?
In this activity, children are encouraged to view and use natural materials in new and unfamiliar ways. They need to rely on their imagination to discover the potential in different objects and to find creative uses for them.
The task also requires teamwork, which involves listening to and understanding each other’s ideas, and connecting to them with flexibility. It’s important for the children to accept if the final result doesn’t fully reflect their own initial vision. This kind of acceptance may happen smoothly, but it can also involve small conflicts – working through these challenges contributes to the development of resilience.
What do we want to achieve regarding SPIRIT skill development (student understanding and/or behaviour)?
The goal of the activity is for children to learn how to use natural materials creatively and in ways that differ from their usual experiences, using their imagination to assign new meaning to familiar objects. This fosters the development of imagination, openness to new types of thinking, and the ability to reinterpret existing elements flexibly. Through working together, they practice how to adapt to others’ ideas, collaborate with peers who may have different perspectives, and accept when the process or outcome does not fully match their own expectations. All of this helps them build patience, flexibility, and a problem-solving attitude during cooperative creative work.
Academic/Curriculum Objective connection
- Visual creation using natural materials
- Observing the shapes and forms of natural materials
- Shaping and manipulating natural materials
Materials and tools needed for implementation
Natural materials found in their environment.
Preparation notes
The activity should be carried out in a location where a variety of materials can be found, for example, at the borders of different habitats – where a forest, a field, and a riverside meet.
Guided Questions
- How were you able to accept it when the picture turned out based on someone else’s idea, not the way you wanted?
- What was the reason that made you look for a new solution during the group work?
- How did you manage to solve it together when someone wanted something different to appear in the picture?
- How did it feel when your idea changed during the work?
Stage Debriefing Questions (Optional)
The children present their works to each other, and related questions can be asked either by the children themselves or formulated by the teacher.
- Was there a moment when it was difficult to accept others’ ideas? How did you solve it?
- What did you learn about working together with people who think differently?
- How did it feel when you had to be flexible during the group work?
- How can you apply what you learned now even better next time in group work?
Tips and Tricks for dealing with stage challenges
The duration of the activity can vary, so the teacher should adjust it according to the situation.
- If there is a big difference between groups, those who finish earlier can continue working on their creation or make additional pictures. It is important for the teacher to move continuously between groups, monitor the work, and provide help if needed.
- Challenges may include preserving the integrity of materials, encouraging creativity, managing disagreements during group work, properly managing time, and handling external environmental distractions.