The Wonder of Nature's Colors

What Happens When Art and Nature Meet?

By Kelly Johnson
Topics: Outdoor Classroom, Projects and Activities, Art, Connecting with Nature
Date: September 16, 2014
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Color is a magical thing. It is ever elusive and always changing depending on what it
is placed next to or lighting. It affects our mood, signals help or harm, and color patterns
even indicate what something is made of on an elemental level. Mother Nature’s palette
is one of the most magical because it is perfectly suited to every circumstance. It is
beautifully ever-changing, with the seasons, time of day, and geographic region. A
bright yellow flower signals insects to come pollinate, while a bright red flower attracts
hummingbirds. A blue sky tells us no need for an umbrella, while green grass tempts us
to remove our shoes and enjoy the cool softness. The mysterious power of color affects
every aspect of this bio-diverse world.

It is wondrous to think about color in terms of magic. Luckily, color’s natural mystery is
easy to teach with fun, beginning color theory activities. Naming colors, color mixing,
and color relationships are popular lessons, but theory alone means nothing to the
young child. When we take color into the world of nature, it comes alive! Bringing a color
wheel into the garden, where the children actually experience red and green, makes
color lessons applicable to the child’s life. This is just one example of how the arts
weave together science and nature. It is never too early to start forging these naturally
creative connections. Dr. Howard Gardener’s 8th intelligence, the Naturalist Intelligence,
is strengthened by sorting and classifying natural items by shape, texture, and color in
early childhood. Sorting natural items by color is the perfect way to develop this
intelligence, with a long term outcome of environmentally conscious adults in mind.
When we give children something creative to do in nature, meaningful connections
abound. Where art and nature meet a sense of wonder is sparked, observation skills
are developed, and cross-curricular learning is inspired. Nature provides the stage and
art provides the script to help you awaken a love of learning in your students
complimented by a lifelong bond with their natural world.

Weaving nature, art, wonder, and culture is a practice long demonstrated by the way
artists have taken nature as their muse. From cave drawings to Art Nouveau to eco-
artists, nature based art excites us to take a closer look at our world and the ways in
which nature, art, and life intersect. Artist Andy Goldsworthy is a wonderful, child-
friendly example of how a keen sense of wonder, observation, and color manifests in
works of art that illuminate the magic of nature’s colors, while sparking human and
nature interaction.

Early childhood researcher, Eyunsook Hyun, also speaks on the importance of wonder-
filled childhood nature connections and the development of Gardner’s Naturalist
Intelligence. Hyun observed that experiences accumulated in childhood are what define
our future relationship with nature and that early childhood is a definitive developmental
period for nature connection. Hyun proposes that a child’s predisposition for nature
connection must be nurtured from little on, to assure that adequate nature bonding
occurs, the ecological brain develops, and the child grows into a nature caring adult
(Hyun 2000).

Just taking children outside is not enough. We must captivate children’s ever present
senses of wonder through the beauty of nature. We must provide them with creative
experiences that nurture natural connections and allow for meaningful assimilation of
the nature experience into their lives. The arts provide us with a key to unlock the magic
of nature through color by supplying children a vehicle for creative expression of natural
experiences. By engaging the senses through nature observation, and then uniting with
imagination; we open the door to a magical sensorial world of sweet strawberry reds,
fresh pine greens, storm cloud grays, and warm sun yellows, invoking children’s
inherent sense of wonder and genetic predisposition to be naturally intelligent.

Create Nature’s Color Wheel: Craft and Scavenger Activity

(Adapted from the book Wings, Worms, and Wonder: A Guide for Creatively Integrating
Gardening and Outdoor Learning Into Children’s Lives by Kelly Johnson)

You'll need to have access to a garden with a variety of colored plants that may be
picked.
MATERIALS

First choose if you will make one class color wheel or individal ones.

For a class color wheel:

 24x24 inch heavy paper or an untreated plywood board (I created my color wheel on
plywood because it is very durable and won’t blow in the wind.)
 Acrylic paint: red, yellow, blue, orange, green, purple, brown
 Paint brushes

For individual color wheels:

 Create a color wheel template on paper (follow the style of the class wheel below using
primary and secondary colors). Write “Colors of Nature” at the top if you would like.
 Colored pencils

PREPARATION

 Class Wheel: Using the acrylic paint, paint a large primary and secondary (red, purple,
blue, green, yellow, orange) color wheel on the board. Outline the wheel in brown.
 Individual Wheels: Print off a color wheel template for each child and let them color it
in before you head out to the garden.

PROCEDURE

 Explain that in this lesson we will be using our senses to practice our powers of
observation. Explain what observation means and how it will help them discover nature’s
colors on this scavenger hunt.
 Center the children in the space. Invite them to close their eyes, begin with two deep
breaths, then slowly, lead them through the senses asking them to notice what they see,
smell, hear, and feel. When calling on each new sense, re-center with two deep breaths
and say, “Send the mind into the . . . nose, ears, skin, etc.” This helps the child bring
awareness to that sense. Offer a couple suggestions of what may be sensed, but leave
room for personal discovery also. Remind them to answer the questions in their minds
and that there will be time for sharing at the end. 
 Once everyone appears to be relaxed and connected to the space, invite them to open
their eyes. Present the color wheel and ask if anyone knows what this is. If the children
are very young, they can name the colors. If you are using individual color wheels, pass
them out and go over the colors.
 Explain that they will be seeking out items in the garden that represent each of the colors
on the wheel. Clarify that they have permission to gently pick any items for this activity.
The goal is to try to fill the colored triangles so that nature’s colors make up the wheel.
 Release them to forage for colors. 
 When time is up, or the wheels are full, re-invite the group to join together. Engage in a
discussion about what colors were easy to find (green) and what colors were more
difficult (blue). Why were some colors difficult to find and others not? Was it because of
the season or perhaps the type of garden? If actual blue is impossible, ask children where
the largest blue item in nature is, the sky, and playfully invite them to pretend to grab a
piece of sky and place it on the wheel. Allow time for the children to share their
observations, discoveries, and creative thoughts. Sharing is crucial for assimilation of the
experience and nature connections being made.
 If the group is still engaged, discuss the names of the items picked, if the items have a
specific job in the garden, what plants are edible to humans and which are not, if they
will change colors when they ripen, and any other unique characteristics or musings the
colors of nature present.