Art Based Vacation Activities can become the source of social understanding if you consciously choose ways to invite the students to be reflective about environmental and justice issues. Keep all topics light hearted and fun. Through Art we can explore quite serious issues deeply but in an interesting and motivating way.
Some of these activities are for the studio or art area and others involve going out into the world.
Excursions
- Whilst on a tour of water activities at a park such as South Bank ask participants to read the plaques scattered about that tell where the water has come from. After experiencing water play create an artistic response to the fun of the moment remembering that water may run out some times. Keep this light hearted and grateful.
- A drought stricken dam where the water has dropped below the acceptable watermark can be a wealth of artistic stimulation. The photography exercise could become humorous. Engage in antics like playing cricket on what was once a motor boat ramp. 'Fish' for frilly lizards and the like. Make a gallery of these artworks and photos to share with others. Or make a movie about what has been captured and burn it to DVD. Go back and compare the same environment a year later.
- Create an animation of kids having fun riding white water. A caption would be appropriate at the end “Ride White Water - While You Still Can.”
- Write a song called "Catch That Wave - Catch It While You Can!" Or write a song about the environment.
- Take the kids for a ride on the City Cat or local equivalent to enthuse appreciation for the beauty of the Water Ways. While you are on this trip use cameras to play "Spot the Rubbish."
- Have the participants create large canvas collages from rubbish that they collect in the beautiful environments to which you take them. If you want the activity to have follow up invite the students to paint their "Ideal Natural Spot." This will make available opportunity to compare and contrast images of the environment.
Art Theory and History and Social Concern
Explore art forms such as
- Water Ballet. Go to a beginners lesson. When you return (or soon after) draw patterns on paper. Imagine formations and movements that are graceful and inspiring. Play similar music to that which was playing during the session. This would act as a prompt when recreating the feeling visually. Or have the students create a dance movement.
- Scuba and snorkeling. When you have had a picnic or stroll go home or to the cinema to watch under the water movies. As follow up explore Scuba Diving and Underwater Photography on the Internet. Keep a journal of drawings about under the water thereafter.
- Ice Skating. After the fun of the excursion has waned, find pictures of Ice Skating as a dance art form. Create a gallery or find coloring pictures of skaters and draw from these pictures. Paint the images using glitter to enhance the costumes. Make the point that Ice Skating too, depends on water. Bring home the point that we would do well to be grateful for water always.
- Do an Internet search. Look for sea creatures that are beautiful. This site The Harmless Lion has wonderful imagery of Dolphins as well as instructional material like How to Draw a Dolphin. This site provides an enormous amount of resource material from which to develop a 'graceful sea' theme. After working with this material for a while you could take the students to a place such as Underwater World or Sea World.
If you would like to share images, stories, lesson plans and other suggestions and tips about you holiday activities please post to the discussion boards. If you have images you would like to share but need help please email me and I will help you find a way to display them. Perhaps one of your major holiday activities could be to create an online gallery of your holiday activities.
