Bringing Art Home
By John W. Healy

Some teachers are also parents, but all parents are teachers. What we teach and share, both in school and at home, has much to do with how it is presented. Jo-Ann Ricchetti is a sixth-grade science teacher and mother of a five-year-old daughter, Lizzie. Jo-Ann told me she did not want to be a teacher-mother who drilled and grilled her child at home. "At first I wanted to leave the teacher part of me at school," she said. "However, as Lizzie became older she would ask questions and wanted to visit my classroom. I wanted to encourage her curiosity to find the answers."

Science/art lessons for home and school Jo-Ann and Lizzie are partners in their curiosity of the natural world and love of art. They believe science and art compliment the other and lead to a better understanding of each. Together they combined science and art in these introductory lessons about the structure and nourishment system of plants.

Lesson #1: Colorful nourishment
This experiment demonstrates how plants carry water upward for nourishment.

1. Fill a glass with water and mix in a bright, vibrant food coloring.
2. Trim the end of a celery stalk. Place the stalk in the water and let stand.
3. Encourage your child (or students) to draw or paint a picture of the process they are witnessing.

Lesson #2: Grow your own art subject
A popular drawing of a plant is often the stamp formula that doesn't have roots. The flat circle with surrounding concentric petals common in children's drawing is not to be observed in nature. Direct-observation drawing will help avoid preconceived ideas as to what a plant looks like.

1. Put a pinto bean in a jar of water. Add a paper towel that presses the bean to the side of the jar.
2. If using this lesson in the classroom, create several of these exhibits so they may be shared in small groups.
3. Position the jar or jars where they can be observed on a daily basis.
4. When the roots and stem emerge, note how the roots grow downward and the stem grows upward.

5. Make signs of the following words and definitions and position them near the exhibit:
   Xylem: carries water from the roots upward
   Phloem: carries food from the leaves to the rest of the plant
6. Ask the children to draw what they see in the jar. These plant drawings will be very different than if they were drawn from memory.
7. Create labels that each child can affix to the corresponding part of his or her drawing: stem, roots, flower, sun. For prereaders, color code each label to the corresponding parts of the picture.

Lesson #3: Art in the elements
A common question children ask is, "Why do plants have lines in them?" Jo-Ann explains that "The lines in the leaves are hollow tubes that, like the xylem and phloem, act as roadways that carry water and food to where they are needed."

1. Show your students plants found in different environments – one from the beach and a common plant found in one's backyard. Better yet, go on a field trip together to find these plants.
2. Compare the different colors, textures and root structures of these plants. As Jo-Ann explains, "The broad, flat, green shapes on the plants in soil often cannot be found near the shore. Their plant structures have adapted to be able to sustain life under different conditions. Their roots must reach further down into sand to search for minerals and to anchor them securely against the wind and surf. Some plants even root themselves on rocks near the water's edge. Leaves are also shaped to stand up against wind, surf, salty air and hot sun. These leaves are often smaller and narrower to enable conservation of water."
3. Have the children put leaves from the different plants under paper and rub over the surface with the side of a peeled crayon. Does this reveal further differences in the plants?
4. Set up easels outdoors for children to draw or paint plants of interest. This is a fun backyard activity for your children's friends to join in on as well.

Conclusion
The natural world is replete with opportunities to connect to art, and our work in the classroom offers us ways to connect with our families. Jo-Ann Ricchetti believes taking home lessons from the classroom brings her closer to her daughter and makes their household a unique place. Perhaps after reading about Jo-Ann and Lizzie, you might like to try (or try again) to bring home a special lesson of your own.

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Dr. John W. Healy teaches art at Woodland Middle School, East Meadow, NY.

February, 2007, Vol.37, No.5