This year, the enrichment students at St. Leo School focused on art and the natural world. This led to the idea of creating an informational children’s book about the PA wilds. Over the year, the students went on a variety of field trips. Additionally, they invited guest speakers to visit the school, all of whom shared their unique expertise on various plants and animals, both native and invasive, found in our area. Each student chose a plant and an animal from these presentations to research further and collect information on them, which they then turned into a “kid-friendly” narrative about each plant and animal.
With the help of art teacher Mrs. Nancy Hoffman, students found photos of their chosen plant or animal, which served as inspiration for their Eric Carle-style illustrations, which will accompany their writing in the book. Students traced an outline of their nature subject in pencil as a base for their illustration. They then abstractly painted several papers, blending the colors of their plant or animal subject, adding texture, and even a random color here and there. From their painted paper collection, they used scissors to “draw” their plant or animal by cutting the paper to create a collage-style illustration.
The book will be shared with the public this spring and will be added to the library’s shelves, making it available for checkout at the Ridgway Public Library soon. More details will follow as we finalize those plans!
