Class 6 students at South Devon Steiner School practised the art of gratitude last week, creating a beautiful mandala in the school gardens from plants, flowers and produce collected from the grounds.
The project which was led by Art teacher Sandy Smith, was a lesson for the 11-12 year old students in cooperative working, inspired by the recent trend in Turner prizes for collaborative art. Sandy said “The experience of working together was as much an art as the Mandala itself, allowing students to draw their attention to, and feel gratitude for the natural school environment and all the beautiful things they get to do, to help them to become more useful adults to the world, particularly their ability to work together”.
Sandy developed the multi-faceted lesson after learning of a friends’ tradition of walking her land each year and creating a Mandala out of gratitude. The students approached the task sensitively, aiming to ‘take kindly’ from the plants and only what they needed. Sandy said “They worked so enthusiastically and harmoniously, thinking about colour schemes and the names of the plants they used”.
Nearing the completion of the Mandala, the class enjoyed their Music lesson outside, where they sang in a four part harmony for a while, then said a verse around their creation to bless it.
The project which was led by Art teacher Sandy Smith, was a lesson for the 11-12 year old students in cooperative working, inspired by the recent trend in Turner prizes for collaborative art. Sandy said “The experience of working together was as much an art as the Mandala itself, allowing students to draw their attention to, and feel gratitude for the natural school environment and all the beautiful things they get to do, to help them to become more useful adults to the world, particularly their ability to work together”.
Sandy developed the multi-faceted lesson after learning of a friends’ tradition of walking her land each year and creating a Mandala out of gratitude. The students approached the task sensitively, aiming to ‘take kindly’ from the plants and only what they needed. Sandy said “They worked so enthusiastically and harmoniously, thinking about colour schemes and the names of the plants they used”.
Nearing the completion of the Mandala, the class enjoyed their Music lesson outside, where they sang in a four part harmony for a while, then said a verse around their creation to bless it.
