APRIL 2022 UPDATE – NOW RECRUITING
In Spring 2022, Art & Science in One (AS1) program serves three full, combined Grade 4/5 classrooms at Tobin Montessori School. The program meets at the school’s temporary location at 359 Broadway in Cambridge. Prospective volunteers are invited to apply at bit.ly/volunteerinCPS to mentor one student in each of one or more cohorts (classrooms). We return this year to our usual in-person format. All sessions with students, plus one training session, will be outdoors. The first training session for new volunteers will be virtual.
Art & Science in One is Cambridge School Volunteers’ outdoor STEAM program for students in Cambridge public elementary schools. CSV trains mentors in techniques of nature journaling with children. Our staff then matches each mentor individually to one student. Mentors volunteer for one-hour and two hour-sessions in a structured, supervised program in which the entire class participates in field study. CSV staff, an embedded drawing instructor, and the classroom teacher supervise these outdoor sessions. Together, the mentor and student develop and extend their observation skills, make discoveries in private and public open space in Cambridge, practice drawing and recording information, and learn about nature journaling from a science illustrator.
Drawing Instructor: Erica Beade
Level: Grades 4 and 5
CSV Program Coordinator: Julie Croston
Resource List:
Places to Draw and Write about Nature in Cambridge
Comprehensive List of Open Space in Cambridge, including Parks
Nature/Art Hot Spots
Art & Science in One Volunteer Deb Lee’s Blog Post on Bronze Insects and Plants in Cambridge
Public Art Tours to take in Cambridge: Nature
Books and Videos
For Grownups:
A Brief Framework for Nature Journaling (Video), by Cambridge School Volunteers
Introduction to Nature Journaling (Video), by Cambridge School Volunteers
Interview with Art & Science in One Drawing Instructor Erica Beade, Part 1
Keeping a Nature Journal, by Clare Walker Leslie
The Nature Connection, by Clare Walker Leslie
How to Teach Nature Journaling by John Muir Laws
For Kids:
Make Your Own Nature Journal (Video) with Outdoor Afro
How to Make Your Own Nature Journal (Video), by Cambridge School Volunteers
Harvard Museums of Science and Culture: Simple Instructions for Nature Journaling (PDF)
The Curious Nature Book, by Clare Walker Leslie
The Nature Connection, by Clare Walker Leslie
