Following in Beatrix Potter's footsteps.

Some teachers might consider looking out the window off-task behavior. However, observing a rabbit hopping by a classroom window can transform the classroom into a vibrant learning environment.

Children are innately curious and inquisitive about the nature world. Nature can become a vehicle for art education and, in turn, writing and reading. We encourage elementary school children to notice flora and fauna because a lot of learning takes place by simply observing. We also recognize that drawing the natural world can become a pathway to narrative writing. Accordingly, we offer elementary school students a historical role model in Beatrix Potter, a gifted Victorian author-illustrator whose books grew from her childhood drawings of animals, plants and fungi.

Keeping a Nature Sketchbook

A century ago, a mischievous rabbit captivated the imagination of the young Beatrix who went on first to draw the rabbit, then to write and illustrate The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902), which still enchants children today. At the Montessori Community School in Scituate, Massachusetts, children ages six to nine follow in Potter's footsteps by keeping nature sketchbooks. The project begins with nature drawing but ultimately leads to narrative writing--first, letter writing to classmates, then the creation of picture books.

Potter's creative process offers to students a learning style that departs from what we target in traditional verbal approaches to teaching writing. If we examine Potter's drawings and picture letters, it becomes clear that she thought through her ideas visually before writing her narratives. Her manner of invention suggests the importance of providing children with opportunities to explore kinesthetic and visual modes of thinking, especially if we aim to teach writing to, students with a range of learning styles.

The Creative Process

We launched our project with a narrative of Potter's life and creative process: how she kept a nature sketchbook, wrote her most famous picture letter to Noel Moore (September 4, 1893) and transformed that letter into the first Peter Rabbit story. A series of art and writing lessons were developed to help elementary school students rekindle Potter's creative process.

We gave each student a spiral-bound sketchbook of 50-lb. weight, white paper. The students worked only with pencil and eraser; colored pencils were introduced much later in the year. On the title page of the sketchbook, each student wrote "My Nature Sketchbook," her or his name, and the year. Each time they drew in @heir sketchbooks, whether for observation or an art "homework" assignment, the children noted the subject of the sketch and the date (day, month, year) at the bottom of the page. We also encouraged them to draw from life.

Picture Letter to Storybook 

The students chose any two drawings from their sketchbooks and transformed them into a picture letter addressed to someone in the class. The subjects ranged from a rabbit in the woods to a snake in a muddy garden,.and a goldfish in the classroom fish tank.

Then, the transformation from picture letter to storybook began. The students rewrote and drew each page of their picture letters onto precut watercolor paper. They lined up their rulers with the edge of the paper and drew a margin on both sides of it. This step was important for clarity of the final picture book; when we bound the pages together, nothing would be cut off. The students also used watercolor pencils to add color. Many chose to experiment with India ink and quill tip pens to outline their drawings. The students made a title and dedication page for their books. As a final step, they marbleized and laminated the covers of their books.

Refining Skills

The books, which grew from observation and nature sketches, were written, illustrated, dedicated, titled and bound by the children. Proud of their accomplishment, the children read their books in crisp, excited voices on "Author's Day," which culminated in a photo session. The event was also tape recorded, so the classroom audience could continue to enjoy each other's achievements at the classroom listening center.

Looking back at the project, we find students are refining their skills of observation, drawing and narrative writing. The students are still eagerly looking out the window, hoping to "catch" something in the natural word to spark their drawing and their writing.

Resources

Chambers, Anne. The Practical Guide to Marbling Paper. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1986.

Linder, Leslie. The Art of Beatrix Potter. London: Frederick Warne and Company,1972.

--. The History of the Writings of Beatrix Potter. London: Frederick Warne and Company, 1971.

Olshansky, Beth. "When Children Become Author/illustrators." SchoolArts (March 1994): 14-7.

Catherine Golden is a professor in the Department of English at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. Pam Golden and Rita Speroni are teachers at The Montessori Community School in Scituate, Massachusetts.