Before I headed back to the U.K for my summer holidays, I was searching for an online CPD course that would be relevant to my educational practice. I am not sure how but I stumbled across the PSTA website and was drawn in to this programme they were offering.
The course was titled 'The Harmony Programme' and it was directed at educators who had an interest in nature, geometry and art. I was intrigued as it seemed quite interesting, so I delved further and read the course content and thought it would be a great addition to my professional development. I didn't hesitate to book my place and it was even better as I was eligible for the teacher bursary too. The course was over 4 days, across 2 weekends.
So, the course was designed as a result of the Prince of Wales's book titled 'Harmony' was written to embrace nature but also inspire UK schools to plan, deliver and create inspirational art. I never knew about the book and have had a glance through. It addresses some interesting information, views and ideas not just for educators but for everyone.
The was delivered by Lisa DeLong, Will and Leila. They were friendly, thorough with their delivery and extremely knowledgable about the topics covered. In total, there were about 7 of us of which only 2 including me were teachers. The others came from engineering, dance and administrative backgrounds. It was really great that different minds came together as we got on really well and learned from another too.
The first weekend, I looked at Autumn and Winter. We all got given books with all the literature, ideas and content to deliver sessions to children and young people. I found them quite useful to jot my notes next to the activity we were carrying out. It was handy that inside the book, they had noted the areas of the British curriculum and how they related to each season.
The second weekend, the group explored Spring and Summer where we focused on plants and flowers. Our learning and activities were centered around the construction of flowers and how they are related to the fibonacci theory. We made kites, looked at 3D shapes, nets as well as sound and vibrations too.
During the course we carried out a variety of activities which included mixing colours, investigating binders, constructing geometric patterns, making snowflakes, looking at natural dyes and marbling amongst others.
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| Dyeing fabrics with tumeric and red cabbage. |
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| Dyeing cotton with indigo |
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| Marbling on to paper |
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| 3D shapes made from cocktail sticks and chick peas. |
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| Kite making |
Overall, I found the course to be informative, fulfilling in terms of the content and ideas. I wish that they had perhaps scheduled a visit to Kew Gardens and maybe followed up with an activity or planning session. But saying that, I did enjoy the course, especially as I got to be all artistic again!
If you're interested in taking an traditional arts course at the PSTA, visit the website: https://www.psta.org.uk/.
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post.
Love, Sara xx
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