If you have been fortunate enough to visit The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois or driven by on Interstate 88, chances are you have been welcomed to the area by a 20-foot, spear-wielding troll peering down from atop his grassy berm. Six large troll statues, were created by Danish artist Thomas Dambo from repurposed wood and other natural materials. These trolls are so incredibly detailed, they are an inspiration to young and old alike.

The first large-scale U.S. exhibition by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, Troll Hunt features trolls constructed from reclaimed wood that rise 15 to 30 feet tall—one troll reclining on his back measures a striking 60 feet long. Each troll is one of a kind and inspired by its distinct location at the Arboretum. I like to say that Thomas still likes to play with loose parts, and you know my love of loose parts in early childhood classrooms!

Ephemeral Art or Earth Art is a temporary art form where the artist uses natural resources (sticks, stones, leaves, ice, shells, sand) to create original pieces of art. It’s also the foundation for math and science benchmarks. For our students this involves designing, patterning, grouping and sorting. This hands on learning can be used to deepen children’s learning about aesthetic qualities of materials, enriching their vocabulary and jump starting their creative juices. Earth Art is creative fun that can be done by everyone!

When they are designing, they are measuring using nonstandard units to measure length and capacity. They use vocabulary that describes and compares length, height, weight, capacity, and size. Our children will express wonder and curiosity about their world by asking questions, solving problems, and designing things.We will use mathematical and computational thinking! Land Art allows children to develop and use models to represent their ideas, observations, and explanations through their designs

We love to create our own earth art using whatever natural materials have made their way into our program. Our students understand that this is a gift to all who see it, but it may not be there when we come back. I feel this concept comes rather easily to children who spend many hours outdoors. They understand that the seasons, weather and creatures change often. Snapping a picture to document the learning and to share with friends and family helps to remind the kids, it was ephemeral.

On a recent trip to the park, Ave discovered a newly fallen tree and all the pieces of bark must have been calling to her. While her friends were busy on the playground, Ave quickly fell into a play buzz all her own.

When I see this happening in my program, I offer my services. "What do you need, Ave?"

"Bark, sticks, acorns,rocks ...treasures! I need more treasures! "Treasures" turned out to be water bottle caps. Haha! I am sure my brain worked as hard as hers, as I tried over and over again trying to understand her desire. She never looked up, she never stopped to show me. She was deep. She had tuned out the world around her. She was learning. This is the very, very deep math foundation we strive for.

This nine foot long "creation" took our four year old friend, 40 minutes of intense focus, determination and math and science investigation. She would try pieces in different places before determining exactly where each piece belonged. Can she recognize her numbers from 1-20? She can't. Do I struggle with that? I do. Until I remind myself HER brain isn't ready for that. HER brain is ready for this! This estimation, dimension building, logical mathematical thinking MAGIC that was happening. There are math and science benchmarks galore in this 9 foot piece of ephemeral art! Oh, wait. Reality returns. This piece of mastery, in the city park where vandalism is sadly rampant, will be destroyed in a matter of hours. My heart is broken.

Ave jumps up, "Can we go now, I am hungry! Is it time for lunch?"

I get down on one knee and say as kindly as I can, "Ave, I am going to take pictures of this because I am worried the wind or the raccoons or someone walking at night might accidentally break this. It is so beautiful, and I am sorry, but I promise to share this with your family and we can print..." before I can finish my sentence, Ave is heading back to school. "Oh I know, can we go back now, I am hungry!" This is a child who understands nature and ephemeral art, and science exploration and math investigation. The benchmarks for number recognition when that part of her brain is ready, will come quickly and without effort. There is no doubt her benchmarks in other areas of math, are beyond her years! Embrace this in your classroom. You can’t teach them, what their brains aren’t developmentally ready for.

This month I have a challenge for you. Currently, as we spend the majority of our days closer to home, wouldn’t this be a great time to share earth art with our neighbors? To create little gifts on sidewalks, or in parks, or forests. Let’s bring joy into the lives of strangers. Ephemeral Art, will make your heart smile while creating a strong math and science foundation in the brains of our students and families.

Oh, and that art creation at the park? It was left untouched for more than two weeks. Share the love, share the math and science foundation through play, share ephemeral art! Stay safe, my friends.