Age 5-11.

Join us for a six-week art program exploring the beauty of nature through a variety of artistic mediums! We will delve into the natural world with hands-on projects designed to spark creativity, develop technical skills, and inspire a love of art and nature.

Throughout the program, we’ll also learn about the ways in which art and nature intersect, discussing the importance of conservation, the role of art in environmental activism, and the ways in which artists have captured the beauty and complexity of the natural world throughout history.

Week 1: Chinese brush painting with watercolors, discovering the beauty of this ancient technique. We’ll learn about brush strokes, color mixing, and the symbolism of different subjects in Chinese art.

Week 2: Black paper drawing. With metallic pencils and paint pens and pastels, we’ll experiment with contrast and negative space to create stunning images of plants and animals against a dark background.

Week 3: Life drawings of animals. Using a variety of drawing materials, we’ll observe chicken, alpaca, rabbit and sketch our subjects in detail, learning about composition, proportion, and shading.

Week 4: Stop motion animation. Using found materials from nature to create short films that capture the movement and energy of the world around us. We’ll learn about storyboarding, character design, and the technical aspects of stop motion animation.

Week 5: Pen and ink line drawings of close-up vegetables and cooked foods. From farm to table, using fine-tipped pens, we’ll capture the intricate details of nature in black and white, practicing precision and attention to detail.

Week 6: Acrylic landscape paintings of the four seasons, exploring the colors, textures, and moods of each season as we create our own unique pieces on canvas.

*topics subject to change.

Rachel studied in the MFA program at the California Institute of the Arts and received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Contemporary artist Rachel Rong created a unique concept of art education, combining the spirit of active research, art experiment and self-expression with the cognitive development process of children, establishing an intimate relationship between people and art, improving people’s aesthetic ability and image communication skills. She believes that art, like eating, should be an indispensable part of everyone’s life. Rachel hopes that the artistic feast will be global, diverse, aesthetically advanced, and uniquely creative.

Age 5-11

This is a vegan cooking class for children! Every week is different!  With many labels and packaged food, it can be confusing to know whether what we eat is really healthy. Through cooking and food exploration, students will learn the fundamentals of nutrition literacy for a healthier body. Healthier food, products and recipes will be introduced to empower students to make choices for a green impact. Every class devotes “Green Kitchen” time for students to get healthy, nutritious ideas for home cooking.

Important: this class uses soy and nuts ingredients.

Rosa received a B.S.in Mathematics Applied Sciences & Economics, UCLA, 1992, a M.S.in Nutritional Sciences, Cal State Los Angeles, 2001, and has been a Registered Dietitian since 2001. She feels passionate about nature education for the next generation and restoring the relationship between man and nature.

Age 5-11
Step into our lively barns to interact with animals and tend to their needs! Brush animal hair, collect food, clean animal habitats and feed them first-hand.

With guidance from trained staff, students will:
– Develop sensitivity in how to respond and properly handle farm animals.
– Learn hands-on how to “treat others the way they want to be treated,” from how to pet animals, to reading cues on what is needed — water or food, rest and more.
– Care for different kinds of animals on the farm through weekly rotation: pigs, roosters, hens, chinchillas, rabbits, cats, dogs, turtles, alpacas.

Each class, trainers will share first-hand experiences and lively stories of our farm animals. Students discover what makes each breed unique, while getting to know all the animal’s personalities — such as “Gentle Andy,” the alpaca. By working in small groups, students develop teamwork skills and exercise responsibility with an assigned task from their animal caretaker mentor. From caring for animals at a young age, students plant the seeds of helping and being kind to all living creatures.

*topics subject to change.

Angeles Martinez
At a young age Angie had her own pets that she would care for including goats, rabbits, Guinea pigs, dogs, chickens and many more. Learning about veterinary medicine and how animals are important for agriculture have always been something she’s been interested in. So after a lifelong love and compassion for animals Angie decided to pursue a B.S. in Animal Science from Cal Poly Pomona. Now she works at Little Parrot Farm as an animal caretaker.

Age 5-11

Grow vegetables by working together with nature! Understand the anatomy of plants, the many supporting factors to make plants grow, and farm insects that help support a healthy farm ecosystem. Every lesson, junior farmers will observe and apply skills towards designing and maintaining an edible garden with their classmates. Grow into a farmer that gives back to nature, by practicing “green” farming.

Mandy received a B.S.in Molecular biology, UCSD,1998, a Ph.D in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UCD, 2010, and has been a lecturer at Cal State LA since 2016. She enjoys working  and teaching with plants and animals.