What Does Winter Feel Like?

Winter is here….or so it may seem, if you gage the season by the sight of snow or the feel of bitter cold. What does winter feel like? Does it have a scent?

Before the Winter Break, our Art Educator, Marianna encouraged every child in our school to freeze a moment in time as they used their senses to create their art.

“Over the past few days I have been working one-on-one with each of your children.
We’ve been talking about Winter…the feelings and sensation of winter.

Let’s enclose this moment, let’s freeze this moment,” I said to them.
And let’s capture it in this little box… what does Winter smell like?

What does Winter feel like…?” ~ Marianna

Each child was given a small acrylic box, a string of lights and the choice of using elements like clove, leaves, evergreen, berries, textured papers, pine needles, pinecones, and more.

The five senses of hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell are the primary ways we use to gain new knowledge. Did you know that we rarely experience with just one sense alone? People of all ages learn best when involved in meaningful experiences, and through our senses of touch, sight and smell our students created wintry treasures to keep and share over and over again during the holiday season.

Enjoy this moment and the creativity and thought processes that brought your child to develop their art.
Enjoy Winter and the capture of this memory!

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The Importance of Olfactory Art with Children

Memory stimulation: Smells are closely tied to memory and emotions. The olfactory system is directly connected to the amygdala and hippocampus, the brain regions responsible for emotions and memories. Using scents in an artistic context allows children to evoke personal memories and build deep emotional connections.
Sensory development: Engaging the sense of smell helps children explore the world more fully, encouraging curiosity and attention to less obvious details.
Personal expression: Creating art through scents enables children to tell stories and express feelings in non-verbal ways, offering new modes of communication.
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