SUMMER ADVENTURE 2026 | Amazing Artists 🎨
Exploring how artists see, hear, and experience the world.
What happens when children are invited to experience art instead of simply looking at it?
During the first week of Summer Adventure 2026, our young artists explored the work of Wassily Kandinsky, Antoni Gaudí, and Vincent van Gogh. Through music, architecture, painting, building, and plenty of hands-on experimentation, we discovered that inspiration can be found almost anywhere.
Hearing Color: Wassily Kandinsky 🎵🎨
We began our Amazing Artists adventure with Wassily Kandinsky and the beautiful book The Noisy Paint Box. We learned about Kandinsky’s experience with chromesthesia, a form of synesthesia in which sounds can trigger the perception of colors, a fascinating connection that helped inspire his colorful, abstract artwork.
To experience a tiny piece of Kandinsky’s world, we closed our eyes and listened to Flight of the Bumblebee. As different pieces of classical music played, the children drew what they heard: big zigzags for loud, exciting sounds, tiny circles for quiet melodies, and all sorts of wonderful shapes and lines in between.
There was no “right” way to draw the music, and every child’s artwork was beautifully different. It was wonderful watching them listen closely, interpret what they heard, and discover that art can begin with something as simple as a sound.
“Anything can be art!”
— Our Summer Adventurers 💛
The next morning, we asked another question: Can buildings be art?
Finding Art in Nature: Antoni Gaudí 🌿🏛️
The children quickly reminded us of something they had decided the day before: “Anything can be art!” So yes, buildings can be art too! We spent the morning exploring the incredible work of Antoni Gaudí, looking closely at the Sagrada Família, Park Güell, Casa Batlló, and Casa Milà. We noticed their colorful mosaics, flowing shapes, and unusual designs, and learned how Gaudí found much of his inspiration in nature—a world where perfectly straight lines are surprisingly rare.
Then it was time to put on our architect hats! Using play dough, seashells, wooden dowels, and cardboard, the children designed and built their own nature-inspired structures.
Some grew tall, some twisted and curved, and others evolved completely as the children experimented with how to make their ideas stand. Just like Gaudí, our young architects discovered that inspiration for art can be found all around us—even in the shapes and patterns of nature.
After discovering that art could be heard in music and found in architecture, we turned our attention upwardto a swirling night sky.
Making the Sky Move: Vincent Van Gogh 🌌✨
After discovering that art could be heard in music and found in architecture and nature, we turned our attention upward to…Vincent van Gogh’s swirling night skies.
During circle time, we explored Van Gogh’s distinctive painting style and noticed how he used short brushstrokes, bold colors, and swirling lines to make his paintings feel full of movement. As we looked at some of his most famous works, the children shared what they noticed and talked about the different emotions the paintings made them feel. Then we created our own interpretations of The Starry Night! Using white crayons, the children filled their skies with stars, swirls, and movement before painting over their drawings with watercolors. There was a little bit of magic as the hidden white lines began to appear through the paint!
Although everyone began with the same inspiration and materials, no two night skies looked alike. Each child found their own way to interpret Van Gogh’s wonderfully imaginative sky.
After three days of listening, looking, creating, building, and painting, it was finally time to experience the artwork in an entirely new way…
🌻 Stepping Inside the Art
After three days of listening, looking, building, painting, and creating, it was finally time to step inside the artwork we had been exploring all week.
On our final day, we visited the immersive Van Gogh exhibition, and one of our favorite moments was hearing the children excitedly recognize paintings we had discussed in the classroom and even point out Gaudí’s buildings during the special feature! Seeing those connections happen naturally made the experience even more meaningful.
We explored several interactive spaces along the way, including a space-themed experience and a magical infinity mirror room. But the highlight was watching the children’s faces light up as they became surrounded by Van Gogh’s artwork, with sunflowers swirling around them and familiar paintings brought to life through movement, music, and light.
After our museum adventure, beautiful weather gave us the perfect opportunity for a picnic lunch in the shade before heading back to school. It was a wonderful ending to a week filled with art, imagination, exploration, and discovery.
Of course, we had an incredible time studying art and their amazing artists but summer adventure wouldn’t be what it is without pure summer fun in the sun! We enjoyed pool time, free play with friends, and just being together every day!
Anything Can Be Art 💛
At the beginning of the week, our children decided that “anything can be art.” By the end, we had found art in music, architecture, nature, movement, and even the night sky.
Our Amazing Artists reminded us that there are endless ways to see and create beauty in the world around us. 🎨✨
Next in our Summer Adventure 2026 series:
🔬 Curious Scientists