Do we dream about summer for months on end? The warmth, the long bright days—and yes, the chance to break free from the daily grind with a day trip, a visit to distant friends or relatives, or a real vacation. But a vacation doesn't have to mean leaving town. Sometimes it means staying in your own city, your own home, but carving out time for the things that get crowded out by the rush of ordinary life. Whether they're full vacations or city-based ones, they can be enriched by group outings that, when organized thoughtfully, become wonderful experiences worth repeating.
Cultural Outings
Following the example of friends in Milan, you can try to set aside the fear of not being "up to it" and treat yourself and your companions to a visit to a museum or a particular work—Italy is so full of them! Why not give it a try?
Depending on who we're bringing along, we should take some precautions.
First, choosing the right destination is essential for the visit to succeed. We need to find a spacious museum or venue where we can take long pauses to enjoy the works without disrupting the museum's normal operations. If you want to organize special activities, it's wise to alert the organization in advance. But it would be wrong to think we can only enjoy a work if someone explains it to us. A guide can share curious historical facts about the work, tell us who made it, when, and why—but a work is more than history. Any visual work (like music too) speaks for itself in an educational way. It was created to communicate something to us, and it doesn't require someone to explain it.
What better example than the Scrovegni Chapel, which our friends visited? Those paintings were made to tell a story—the story of Jesus. It stirred different emotions in them that will stay with them for a long time. The work achieved its purpose: it moved their hearts. And who doesn't feel emotion? Once we accept that everyone is touched by what they see, a little goodwill can engage even the most distracted person! Let's ask ourselves how we feel, what emotions the work stirs in us. And even without words, we can express ourselves with paper and colored pencils. Sometimes it's easier with abstract works because we read them mainly at an emotional level—which is more common and accessible to everyone.
Art Activities
Tell Me Who You Are
This activity works best when done without rush and in a fairly large group (five or more).
Materials: For each participant, prepare a cardboard card (50x30) with their name on it. You'll also need a large supply of magazines with many images and photographs (food, travel, etc.), several pairs of scissors, paper glue, and tape.
Activity: Spread the name cards out on tables or the floor. Each person cuts out images from the magazines that express what they think of each companion and glues them to the matching cards—except their own, of course. For example, if you think someone is a sunny person, find a sun to paste on their card.
At the end, each person will have a poster full of images that others chose because they captured something true about who they are.
Flower Arrangements
Materials: For each person, one florist's foam brick and a container (such as a plastic plate), many different flowers with long rigid stems, and scissors (at least one pair per two people).
Activity: Each participant gets a foam brick in a container to hold their flowers. Everyone creates their own floral arrangement, letting their creativity guide them.
Surfaces
When you go on country outings, bring paper and colored pencils. You can make rubbings of tree bark or different kinds of leaves to see textures more clearly.
Palette of the Seasons
Materials: A large piece of cardboard cut in the shape of an artist's palette. White glue.
Activity: Divide into small groups and collect various leaves and flower petals. Group everything by color and glue it onto the cardboard palette. For each season, you'll discover different ranges of colors.
L. Nardini and C. Ventura, 2005
