Our first 4th Grade project is called Mystery seeds. It's a large format watercolor painting. The process begins when I hand out seeds that look a little different than ones we are used to. They have various colors and patterns on them. Students are asked to recreate the image underneath a set horizontal line on their paper.

Once the seed is finished in crayon we draw some roots that work towards the line we drew. We take a class and practice watercolor techniques including, crayon resist, wet on dry, wet on wet, dry brush and a cool effect with kosher salt. When we return to the painting I tell the students that I've never seen these seeds before and I have no idea what grows out of them. That becomes the conceptual problem for them to solve. My only criteria is that it must be solid color and the plant must touch the remaining three sides. Once finished we hang them like in the picture above creating a garden. Even though the solutions are all very different, they come together as a unit or garden. Here are some close ups.