The children in the Threes class have taken a keen interest in paper over the last several weeks. It began with introducing glue sticks to the writing table. This was already a popular place, with many children doing multiple drawings each day. They had already been using scissors for many weeks to make snips in paper. Upon being offered glue, they tore or cut the paper, glued it together, and then started naming what they had made.
A flying bird
A boat
Based upon this interest, we brought in lots of paper scraps to see what they would do; the scraps were all different colors and shapes. They cut, tore, rolled, and glued, sometimes naming their creations afterwards, and sometimes putting pieces together with a product in mind.
A butterfly
This child explored the materials, focusing on cutting and gluing.
This child seemed to have a product in mind while she worked making a dragon. She named the parts as she assembled: head, wing, tail, eye, teeth… The children also incorporated drawing into their creations.
We revisited this activity over many days, and many children participated with lots of intent, focus, and imagination.
The children gave their hand muscles a workout and practiced hand/eye coordination as they folded, creased, smoothed, tore, cut, bent, stacked, and rolled.
On Friday we offered the paper again, but this time added colorful tape into the mix. They learned how to get their own tape from the roll by pulling it carefully and using scissors to cut off the desired length. They incorporated the tape into their paper creations.
Here are two of the many creations they have made over the last several weeks. We are so intrigued by this attempt at representational arranging, and love how this art experience is rich in imaginative play. We will continue to revisit this activity over the next few weeks, adding new kinds of materials to deepen the experience. We will also be displaying their creations in the hallway and around the room. We’re excited to see what they create next!
