Mobiles

The children enjoyed making  sculptures so much we thought they might be interested in making mobiles. 
The frame for the first mobile was teacher made out of a wooden hoop and beach reed. We explained that it was a "fragile" frame and that we needed to find things to hang on it that were light. We asked "What are some things that are light?", and the first answer we got was "paper". The next idea was "art made on paper". An idea was born!
The children drew pictures of their choice using colored pencils. We made them smaller in our "magic shrinking machine" aka,our awesome new color printer. We laminated them so they would last. 
The children also strung small beads,feathers and bells on twine.
For the second mobile we set out a wooden hoop, branches, tape, twine and wire. We asked the children to create together a frame for our next mobile.
With very little teacher guidance the task was skillfully accomplished. 
Because the branches were stronger than the beach reed we were able to hang heavier items on this mobile. The children had a great time stringing the unusual odds and ends we keep in a bin for inspired times like these.
Both mobiles turned out great! 
The children were very proud.



Popular posts from this blog

Insect Compositions

Image
We often use loose material compositions in our classroom as a way for children to tell us what they know. We set out various materials, stones, gems, paper and sticks. These representations are not permanent.  We take a picture and then the material gets sorted back and the activity is ready for the next child.
Read more

Summer Art Show

Image
This summer has been an incredible journey into the world of art. It started with a family trip to the Harn museum that inspired explorations into color,lines and shapes, which led to the discovery of different mediums and techniques.We read books about famous artists like, Vincent Van Gogh, Georgia O'Keeffe and Jackson Pollack. Somewhere around mid summer we provoked the idea of finding a way to show our art to our families .We talked about our trip to the museum and the children were excited to make an "art show" for their parents and friends. Our art show was a huge success.  We documented the work that the children did with the intention of making our summer visible to our parents. This type of documentation lets those not in our classroom day to day understand our path; where we started and why and how we ended up where we did. Our art show was not only an opportunity to show off our beautiful  works of creativity, it was also a way to sho
Read more

Painting Storm Clouds

Image
We learned there are different types of clouds, and that not all clouds bring rain. We can tell the weather by the kinds of clouds that are in the sky. Storm clouds are called cumulonimbus. They are tall, puffy and grey. They bring the rain. We invited the children to paint storm clouds. They turned out beautiful! Look for the them in our work room to the left of our back door.
Read more