Friday, February 7, 2020

Arranging Collage 
in 2D on Paper and
3D at the Light Table
​...and other aspects of our day.

Collaging on Paper

At meeting, Jack said, "I want to do collage houses every day in KW." We looked through and reflected on collages made yesterday. We noticed details children added such as the person in Lou Lou's collage and the many beds Maren had in her collage house and how the grown-ups' bed was bigger. Lou Lou made the plan to add a baby to her house today.

The children were challenged: when making a person or other object to make the entire representation out of collage. Lou Lou agreed to take on the challenge. Leigh, who had yet to make a collage said, "I could do it." Lane also showed interest in taking the challenge on.  

Collage by Leigh

Collage by Maren

Jack's Collage

Lane's Collage

Collage by Lou Lou

Leigh returned to her collage with a different idea for the grass.

While working on the collages children spoke about their decisions and representations:

Maren: "Now I am doing a big bed." 
Jack: "You can't see my bed, because this is the outside" (of the house.)
Leigh: "I made a flat roof. This is a stop sign. I have a stop sign near my house. I'm going to do a chimney."
Maren: "This (green) is the carpet."
Leigh: "Here's a rainbow."
Lane: "I'll use this for the bottom of the house. The top can just be the map. I'll put these flowers on. Perfect."
Lane: "This is going to be some grass, brown grass."
Lou Lou: (Referring to the first rectangle she placed, "That's a bed." Later she changed her mind and had the rectangle represent a house. She cut out pieces of paper to represent the frame on the windows instead of drawing them in as she had done yesterday.

Overall we have seen the children's collages evolve this week including more details each day, both for those returning to the experience and for children coming to the experience for the first time, perhaps showing the ways children build off of one another's experience and learn through relationships. 

Light Table Arrangements "When everyone walks in they will love all the work we have done." -Lane

The entry light table saw a lot of attention this week leaving it in need of some care. We invited children to tidy up the area and create a beautiful new arrangement which would invite others to return to the table in the new week. Lane and Lou Lou began the work, creating collage-like arrangements with materials at the light table. Maren joined later, then Jack briefly.

Lane and Lou Lou began putting some items away and making perfumes for fairies with candles and gems. A playful start develops into ideas for fairies. Here's some of what was said as the children carefully made their beautiful work:

Lane: (placing gems in a candy tray) "The tray of medicine marbles."
Lou Lou: "This is a real mar-ball."
Lane: "What's a mar-ball?"
Lou Lou: "It's one of these." (holding up a marble) "They're real, I don't know where they live."
Lane: "These are gonna get lighted- so pretty and stylish."
Lane: "When everyone walks in they will love all the work we have done."
Lou Lou explains a place for fairies to come in and relax.
Lane refers to "fairy baths." "This is a spa, the place where the fairies go to get messaged."
Lou Lou: "It actually hurts when you get out of the spa because you have to get a spray in your face to get the germs off because there's so much spit in the pool."

Maren joins.
Lou Lou: "Maren, I need your help gettin' these to stay up."
Maren: "To make it stable you mean?"
Lou Lou: "We're making it very fairy-ish. That's very pretty, Maren."
Lou Lou and Maren make an outdoor play area for the fairies. 
Lou Lou: "A sea playground."
Lou Lou (as they worked in the final section of the light table): "We want it to be organized so it's not lookin' too messed up."
Jack joined, helping add finishing touches and Leigh came to see the work done by her friends.

When the children finished, Maren took photos of their work. 

Maren captures the beauty of the arrangements:

Lou Lou stood back, seeing the finished product in it's entirety: "Now it's like perfect. It's more than I imagined."

Also today...

Lou Lou and Leigh drilled holes in wood to prepare for sewing next week, Maren glazed her clay house, and Jack worked in construction at the light table in Tucker Room.