A student stacks three identically shaped blocks, each a different color, one on top of the other. He closely examines this structure, with a dry erase marker in his hand, and pauses for a moment. He then gently places one hand on top of the structure before drawing on it (he understands that it would fall otherwise).
As the children interacted with the light table this week they explored concepts such as shape, architecture, fine motor skills, composition, and construction. In this example, we notice that the marks made were clearly influenced and inspired shape of the object.
In an open-ended offering such as this, there is no right or wrong way to use the materials. This offering promotes creativity and exploration, inviting many different interpretations of how one might use these materials. While some individuals drew directly on the light table, others determined that the shapes and blocks were the ideal surface for drawing. Many of these creations were collaborative. In this example, one child creates a new color by layering several different colored shapes, and another child drew more shapes, lines, and squiggles on the surface of the shape.
