Today I introduced the light table, bringing it together with our fall explorations by providing a basket of pressed leaves the children helped me to collect last week, along with clipboards, paper, and markers for drawing. I split the children into two groups of three, to allow them all to have a chance without crowding around the table. The children were enthralled by the light and eager to explore--though there was typically more interest in the table than the leaves (which is exactly what I expected).
K (5) drew an actual representation of a leaf, the other children will work more on representational skills throughout the year. J (3) attempted a leaf rubbing, putting the leaf under his paper on the clipboard and coloring over it with a marker--it was unclear as to whether he had experimented with rubbings before but he seemed satisfied with the result. B (4) came up with the idea of actually drawing on the leaf. The other children tried this activity as well, but none of them stuck with it as long as he did. He continued even when he observed that it was difficult to control the marker on the slippery leaf (an adjustment with his grip helped).
In the second group N (4) asked if she could use some glue to stick the leaves to the paper. This led to the two other girls in the group (L, age 3 & B, age 2.5) also wanting to glue. The girls remained engaged in this activity for over 30 minutes, even the two youngestI wish I had a picture of L's mixed medium work--she used markers, crayons, and leave collages to create an intricate pieces she entitled "Ladybug"! B. (2.5) stacked one leaf on top of another, applying liberal amounts of glue to keep the stack together. "It's sticky!"
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