CHANGING MODES OF REPRESENTATION

 Have you ever drawn a plan to build something and thought you understood all the variables only to find,  not long after beginning, a whole new set of problems that were not evident in the drawing?  Changing materials for representation can interject new challenges, and so new discoveries, around an idea that has grown stale or lost it's inspiration.

The children in the Meadow Room are very proficient at building with our magna tiles. 
Magna tiles are popular every year;

                  

                     


  ... they are versatile and open-ended, 
                                             ....beautiful, 
                                                             and with magnetic sides, simple to connect.  

But they can become repetitive, and if they do -  are they still vehicles for creative thinking?

Robyn commented the other day "they don't seem to be very satisfying".   
Me: "Are they just too easy?"
                                           Children like challenges, (we all do). 

What if... we offer the same shapes cut out of card stock (old folders actually), with tape for connecting. 

I showed the children in the mini-studio, that if they laid the pieces on the table and taped them first, their ships and buildings would be easier to construct.  I thought they needed this scaffolding to be successful in their constructions and not lose interest from frustration.  It is always a question "how much do I help?  What do I want them to get from this experience?"  I decided to show them this basic technique to make their constructions successful.

They helped each other and the constructions grew and changed.  
                                      
                                             









They flew their ships 

                                                              and embellished their buildings.

    

Paper and tape are not too different from the plastic they had used, though they bend and are harder to connect.  We plan to change materials again, as long as their interest holds, to see how many ways they can represent their ships and buildings, and increase their skills with various media at the same time - wood?  wire?  drawing?  paint?  shadows?

Changing modes of representation promotes creative thinking, problem solving, new skills, and collaboration.  Gaining proficiency with a material, and seeing what you have created is a source of pride, and so becomes a force for self-motivation.

Enjoy the children's work.