We have recently drawn the children's attention to shapes. During their play we have made explicit their use of shapes. We have challenged them to think more consciously about a shape's attributes and its relationship to their work. A recent conversation had us thinking together about this topic. Below are some excerpts we captured.
What have we learned about shapes? EMILY
We've learned that shapes don't always have points. Like circles. BIRDIE
Bodies can be shapes. Like legs are rectangles, heads are circles, hair is lines... GRAEME
Like some shapes don't have any points but some have points all over. LYLA
Like the sun has points and a little circle. BIRDIE
The sky is like a rectangle and the sun has swirls and points. ARYA
The milky way galaxy has swirls! GRAEME
We've heard a lot about points. What else does a shape have? EMILY
Hexagons. They have 80 sides! A stop sign. CHARLIE, as he draws.
Same shape as a stop sign, except it doesn't have the words. CHESTER
I can make a pointagon. A pentagon has five sides. ARYA, as she draws.
I can make a circle. BIRDIE, as she draws.
A long circle. I, maybe I can say it. It's not good. It's a thin oval. LYLA, as she draws.
Hey, that looks like a face. A big nose! CHESTER
I can see some triangles in every single shape! JANE
Yeah, I made something and there is a bigger paper shape with these lines and then other shapes inside. BIRDIE
Emily invites Birdie to share a recent shape collage she created at home.
I see something in my eyes that's like an Egypt head. A boat with an Egypt head. SEVI
Some shapes are very long. VIVIAN
Like a cylinder, it's 3D. It's like a cup without a top. BEATRICE
And the conversation continues!
Below are some examples of the ways shape informs children individual and collaborative work.
“Oh, there’s another egg!” ZAAHRA
“Too big.” BEATRICE
“I’m putting them all around.” BEATRICE
“Can I help?” ZAAHRA
“I think we’ll need some more.” SEVI
Step 1: Make your triangle, then fold it.
Step 2: Unfold it.
Step 3: Fold. Fold it into a kite.
“Make four people lay down on the ground.
Put tape on outline of people.
We wanted it to be a square but they were different.
A rectangle.”
GRAEME
