Cut, Glue, Punch

A lady with her dog and a long yellow bus.

This morning Lucia initiated her own activity. She found these foam sheets left over from one of my classes, and imediately started putting them together to form shapes. "This is a pirate monster... This is a lady..." She then asked for scisors and glue and ran to her room. She cut out a shirt, added a skirt, a belt and a neck. She asked me to cut out a circle so she could make the head. She then needed smaller circles for the eyes.

That's when the hole-puncher came out. Her eyes opened wide! What a discovery. She now wanted to add little circles to everything. She added eyes and a nose to this little dog:

It was a delight to watch her and her excitement was contagious. She was designing wonderful creatures, building from her new skills and discoveries to create a story! She also felt in control, allowing her creativity to flow while deliberately cutting shapes and gluing them exactly where she intended to.

This is more than she has ever managed through drawing. More often than not she becomes frustrated with drawing because she cannot depict what she intends to. By having access to the right tools she was able to find a new way to express herself. The biggest smile was on her face! 

Providing children with an array of materials, in 2D and 3D will open the possibilities for them to creatively and skillfully express themselves. I look forward to more cutting, gluing and punching (holes, that is!).