Last week the children created fall collages. There are many concepts and skills learned from working on this type of project. One of our objectives was to teach children they can work on a project over a period of time. The collages and supplies were left out for a week. During daily center time the children were free to work on the collages for as long as they wanted, leave for another activity and return when they felt inclined either that day or on a different day.
A variety of materials including leaves, dyed popcorn kernels, holiday ribbon, fall colored sequins, construction paper scraps, and foam pumpkins were available for the children to use.
When children are given time to work on projects they can plan what they want to do and which materials they will use. They’re learning to organize their thoughts and ideas.
The children practiced fine motor skills while learning to use scissors.
Learning to use glue can be challenging, so some problem solving skills are acquired at the same time.
As with other open ended art projects we’re not concerned with the finished product, but with the process and the skills the children have gained. Earth’s Kids has an excellent article about the value of children working on collages.
Little Pandas Playschool 