Friday Group - Colored Sand Collage

One definition of Collage is "a combination or collection of various things" usually arranged and stuck to a backing. The word collage came from the French word that means literally to glue. What does this have to do with sand? Sand is yet another art medium that can be used in myriad of ways. I wanted to show the children that many different objects work in conjunction with the contact paper. Sand is an item that the children experience on playgrounds, that can be dumped, poured, dug into, patted down, and so on. Sand in shakers can have another use. When I tested the sand and contact paper with only Sebastien I realized very quickly that the holes in the shaker let the sand simply pour through. Wanting the children to have to make more deliberate actions to get the sand out I covered the holes with tape and poked just a few to make the sand come out much slower. Although Sebastien found this shaking to be fun, when I presented it to the group it held their interest for about 30 seconds before the table was deserted. Below is the ho-hum reception the shakers received from Max and Sebastien. However, Max did find the sound the shakers made against the table somewhat interesting.

I realized very quickly that the sand needed to have more of an impact, a wow factor to draw the children back in. So, I took off the tape and let the sand flow and boy did sand flow all over my house! Bryce was delighted by the sand pouring out of the shakers and wanted to empty every one of the colorful jars.



Once the sand was poured into a pile, spreading and mixing it all around became the popular activity. Not only did if feel neat to move it around, it also made an intriguing sound.



Hannah approached the sand differently. She was very careful in her pouring and placement of the sand. She even switched colors before a shaker was emptied of the sand. For her it wasn't about just pouring an moving the sand, it was about placement and slow movements. Watch as she is very intentional in her motions, creating her own masterpiece.



Once we began to clean up and sweep up the excess sand Max returned to the sand and contact paper but his exploration took another route. He first explores the table and the sounds the sand/contact paper surface can produce using different items. Then he finds a bucket full of sand and thus starts a whole new exploration.


Next week's challenge is to find the right balance of letting the sand flow but less overall sand scattered around the house!