Who can resist the texture of beautiful fabric? Years ago, there used to be a group of parents who would quilt in the front foyer of our school. Their beautiful creation would be sold, via raffle tickets, and a lucky family would go home, the recipient of a stunning quilt, made with love. Somehow, I acquired a bag of scrap materials from this group of quilters. I vaguely remember using these batiq fabric scraps in some creative work with the kinders. But alas, this scrap material ran out. And since the tradition of quilt making at Castor Valley seems to have taken a hiatus, I have been searching for a new line on scrap fabric. This spring, we scored! My mother joined a quilting group -- never having quilted before in her life! Aside from being so proud of her (these quilts are made for patients undergoing cancer treatment) I was also eager to find out if there would be any fabric scraps to donate. I am very grateful for the donations we receive, and there have been numerous art projects that have made use of these scraps.
While brainstorming open ended materials that could be used for our "loose parts" project, the notion of adding fabric to mix, seemed to fit.
Fabric, alphabet letters and dinosaurs. Oh my!
What the children had to say about the fabric:
"It was soft."
"It was flat."
"The fabric can be folded."
This child appeared to enjoy the process of placing
the fabric on in layers.
This collaborative effort required
communication and teamwork.
Exploring letters in this "title"
This child was using fine motor skills,
rolling up rugs.
This "pile of laundry" was weighted down.
I'm sure there was a story evolving here!
Fitting pieces together, to make a quilt or mosaic.
Simplistic beauty.
The use of fabric in this edition of "loose parts" reminded me again of the versatility of materials. When I'm at the hardware store, or a yard sale, I'm looking at items with new eyes. Our collections of seemingly random pieces are spurring creativity and wonderful social interactions in kindergarten.
Thank you for stopping by the atelier.
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