Invitation to Explore Color: Collaborative Collage Project

This might be one of my new favorite Preschool/Kindergarten projects and I am so excited to share it with you!

This is an invitation I set out during our first week of preschool. I left it out during all 3 of our groups that first week and children were able to add to it as they wished! In the end we were left with a fun, authentic, co-created visual chart/wall display exploring shades and textures of each colour!

The set-up:

I turned our tables to be side-by-side length wise so I could fit the colors in rainbow order. I taped a piece of construction paper in each color to the table. I used our art trays to set out a collection of materials for each color using supplies I already had around the studio!

• Markers

• Crayons

• Scrap paper

• Glue stick

• Colored Washi Tape

• Bingo Dabbers

• Dustless Chalk

• Scissors (I tried to match a pair of scissors to each color as well)

• Some stickers I could find to match the colors

• *I did add in small cups of paint. I chose to offer a small amount of paint and Q-tips to paint with intentionally so the variety of details didn't become completely covered in paint.

I love that it was a project that children could come and add their ideas to. Collaborative work is a great way to encourage a sense of community for children, and putting it on display helps them feel a sense of group pride and ownership of the project as well!

As you can see, using a small amount of paint and choosing Q-tips to paint with naturally limited the amount of paint being used. I wanted to make sure the pictures didn't become completely covered in paint and lose the variety of details already added to each piece...but I also didn't want to take away from the children's freedom to express their creativity in their own way! Setting up materials intentionally like this means that children can take more ownership over their work without us as educators/parents feeling the urge to step in and suggest a different approach to the project based on our our own expectations or what we pictured as the end result.

I am in love with the end result, and I think these make such a beautiful addition to the classroom as a color anchor chart or even a home project with your little one! The best part is you likely already have a good variety of materials to do this right away!

You could also easily turn this into an individual project and have each child make their own collage for each colour and tie it together into a take home project titled "My Book of Colours!"

I would love to hear your thoughts on this project! Would you try this in your classroom or at home? If you do I would love to see how it turns out!

Be inspired to play always,

Hannah

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