Under Construction

Young students love to work with objects they can manipulative, a play-based, child-centered approach supported by the Reggio Emilia educational philosophy first developed in Italy by Loris Malaguzzi after World War II. With this in mind, and because I wanted my students to (1) work in three dimensions, (2) realize that artworks do not have to be permanent or taken home, and (3) understand that it can be helpful to work collaboratively with others, I developed this lesson using pieces of wood.

Realizing that all the kindergarten classes had tubs full of wooden pieces in their classrooms, I asked the teachers to let me borrow them for about a week. For every kindergarten class that week, I would first distribute a big pile of the blocks on each table. Larger scaled pieces would go on a rug in the middle of my room.

Once students were seated, I would explain the process and ask questions about buildings, architects, and architecture. I directed them to work either individually or with the other students at their table to build stable, self-supporting constructions with the blocks. While they were working at the tables, one table group at a time would take a turn to work with the larger blocks on the floor.

To provide further discovery, students had to draw the constructions they made before they dismantled them, using markers on white or Manila paper. I would usually photograph the structures as well so we had the documentation of both drawing and photography. This helped the students understand that they couldn’t keep the actual structures and to work with the spirit of experimentation. This is definitely a lesson students were never eager to end.