Monday, May 21, 2012

"Quilting is Like a Big Puzzle"

         As part of our Art Unit, I asked two quilters to share their quilts with us.  The kids really enjoyed seeing (and touching) the quilts and asking questions about how they were made.

       After seeing "real" quilts, we made our own using paper.  We started by painting paper. I love how beautiful the paper was. We put drops of liquid watercolor on wet paper and then added lots of salt. It just gets prettier as it dries. I cut the paper into squares (and strips for the rolled paper collage).

           I also made a template that had 9 squares and five different quilt patterns.  I copied these onto bright paper.  After picking a color to go with their colored paper and writing their name the child circled the pattern they wanted to make.  They then told me what shapes they needed (squares or triangles) and how many of each. They then laid out the pattern.  As one of my kiddos noted, "quilting is just like doing a big puzzle."


         I then cut off the pattern part of the paper.  We hung them with the quilt so that our families could use the clues of color and pattern to figure out which one their child did.

 

13 comments:

  1. What a creative activity!! I was nice to have some quilters come and share their quilts. My mother is/was a quilter. She doesn't do much of it anymore. Love this activity!!!

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    1. I want to be a quilter someday...just need to find some time:)

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  2. Lyn, I meant to say in my comment about the quilt...It was nice...NOT...I was nice.

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    1. Although you obviously are incredibly nice:)

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  3. Thank you for the lovely idea. I used it in my New Entrants class in New Zealand to finish a unit about shapes and patterns. We also read the book The Quiltmaker's Gift by Jeff Brumbea. The book is a bit wordy and long for a five year old's attention span, so I retold it using the pictures in the book. Thanks again for the great idea!

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  4. This is a wonderful idea! Do you have the template you used on your blog?

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  5. I love this idea! Can you tell me more about the paper you used and the process you used to paint it. We are going to use this with the Napping House. Also, do you mind sharing the template you used?

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    1. I have done it with regular construction paper and watercolor paper. I think that it works better with kosher salt. I will try to go to work and get the template and scan it and send it to you. I had to cut and paste to create my template (with scissors and glue:)

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    2. Oh ok! Thank you for the tips! I appreciate it1

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  6. I love you art project, and the idea of the template is wonderful for my students.Would you send it to me? luvteaching@gmail.com

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  7. I love you art project, and the idea of the template is wonderful for my students.Would you send it to me? luvteaching@gmail.com

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  8. I love the art project. We are studying about the Appalachia Culture. Is there any way that you could send me the template to use with my students as well.
    rintin08@hotmail.com

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  9. I would also love a copy of your pattern if possible?? Thanks so much! This is AWESOME! takotick@gmail.com

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