This is the time of year when Kindergarten students are studying relative measures like weight. This art and science-integrated engineering lesson taught teamwork, failure, tenacity, and experimentation.
In the first class, students used materials that were on the heavier side to make a wire strand for our mobile, including big glass beads, large 1-2" buttons, and big painted cardboard shapes, among other options. This is good exercise in dexterity and fine motor development, too: artist practice using a pinching grip, use basic sewing skills to thread in and out of the holes in cardboard, and learn to twist the wire so that materials don't fall off.
For the second class, students used very light materials, including sections of bendy straws, sparkly burlap fabric, plastic beads, and faux flowers and leaves. Many students were finishing their strands from the first class, and added these light materials to the heavier strands, resulting in more medium weights.
On the second day, I asked students what they thought an engineer is. As you might imagine when posing this question to a group of five and six-year-olds, the first answers were that engineers drive trains. So true! They started there and delved deeper. Here are some of their thoughts:
"Engineers drive trains and switch the tracks around." (Cue train sounds from a dozen kids simultaneously!)
"Engineers fix the train when it is broken."
"Engineers can fix other stuff too, like cars."
"Some engineers build buildings."
"And some can even make bridges you can drive over."
After extended student discussion, I asked what all of their definitions of engineers had in common. These are the features students came up with linking all types of engineers:
"Engineers do hard stuff."
"They solve problems and fix things that break."
"Engineers make stuff."
They found out that in art class that day, they would all be engineers who did exactly those things- making stuff, solving problems, fixing things that broke, and working together when it got hard. I let them know that the most likely outcome would be a class time of experimentation, failure, excitement, and occasional disappointment, resulting most importantly in experience. I assured them that a "finished" mobile was the least important thing to achieve.
I hung a large, circular piece of foam core form the ceiling. Several like it have been kicking around my storage space for some time, waiting for me to figure out a good use for them. There are deep slits in towards the middle, just the right size for the strands. Additionally, I used an awl to poke lots of little holes in the surface for more hanging options.
The foam core was initially hung from a wire, lopsidedly. After students made their two strands, they began to add their strands to the foam core, causing it to shift from side to side. Students could adjust where they put their strand in an attempt to balance the foam core. The strands that were slid into the slits moved around as the mobile tilted, and frequently slid right out of the foam core and onto the floor. The idea was to see how each addition effected the whole- adding something too heavy to one side might cause the mobile to shift, dumping off the work a couple of other classmates had just added.
Now, you might think that the kids would be upset by having to start over. Many children were surprised, disappointed, and a little frustrated, while many others giggled and were excited when pieces fell. Not a single student expressed frustration at anyone else, and their pride and confidence grew the more they worked at it. They worked well as a team, communicated, and asked each other for help. After failing over and over to keep all of the pieces on the mobile, students found the balance right in the last minute of art class! They were so proud and thrilled.
Enjoy a little moment of peace as one of the finished mobiles spins!
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