Metal Insets and Color Tablet Boxes 2 & 3

Today, I'm sharing the two materials my children most frequently choose to work on:

 My son (4 yrs) and the Metal Inset shelves
My daughter (28 months) and Color Tablet Boxes 2 and 3

Metal Insets
Two stands, ten metal frames with matching metal insets (insets are a square, triangle, circle, rectangle, oval, trapezoid, curvilinear triangle, and quatrefoil).

The metal insets help him master using a writing instrument. While he does very well with writing, these hold the perfect challenges for him that he is interested in (and needs) at this time.

 

An example of his work. Note that left side, tracing the inset shape (yellow) is tricky as he attempts to go around the left hand holding the inset, vs the outside outline (blue line) where this is not needed.

 

He's working on mastering staying in the lines with his inside strokes. He also seems to be interested  in the effects of pressure on the pencil.

 

I'm noting these things from observation. We don't discuss what he needs to work on because it's not necessary. He continues to work on this because he enjoys it; and in his own time, all of it will come together.

Sometimes he asks me to do one with him so we can color together:)

 

 

Color Tablets Boxes 2

My daughter 25-27 months:

 

 

There are 22 tablets; a pair of each of the primary colors, the secondary colors, and also pink, brown,black, white, and grey.

 

She loved to place one set on the table and the matching set across the room. I'd choose a color, hold it and she'd set out to find the match and bring it back to me. This was always the first thing she wanted to do when she woke in the morning, she'd work on it periodically throughout the day, and it was usually the last thing she wanted to do before bed. Every time we completed this work, she would ask to do it again.

 

She mastered the second box so quickly I barely had time to order and wait for box three to arrive in the mail. She now works on box 2 independently, or with her little girlfriend of the same age.

 

Color Box 3

My daughter 26-27 months 

Contains 63 tablets; 7 shades of red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, brown, pink, and grey.

 

She took to the three period lessons on dark vs light colors very quickly. Now she enjoys choosing a single color and grading it from darkest to lightest on her own.

 

 

This work is typically explored at age 3.5 - 4.5 but it's what she's currently interested in and so we will continue to do this together, at her pace, until she's ready to work independently. My son (4) finds this work a bit "boring", but he sure seems to enjoy sitting by her side to help when she needs him.