Within the month of January, the children in the RisingOaks Early Learning | St. Brigid JKK after school program have shown a lot of interest in making “cheer pompoms.” The children began their exploration process by cutting coloured construction paper into strips and using glue sticks to glue the strips onto pieces of folded paper. This style of pompom unfortunately did not hold together for very long. However, the children were determined to find a way to make a sturdier version.
Next, the children tried the same process, but rather than using glue sticks they tried using tape, this lasted a little longer than the first, however in the end we were met with the same fate. After testing a few more methods together the children and their educators found one that was successful! Together we discovered that by rolling the construction paper into tubes, and cutting the tubes halfway down in strips we were able to create a sturdy “cheer pompom.” Each child used this method and made it their own, some children chose to layer up four pieces of different coloured paper to make a “rainbow cheer pompom,” while others chose to split the four pieces in half so that they could make two smaller “cheer pompoms” rather than one large one.
Throughout the process the children engaged in quite a bit of conversation and inquiry amongst each other, discussing what colours they were using and why. After lots of perseverance the children seemed so thrilled to have a sturdy final product. This process was a wonderful demonstration of the trial and error exploration often seen within the program. As educators it was great to see the discussion and team work that went into this process. Moving forward we will continue to offer open ended art supplies and loose parts to provide the children with more opportunities for creative exploration.
