Inspiration: Sequins

Endless possibilities!

My daughter recently received a crafty gift for her birthday which served as inspiration for an art activity I am now planning for the classroom.  (Don't you just love when that happens!)

These types of craft kits are available at any hobby store in the States, but I had never seen one with sequins and pins  as see here in a Russian kit.

While I was excited for my daughter to have received this gift, my mind immediately thought of the the fine motor coordination and concentration such an activity promotes:

Carefully placing a pin in one sequin at a time...

…and carefully placing it into the foam board.

One can imagine the effect once completed!

For classroom use, I envision something less product oriented and more open-ended.  For example, a large foam board could be set up with various sequins to be worked on with a collaborative artistic approach throughout the year .  This technique could also be used to provide meaningful extension activities with Montessori materials.  Lightly outlining a Map of the World and filling in with corresponding colors was a thought that came to mind.  Or, for a more individual project, the child could make a model of the Short Bead Stair, trace and fill in Metal Inset shapes…  As you can tell, the possibilities are limitless and I look forward to setting something similar up in my classroom!