SchoolArts - May/June 2008

Meeting Individual Needs

IN AND OUT

Free-Form Weaving

Ranella Franklin

Ilove trying new techniques, ideas, and activities with very young children—they are always so eager, willing, and forgiving, if necessary! Even the littlest children should be presented with opportunities for exploring the joys of art materials often reserved for older children. I certainly find this to be true with my own students who range in age from eighteen months to three years, and who also have various developmental disabilities.

Weaving engages students visually, tactually, and kinesthetically, so it is perfect for children who are functioning in the sensory-motor stage of development. Language skills, both receptive and expressive, are also enhanced, and a natural opportunity is provided to use both hands to do different things in order to achieve a common purpose.

readily, and, after a simple demonstration, were anxious to take a loose end of fabric and stick it through one of the openings in the loom. They also knew to watch for it coming out of the other side. Less experienced children (though not less enthusiastic) benefited from hand-over-hand assistance, while others required only moderate assistance to help hold the loom as they poked and pulled.

When a child finished weaving with one of the attached pieces of fabric, I would visually and verbally direct him or her to another one. Each piece of fabric was woven at least three times before a different piece was started. After all strips of fabric had been used, I tied the four loose ends onto the loom with the same simple knot that I had initially tied each piece.

Though experience was my main goal, many of the children seemed to enjoy carrying their finished product around the room with a sense of joy and pride that I don’t typically see in children this young.

Free-form weaving was a great experience for my very young children, though children of any age or ability would also enjoy it with simple modifications such as the use of more or fewer fabric strips, shorter or longer strips, or thicker or thinner fabric. Using a bicycle wheel or large, plastic milk crate would make a fun group weaving loom—the ideas are endless!

Weaving engages a
student visually, tactually,
and kinesthetically.

Preparation

• Cut fabric into strips. Parents are a good resource for fabric donations and also for cutting the strips.

• Tie one end of fabric strip to loom (four strips per loom).

• Attach small piece of masking tape folded over to make a nametag on each loom

Procedure Because the children in my class are so young, my goal was to have them experience the basic “in and out” weaving process. I worked with each child one-on-one, which allowed me to meet individual needs. The children who were competent “bead threaders” understood the concept

Ranella Franklin is an early childhood special education teacher at KinderFrogs School, a laboratory school on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. r.franklin@tcu.edu

Top: Ashlyn Dahlke, age thirty months, with teacher Ranella Franklin. Bottom: Travis Long, age thirty-five months, finished weaving.

Materials

• individual looms: plastic frames designed for holiday light storage were perfect. Other possibilities include the storage frames for ribbon and lace, or plastic baskets with openings on the sides.