Arts Explorer # 6: "Mobile with Scissors"

Art is important in classrooms because it allows children to express their identities and understanding of their world in creative and meaningful ways. For this week's arts explorer, we had to come with an activity that allows children to communicate just that. I decided to come up with a mobile activity which is described in the textbook as a "three-dimenasional works of art consisting of separate parts joined together by thin connectors, usually wire or string"(Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009, p. 312). Moreover, a mobile is a hanging sculpture that moves and generally has pieces that are suspended and free to more about (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009). Children can bring artifacts and materials from home that communicates their culture or their identities, which in turn communicates their understanding of the world and themselves. 

Examples of mobiles

Activity: "Mobile with Scissors"

• Materials: Ask children to bring something meaningful to them from their home that represents their culture, what they like, or what is meaningful to them. Additionally, tell them to ask their parents for help. This can be shells, pictures, leaves, cards, or feathers etc. 
• Also, provide pieces of paper for them to draw on and cut out, and magazines for them to cut pictures from.Provide string for the children to hang the materials from. The support from which the materials can be hung from could be a coat hanger, a tree branch, chopsticks etc. Whatever is available
• Construction: Once the children have collected the materials that they would like to hang on their mobiles, provide hole punchers for them to add holes. If they have shells or hard objects, you may want to use the string to tie around the object. 
• Once they tie strings around their objects (the length doesn't really matter), they can then tie it on to their support. Make there is space between the objects so that you can see the individual objects. You may want to show them how it's done first so that they can observe how it's done, then you can provide support for each child later.
• Depending on the kind of supports you have for the mobile, you may want to hang it on a clothing rack or on the ceiling with hooks. For a clothes hanger, it will be easy to hook it on, but for chopsticks or branches, you may want to add wire to wrap around the support then hang it. 
• Discussion and closing activity: Once all the mobiles are finished, gather in a circle with each child's respective mobiles and have a group discussion about the objects they chose to hang up. Ask open ended questions as to why they picked those objects. 
• Sample Questions: Why did you pick those objects? What do those objects say about you? Did you ask your parents for help? What did your parents help you pick? How do those objects make you feel? Are you happy with what you made?
• Discuss with the class where they think they should hang the mobiles. 
• Hang up the mobiles and admire them!

I remember doing a mobile activity in my first year placement, and it was a lot of fun. The children were very happy, proud and excited with what they made. It really made the children feel included in the classroom, and it created discussions about the materials they hung up that lasted for weeks. It created an inclusive atmosphere in the classroom because children hung up things that they valued, and meant something to them, and their objects were accepted and celebrated by everyone. 

Reference 

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J. E. (2009). Art & Creative Development for Young Children. Clifton  Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning.