Saturday, April 23, 2005

Montessori Tray: Fabric Matching

Tray Preparation: Cut fabric swatches in half and mix up each half placing them into two separate small bowls.

The Task: Layout the fabric in two piles and reunite the matches.

Smith & Noble has an offer for free fabric swatches, of which I had accumulated well over 30 swatches last year as I dreamed about drapery. A year later, I still have no drapery, but I have been looking for a good way to put the swatches to use since they are quality, paper backed swatches.

Grace learned that this was not quite as easy of a task as she first expected. Many of the swatches have similar colors, and by cutting the swatch in half, the patterns are not identical. She was forced to think in general terms, and move beyond color. It was a wonderful lesson in looking at the complexity of the weave, or the texture of the fabric.

This was an excellent task for Grace and it will remain out on the tray. She had a real unexpected sense of accomplishment after the task was completed, since her first remark was, "This is going to be boring". Boring it was not!

No comments: