By Parul Chandra, Head Teacher
This winter, Center AM teachers introduced a novel and open-ended material into the classroom: wire. From the airy weightlessness of a strand of hair to the taut power of a rigid rope, wire is an extraordinary material that has inspired many artists and sculptors, including Alexander Calder and San Francisco’s “fountain lady,” Ruth Asawa. We were eager to see how the children would respond to such a potentially rich medium. Our first step was to provide them with various gauges of metal wire at the art table.
For young children, the expressive outlet of creative play provides deep meaning and enhances their sense of self. The open-ended play materials Bing Nursery School teachers traditionally offer—blocks, clay, paint, water and sand—naturally draw children into endless play. But other materials encourage creative expression as well, and wire is one of these.
Wire is attractive to children because it gives them the opportunity to think with their hands, which is something they enjoy. Wire’s malleability also appeals to them. Its responsiveness follows the children’s will. It can be straightened out and reshaped or reconstructed, but never appears to diminish. Wire’s three-dimensionality enables children to transfer their observations of the world directly to their representation of it. Its flexible nature allows for change, so that ideas can emerge and re-emerge easily, with no penalties for exploration.
To guide the children in their play with wire, we asked them open-ended questions: I wonder how you will change the shape of this wire? What do we need to do this? Are you noticing what is happening as you move your fingers and move the wire around? We also commented on the children’s work: I noticed you changed the shape. Your long straight piece is not straight anymore. You are really using a lot of pressure on the thick wire.
During the exploratory stage, the children manipulated the wire to learn about its properties. We invited children at the art table to experiment with different lengths of wire, using wire cutters and fastening techniques as they became more skilled at sculpting with wire. We gave them short strands and pre-bent tips of wire. After weeks of working with thin and soft wire, we introduced stiff and thick wire and combined the use of different gauges.
Children used their fingers as tools to manipulate the wire to give it shape and form. They looped, twisted, wrapped, or mangled their wire pieces. After a while they took it apart and did something else with the same wire: recycling as they went along! At the end, we had a diverse assortment of fantastic-looking creations and a true sense of accomplishment.
As children experimented with the wire, their hands made decisions for them. Their fingers connected the different gauges of wire as they snagged, braided or kinked the wires to hold them in place. They explored how to draw with wire instead of pencils, and their hands invented new ways for them to handle wire. They bent the wire into letters, numbers and representational figures.
These are some of the children’s remarks during their initial explorations with wire:
I curled it! I’m smashing the wire! —Alexandra
I just bend the wire in half and I curved it. —Yaamini
I bended the wire to make the animal’s legs. —Hannah
I twisted the wire with my finger and closed it up. —Mila
I curled the wire up and then pulled it up a little. —Lorin
I can twist it and I can bend it. Check this out! I am bending it and twisting it! I can connect it. I saw a hole in it and I connected it. You can even squish it. —Benjamin
Just as children progress through different stages in painting, drawing and block building, they also progress in working with wire. Their skills vary based on experience. We offered wire every day so the children could repeat experiences to gain mastery and understand the rich qualities of this material. Initially, the children explored the sensorial nature of wire, whether springy, taut, hard, soft or flexible. They did not create specific objects, but rather tried to understand the material and what they could do with it. With time, the children became more deliberate with their wire experimentation. They put wire to a series of tests by pulling, bending, stretching and wrapping it. Their physical activity uncovered the properties of wire: that it is malleable, flexible, open-ended and responsive.
These explorations continued with teachers asking questions, prompting the children to think about making three-dimensional forms. Using their newly acquired techniques, the children began creating with intentionality, and came to the wire table with concrete plans. We brought out pictures of wire sculptures as models and inspirations, and to motivate them to create what was on their mind.
These are tunnels and this is the animals walking. –Hannah
Now the children’s challenge was to fulfill their ideas. They learned to problem-solve with the wire, and with support from teachers, came up with creative solutions. Children pondered the structural aspects of their wire sculptures: How many different ways could they attach the wire to itself? Can you loop wire through itself? How strong or weak were the results? What happened when they combined two or more different thicknesses or types of wire? Could kinked wire be straightened again? How does one attach the sculpture to a base? How to create a wire mobile? To solve structural problems, they added materials like masking tape, duct tape, yarn, string and paper.
As the children developed techniques in using the material and creating three-dimensional representational work with wire, they were then driven to integrate it with other materials. Wire travelled to the clay table, the design table and outside to the woodworking table. They used colored and aluminum wire of different gauges to weave, to add to their woodworking projects and as a tool to work with clay.
Children shared narratives of their wire sculptures:
It goes really fast. It’s a twisty rollercoaster. It goes upside down and it jumps from one wire to another one. —Brady
This is a football game. This is the ball. This is the Patriots. This is the next game… the 3rd game. This is Chicago Bears and the Packers. —Maxwell
It’s wiggly jiggly. It’s a playground. This is where you climb and this is where you slide. —Calli
It’s a big BOOM! Pyo! Pyo! Dabbadabba, pyo! Pyo! —Huey
It’s a big BOOM! Pyo! Pyo! Dabbadabba, pyo! Pyo! –Huey
Why is playing with wire so rich and meaningful for children? Open-ended materials like wire, when used repeatedly in a planned manner, can significantly impact a child’s cognitive, perceptual, motor, social, emotional and creative skills. Wire offers many opportunities to develop children’s positive self-image as they express their ideas and feelings. Wire facilitates trying out ideas by allowing for continuous change, and it provides children with a sense of freedom of both action and choice.
A door hanger. –Yaamani
We have continued to explore other ways to integrate this medium into our curriculum, taking ideas from children’s work. Children imaginatively combined these materials to create props for their dramatic play or to tell a story expressing their thoughts and feelings. Rich and vivid narratives evolved from these wire manipulations. An important component of a creative experience is reflection on the experience that makes it rich and fulfilling. Children enjoyed talking about how they used the wire, and their sculptures became catalysts for their shared storytelling.
We have set aside some of the children’s early works so that they can see their evolution as wire sculptors. They can build on their achievements and offer their work as an inspiration to others. We now have an additional open-ended material in our classroom! From dark annealed, galvanized wire to colored wire, or copper, brass, and aluminum wire, there are so many more possibilities to explore!
It’s a rollercoaster. Actually, it’s a race car and this is the race car track. –Benjamin
I looped and looped. Then I connected them together. I made a caterpillar. The lines on the back are the rain. Eyes, nose and mouth in the front. It will turn into a butterfly. –Alexandra