Piecing Together Executive Functions
Hansel and Gretel
Retold and Illustrated by Rachel Isadora
Collage is one of those art processes that naturally invites children to explore and experiment, without worrying about the end product!
Younger children revel in the colors and stickiness.
Older children imagine stories as their pieces spark ideas.
To start: Have children closely examine the art in Hansel and Gretel or other books by Isadora (Eric Carle, Lois Ehlert, Ezra Jack Keats and Leo Lionni are among others who make great use of collage in illustrations!)
What you’ll need:
Variety of (dried!) finger paintings to rip, snip or cut
Paper to glue pieces onto
Glue
Optional:
Other collage materials (tissue paper, fabric, yarn etc.)
Crayons, markers etc.
How-to suggestions:
Have children rip, snip or cut finger paintings etc. (Doing this in sensory table or on trays helps! )
Put pieces into e.g. pie pans. Kids can suggest ways to sort them, if desired.
Have children assemble and glue their collages.
THEN!
What do they see in their own collage?
What do they see in others’? (Maybe nothing…and that’s fine too!)
How it develops Executive Functions
Cognitive flexibility
Children can see many possibilities as they play with random bits of color and shape!
What ELSE can I make or see? If I want to make a house…is there a shape like a chimney? Can I make one? Those bits look like candy! Where can I glue them?
Working memory
Holding in mind the steps to snip, or to glue, or even where to put their papers when they’re done, all build working memory.
Want more ideas for how to use collage to develop executive functions and resilience?
Check out this group mural project for The Three Billy Goats Gruff! It’s easy to adapt to any fairy tale or story your children are exploring!
