Drawing With Numbers

In the afternoon, we invited the children to begin their work period. A time children can choose to work on anything. Some children play sports, and others like to paint. Many children revisit work from previous days, and some need help starting a new project. 

Today, we introduced the children to the process of drawing with numbers and exploring the possibilities of numbers in a non-traditional way.

Inviting children to experiment and explore known objects in non-traditional ways is beneficial. Children who explore numbers differently may begin to look at other materials or ideas with an experimental or expanded view. By opening the possibilities of a number, we open the possibilities of all things in the learning environment. 

The number project was not part of a more extensive investigation. It was a stand-alone opportunity for the children to explore numbers. As work began, some children created a defined image like a house or a mountain, using numbers as the medium. Other children made an abstract design using numbers and color as the medium.

Educators try to create invitations they believe children will enjoy. Often the invitation fits a specific theme or goal for the educator, not the child. Educators often feel pressure to come up with invitations that fill a specific educational component. 

Educators can support academic goals by following the children’s interests. Plenty of learning opportunities exists within the scope of the children’s interests. The educator has a role in joining the children in a learning journey. As co-learners, the concepts children want to explore become the emphasis of our work together.

The children that joined the number exploration worked gradually at first. They experimented with the possibility of numbers as a creative medium by placing a number on the page in a new way. As the children felt more comfortable creating with a number, they worked faster. 

Children are open to trying new ideas and investigations. Children work with more intention on projects they develop. When children have time to explore a creative process, they become more comfortable expanding their work. Children love to challenge themselves in creative work. The work then becomes an investigation and exploration of what a specific process offers and discoveries from experience.

The creative process with a number was a short-lived investigation. The children who participated enjoyed the process and treated it as a one-time project. Drawing with numbers may return in some other form of inquiry later. On to future work and the possibilities that lie before us.