The work I'm posting about is no longer on our shelves, but I realized I hadn't written about it yet. This year is the first time I've put it out, so you won't find it in the archives either. Below you can see how I had it set up on my stationary shelf.
From left: a basket of various colors of construction paper, a basket with strips of plain white cardstock, a basket with a gluestick, a basket with the pattern cards, a tray with three shape punches, and in the center of the green placemat, a Punch-Aid.
To do this work, the child selects a pattern card. (I made these by punching the shapes from black construction paper, gluing them into various patterns, and laminating the cards.) Then they choose a color (or two colors) of construction paper and use the Punch-Aid and punches to punch out the shapes they need. For the card shown below, they would punch 4 squares and 2 circles. Next, they get a strip of white cardstock and glue the shapes to it, following the pattern on the card. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a "finished" photo, but I am pretty sure you get the idea!! This was a very popular activity during the two weeks I had it out. If you have seasonal punches, this would be fun to put out with various seasonal variations.
I didn't know such a thing as a "punch-aid" existed. I have tried punching works before but most of the children are just not strong enough to make the punches work. Thank you for posting.
Blessings,Sharon
Posted by: Sharon | April 12, 2011 at 09:13 AM