Tuesday one of the lovely parents from school returned our metal inset stand. He had sanded and re varnished it to a glossy sheen. With the children watching excitedly I spent the morning putting it together; delicately placing the metal shapes on the shelf and carefully counting out three of each color pencil. They were pretty awed by all the colors and shapes, and keeping their fingers off was quite the challenge! All through the morning work cycle they'd come up in turn and ask if they could use the new work.
What they don't know is that anticipation is often key to having a successful presentation. *Insert evil grin here*
At the end of class though I did partially calm their excitement. To the whole group I demonstrated carrying the tray over, showing them each item on it; the metal inset with its two parts, the three pencils nestled in their holder, and the special paper just the right size to match the inset. They watched quite intently as I first traced the frame with one color, than the inset itself with another. The final step was coloring it in with precise curves.
"Can I try?" M asked breathlessly before I could say another word.
I told all the children that it would be available for them all morning the next day, and since everyone had seen my presentation they could all try then if they would like to.
S came in the next morning and makes a beeline for the shelf, so quickly that there wasn't even an open table for her to work out because all the chairs were still up. C spotted her with the work and immediately got out the second tray. While the two of them made multiple inset drawings M hovered around, waiting for the instant one of the trays was available for her. O kept asking "Can I do that when you're done?" over and over so much that S finally just quit asking him. Meanwhile the other C just watched quietly, went about his morning and took out his choice of shapes when all the hubbub had died down later.
5 out of 5 children agree- The metal insets were worth doing!
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