Spatial Reasoning- Shapes! and their connection to the community.

Shapes abound and all around- feel free to reference children's literature that illustrates shapes as found in the community or look around the room.  All things described whether microscopic or visible to the naked eye, are oftentimes described with basic shapes. That and aesthetics is important stuff to know. Without getting too esoteric, let us begin with the basics. The Elements and Principles of Design are important. The elements include shape, color, form, texture and line. The principles are how the elements are used, to create unity, repetition, balance or emphasis. The Genius Child, LLC created Templaytes® which were undoubtedly influenced by the philosophy of Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) and his admiration of nature and the notion of learning through play. Froebel was a German Educationist who created Gifts and Occupations.  These gems were employed by a system Froebel designed – Kindergarten!  The ‘gifts’ were the toys and the ‘occupations’ were the activities.  Allowing ourselves to go back to basics is important so that we understand the value of basic shapes and how they appear in the big world and present to small children.  Shapes occur wildly throughout nature, as does geometry.  Shapes are the foundation of architecture and all structures.  

Templaytes® help illustrate abstract concepts as space and assists the child in learning through metacognition. In themselves, Templaytes® are a wonderfully colorful, handy, hardy manipulative that when used as a drawing tool possesses infinite possibilities. An example is when middle school students were asked to draw the skyline of the city of Milwaukee.  They compared and contrasted the skyline of Milwaukee to New York -literally. Tracing the line where the top of the buildings met the sky.  It was experienced that traditional buildings are rectangles or squares, thin or wide, and tall or short.  New York had more. The assembly of shapes was naturally arranged horizontally across the bottom of the page. The red rectangle Templaytes® was used as a drawing tool to assist with the precision of straight lines. Some students used Templaytes® as a straight edge for the windows and doors. After being asked to include the Calatrava, the exquisite, iconic sculpture and the pinnacle of the Milwaukee Art Museum, its basic shape was identified as a triangle. Most students drew that shape up above the rectangles, which reminded me of the concept of space. When asked why the Calatrava was up in the sky, they were perplexed- thinking metacognitively.   Students did not consider overlapping the shapes as a way of creating the illusion of space. To have overlapped or placed one shape in front of or covering up another seemed wrong and not a natural progression for students. Boxes were set up on the table to create a visual. Space needs to be taught. With 3D objects, in this case, the boxes and then 2D representation.  This is where Templaytes® comes in. Spatial reasoning is taught not only, from a lesson on foreground, middle ground, and background while drawing still life, but how it pertains to math and how as it appears in 2D formats on paper.  This is shape vs. form.  I taught a young lady who was a senior in high school. We were working on geometry and she was memorizing the formula to determine the volume of a cube. Her learning was stifled at rote memorization of the formula rather than understanding any concept or potential of application because she simply -did not get it. It was not until I provided a 3D cube we counted the sides, then we took a box and counted the sides. We discussed inside and outside the box. Then took the purple square Templaytes® traced it and then overlapped it on a diagonal, traced it again, and connected the corners to create an illusion or a symbol of a cube.  It was then and only then, she understood what the lines and squares on her page meant. So, imagine considering volume when looking at a piece of paper with only lines. Space, symbolism crazy concept!  As a child looks at something, pointing while asking, ‘what's that?’ we respond, a building, a truck or a bird. Rarely would a child say what shape is that building or color that bird. It is our responsibility to make that connection at an early age and ask follow up questions to their initial curiosity.   Entice descriptive vocabulary: shape, color, and line. SHAPING MINDS