Squiggles are a fun way for children to experience creativity. Squiggles assist a child (no matter the age) in learning basic planning, problem solving and critical thinking skills. It also allows children to experience the diversity in Allah's design. How?

In this project we are only allowing five colors. A child must use planning, problem solving and critical thinking skills so that no two colors ever touch one another (share a cell wall). This also not only allows free form creativity with shapes that are not animal or human in nature but also they can see what their friends, given the same tools, come up with. No two end results should look the same, hence a diversity of results. A teacher can draw this out further to explain and expounded upon the diversity of Allah's world. For example, if a teacher is looking for an exercise to help experience, explain and understand heredity of siblings, this is an excellent exercise. It shows that given the same tools (genetics, DNA, etc.) different color combinations are created (differences in the way siblings look).

Squiggle frames are easily made too. Just place a black, dark purple, or dark blue crayon in the center of the paper, close your eyes and either move the crayon around or move the paper. Open your eyes after a little bit and then connect your starting point and end point to a frame line. Squiggles can be a fun "time filler with a purpose" when children have finished their studies and waiting for the next subject to begin.

In this exercise we recommend five colors, but as children get better, four to three colors may also be used. Of course many, many colors may be used too!

Step1:
You need five crayons; blue, green, yellow, red and purple and Squiggle 1.

Step 2:
Use only one color in each squiggle cell (try not to cross into another cell). Form a visual "fence" by outlining the cell in the same color you are going to color the cell, then color inside the fence.

Fig 1 example:
The green cell has the "fence" out line, before being colored in.
The red cell has the "fence" out line and is in the process of being colored in. The purple cell has had the outline and has been fully colored in.

Step 3
No cell wall must touch another cell wall of the same color.

Step 4:
Don not follow or copy anyone else's decisions in what cell should be what color. This is your own individual piece. Everyone's should be different!

Step 5:
Display your artwork in your classroom or on your fridge!

fig 2 is an example of how Squiggle 1 might look like.

Squiggle 1 | Squiggle 2 | Squiggle 3


fig.1

fig. 2

This is building block art project on which other more advanced concepts of Islamic artwork, craft work can be built on.

Teachers:
If you have a child of 8 or older in your classroom who has trouble with the concept of fully coloring in, or believe that they have fully colored in a cell and it looks something like fig. 3. Or they dislike coloring and dislike writing sentences, this maybe a sign of a learning or developmental disability.

Work with this child in a kind, supportive and nurturing environment. If this child has additional signs of a learning or developmental disability you may wish to speak to the child's parents about having a Learning Disability Assessment completed for this child.

 


fig. 3

 

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