Art Works! is a series of blog posts created by the staff at www.EscapadeDirect.com that offer children of all ages and abilities the opportunity for hands-on art activities that allow them to explore, discover, and express their individual creativity.
We encourage parents to join in on the activities, too, and create their own Art Works!
Art Works! Activity #10: Create Your Own Tangrams
A tangram is a simple Chinese puzzle in the shape of a square. The square consists of seven pieces – five triangles, a square, and a rhomboid – which may be arranged to form thousands of different shapes.
Make your own tangram puzzles and create new arrangements and patterns! This activity sparks imaginations and enhances spatial thinking skills. It’s also a fun way to learn about shapes and geometry.
What You Need:
- Cardstock Paper or Chipboard
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Tangram Template and Puzzle Patterns (click link to download and print our free templates and 24 puzzle patterns)
What You Do:
- Use a ruler to measure a 4″ x 4″ square on a piece of cardstock or chipboard, then cut out the square. (If you prefer, click the Tangram Template link above for a free template you can download and print).
- Use a ruler and a pencil to lightly mark off a 1″ x 1″ grid inside the square to use as guidelines.
- Using the gridlines as a guide, use a ruler and pencil to draw the shapes as shown in the diagram.
- When all seven shapes are drawn, use a scissors to cut them out. Your shapes are now ready to use!
Variations:
- Make different size tangram puzzles! Use a copy machine to enlarge or reduce our tangram template.
- Create your tangram pieces out of a variety of colored cardstock paper. Allow your kids to mix the colored shapes when creating their puzzles.
- Make your own tangram magnets! Print our template on a sheet of Magnetic Inkjet Paper, then cut out the shapes. Let your kids experiment with the magnetic tangram pieces on your refrigerator – a great way to keep young children occupied while you are busy in the kitchen.
You Might Also Like:
Magnetic Tangram Pieces – This magnet set of tangrams is perfect for creating puzzles! It includes four different colors of easy-to-use vinyl magnets.
IZZI – Tease your brain with these challenging puzzles!
Share Your Art Works! Activities!
If you have an Art Works! project that you would like to share, email us a digital picture (or scan) of your project , and we will post it in our Kids Gallery. If you would like, include the artists first name, age, and your state. It’s fun for kids to see how other children interpreted the project!
As always, encourage your children to come up with their own new ideas for art – and make sure to check back next week for another Art Works! activity in this series!
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