Collage making with our kids can be a valuable tool in teaching diversity, similarity, and self-expression.

Collage is a great way to describe families. We're a complete picture made up of different things that are glued together. If I had realized this could be a great way to teach my children, we would have created more collages.

We would have started by talking about the meaning of collage and how different parts are vital in making up the whole picture. We would have looked for examples all around us. We would have examined the different people who make up families, different grades that make up schools, or different rooms in our own home. We would have talked about how each thing is different, but necessary in creating the whole. By understanding the concept of dissimilar things being a part of a unit, children can embrace their individuality and importance within the family.

We would have created our own personal collages. Each of us would have found pictures, words, stickers, or other items that depict who we were at the time. We would have found examples of our academic interests, our playtime interests, and our personal interests. By creating an individual collage, children become aware of and honor those unique characteristics that make them special.

We would have compared how our individual collages overlapped. We would have noticed how some of us enjoyed sports, while others liked the same kind of books. We would have seen how our similarities bind us together as a family. By comparing common interests, children can discover ways to connect with each other.

We would have created our own family collage. We would have grouped common interests that bound us together and created areas where we celebrated individualities. I would have displayed all our collages to honor the diversity of our family through our common interests and our particular interests. We would have periodically changed our collages as our interests changed.

I would have used collages to illustrate other ideas. We could have created a collage about a world issue by identifying a particular need, researching it, and creating a collage with pictures, information, and ways we could help. We could have used collages to create chore charts, gift lists, and vacation plans. Preschoolers would be able to understand without reading, and older children would have the opportunity to use their creative talents.

I could have used collages for my children to express their feelings. They could have used pictures with facial expressions, words to describe thoughts and situations, and colors or symbols to represent feelings. Sometimes children have a hard time expressing their feelings, but collages could be a great starting point for parents and children to communicate.

Collages are a great way for us to recognize all the parts that make us, our family, and our world one finished picture. They are a great way to teach and to express feelings. By using collages, we can promote unity through diversity, express thoughts and ideas when words fail us, and teach concepts in creative ways. Collages are what families are all about, and the finished work of art is always a work of love.

About the Author:

Luanne Davidson is the proud mother of three adult children and wonders what might have been if she had done a thing or two differently. She writes her "Coulda, Woudla, Shoulda" column each Thursday.

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