I love cardboard. It's easy to source and is the perfect material to make with. I've written before about the tabletop easels we use at preschool but realised that I've never shared them on the blog. These cardboard tabletop easels are easy to make yourself and are a great example of sustainable practice in action.
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Why use tabletop easels when you already have free standing easels available? Because the children's artwork is always more detailed than the work undertaken at the free standing easels. The children paint for longer and are inspired by the work of those near them creating a lovely sense of community. You can obviously see how much use ours have seen.
The cardboard easels are very easy to make. To start you will need to source some large narrow sheets of strong cardboard. These double thickness sheets were donated to the preschool and were used as packing material between building materials for transport. I like being able to recycle something rather than purchase it.
You will also need a sharp utility knife and some strong tape.
To construct an easel, make a shallow cut about 20 cms from one short end and then a second shallow cut about half way down the remaining board. This cut simply makes the thick board easier to fold in a straight line. Fold along both lines to make a triangular shape then secure the short end underneath the easel to allow room for pegs to be placed to hold children's work.
Learning through art can be a social activity.
Christine Mulcahey
