Tangrams

I've recently begun volunteering at an Adult Day Service. I lead crafts activities for a group of participants whose cognitive levels vary widely. The hour-long activity has to appeal to the group as a whole -- it should neither frustrate folks who have impairments nor bore the more nimble of mind. To accomplish this, the presentation needs to move in small steps from a very accessible introduction to a more difficult finale.

Also, activities ought to have a meaning-making element. I hope the group will like tangrams enough to use them as illustrations in a book we will make for children at a nearby Head Start program. I made a sample book in case the group wants to follow up this possibility.

One of the most important elements of a crafting session is the conversation triggered by the activity. Some of the comments overheard while working with tangrams last week:  "Cats are dumber than dogs." (followed by an animated discussion in defense of both cats and dogs). "This is making my brain work!" and "These are beautiful pictures."

As there was a visually impaired participant in our group, I brought a set of "tiles" made from felt, so she could explore the puzzle by touch. Next time I will glue some string guidelines to cardboard so she will have an easier time orienting the tiles to solve the puzzle.

Felt version of a tangram puzzle

Tangrams always use seven tiles to make an image

It is thought that tangrams were invented centuries ago, perhaps from breaking ceramic tiles

Sample pages of a book we might make for children

Two stages of presenting tangrams:  the cat (on right) is much easier than the rabbit (on left)

Sample page from the book we might make for the children in our intergenerational exchange