Φως και σκιά: δημιουργοί χώρων και αφηγητές μύθων

Abstract

The shadows of objects on a surface designate a new space; a space with its own potential that writes its own history. Since time immemorial shades have been outlining an imaginary world of myths and legends filled with heroes and witches. This imaginary reality sparks children’s imagination as they create their own personal stories with shadowy figures in leading roles. The following project constitutes a teaching suggestion for preschool kids. The teaching targets are: to experiment with the production of shadows with geometrical shapes like: sphere, cone, cube, and cylinder, to study the geometrical approach of the creation of a shadow and to make children wonder whether starting from the shadow we can deduce the precise shape of the original object.

The next step is to combine the above mentioned geometrical objects into new complex structures that will be on display under a steady source of light on the walls of one of the classrooms. Thus the four classroom walls turn into a new architectural space and tells the stories that the students themselves put together with shadows playing the dominant role. This project has been piloted in the nursery school “Fengaraki” with 5 year-old kids and the outcome was surprisingly positive.