LA 3.04Metal Insets: Filling In and Designs
The child fills traced shapes with controlled parallel strokes and creates overlapping designs of increasing difficulty.
Age 3½–5½Work 4 of 7 in Writing Preparation
Presentation
- 1
Trace a shape using frame and inset as the child already knows.
- 2
Choose a new color. Starting at the top left, draw a straight line from edge to edge inside the shape.
- 3
Draw the next line just below it, close but not touching, stopping at the outline.
- 4
Continue slowly, lines parallel and about the same distance apart, until the shape is filled.
- 5
Point out that the strokes stay inside the outline and do not go over it.
- 6
Invite the child to fill a shape of their own.
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Filling with lines that get closer together and lighter
- Tracing two insets overlapping and filling each section in a different color
- Tracing one inset several times in a row across the paper (a frieze)
- Designs using three or more insets with small, careful filled sections
- Filling with small loops or waves in place of straight lines
Control of error
The drawn outline shows when a stroke goes past the edge; uneven spacing is visible.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Fills a shape with parallel lines that stay inside the outline
- Works for ten or more minutes with even pressure
- Creates designs from two or more overlapping insets