Homage to the Square for kids

This is one more project I would have loved to have done this year, but didn't have time to squeeze it in during my Art History month. So I'm squeezing it in now. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Josef Albers and his Homage to the Square series. 

Josef Albers was a German-born American artist. His series Homage to the Square experimented with how different colors looked when placed together in different combinations. He chose to use the square shape for its "neutrality", believing that the common shape would not distract viewers from experiencing the color.

You can make your own Albers' style squares and play with different color combos. It's simple, here is what you do:

materials:

various colored paper

scissors

glue

ruler

get to work:

1. Begin by cutting the paper into different sized squares, making sure there are multiple colors for each size. (Try the sizes: 4x4, 3x3, 2x2)

2. Begin helping the child place the squares on top of one another in descending order. (This is a great exercise for younger children because it helps them learn order/size. You might want to use the words "big," "bigger" and "biggest" to describe the squares)

3. Once the squares and color combos are just right, you can glue them together.