round and round (and round) you go

When I was small, I had a ‘Spirograph’.  It was a series of plastic cogs and rings that you could use to draw the most amazingly intricate patterns.  What you did was insert a sharp pencil point into a tiny hole in one of the plastic cogs, and carefully, oh-so-carefully move it round and round (and round) inside the plastic ring.  As you spiralled around, so a pattern emerged.

I am not sure whether they still exist today; I can only guess that maybe there’s a cunning i-pad app (and if there isn’t you read the idea here first!)  But not to worry, because in 1b we have our own way of drawing equally intricate patterns.  And I am going to tell you how you too can join the fun!

What you need is a shape cut from fairly thick cardboard - it could be a circle, a square or a triangle. 

It could even be an irregular shape; it doesn’t matter.  You also need a piece of paper to draw on, a cardboard base and a sharp pointy pin (ouch).

Stab all the way through your chosen shape, right through the paper and into the cardboard base…..

being careful as some of those pins might poke all the way through to the other side (we worked on the carpet, just in case).

With one hand, hold the shape still…..

as you trace all the way round it with your pencil.

Then, moving the shape just a teeny bit each time…..

trace around it again…..

and again…..

and again…..

(always making sure the pin stays in the same place) until you get back to where you started.

Phew!

Then, pull out the pin, remove the shape you traced around and stand back to admire.

Your very own…..

intricate ‘Spirograph’ designs.

And if you look really closely you should be able to see one shape repeated lots (and lots) of times.

PS Some of us discovered that there is one small problem when you choose a circle to trace round and you put your pin in the middle.  Any idea what that problem might be?