Around the World Bulletin Board

Each year around this time our school studies different countries and then puts on a big Multicultural Day performance.  This is our MC Day bulletin board.  I had all the kids and staff create drawings of themselves and cut them out.  I made the earth, which was surprisingly harder than I thought.  It’s not easy to make all those countries look accurate!  I really like the final result though.  The best part is seeing all the kids and teachers come by and try to find themselves.  The bulletin says Around the World at TIOH (Temple Israel of Hollywood) but I couldn’t get a pic of the whole thing.

Our Kindergarten Community

Kindergarten has been learning all about Community over the past few weeks.  Yesterday we went to the fire station and today we finally completed our “in-house community.”  Well worth the wait I think.  I did it a little differently this year and am very pleased with the changes.  In years past it was more of a free for all.  We would brainstorm places, people, etc. we see in our community and then the kids would sort of go wild with their own creations.  This year, after we brainstormed, I had each student pick a building that interested them and we really focused on that structure.  First we gluechaed (a word I just made up to represent paper mache with only glue and water) it.  Then we painted it.  Then, thanks to one of the kid’s suggestions, made doors and windows, which really meant I slaved over the boxes with an exacto knife while the kids directed me.  Finally, I surprised them with super cool LED lights that I picked up at a garage sale for three bucks, that we glue gunned to their buildings.  This detail totally rocked and really took the experience to the next level.  We made little people from corks and then used the extra corks to create some trees, thanks to this idea I found on pinterest by The Picky Apple.  All in all, a fabulous long term project that the kids keep begging to play with.  So much fun and a great way to reuse some everyday trash. Hope you enjoy the photos.

Kindergarten Rocks Paper Mache

The kids did a fantastic job painting the details on their paper mache projects this morning.  We talked about not “over doing it” first.  Most kids decided they were done before we had to pull the full stop card.  Other kids really went for it!  Regardless, they all came out great.  Next step is to hang them from the ceiling.

and this…

Eventually turned into this…

The Paper Mache Continues

This morning we painted the first coat of our paper mache insects.  It was a little challenging for the kids to get in every little crevice, so the adults helped a bit.  But overall, it went great.  Tomorrow we’ll do the details.

Paper Mache Insects, Arachnids and Whatever Else My Kindergartners Insisted on Making

This week began our paper mache journey.  First we sculpted bugs of all kinds by bunching up newspaper in different shapes and using masking tape to bind it together.  After, we combined flour, water and a bit of Elmer’s Glue to create our paper mache mixture.  I must admit, the paper mache part of the process wasn’t the big hit I thought it would be.   After the initial thrill of the soft, cool feeling of the flour, the kids sort of tuckered out saying it was too messy.  The 5 adult volunteers I had ended up doing a lot of the heavy lifting while the kids had free choice on the rug.   Not all the kids retired early.  We definitely had some troopers in the group!  (we’re painting next week. more to come)

Tips for a successful paper mache session

For the sculptures

1.  Make the paper sculptures dense.  Wrap the paper, twist it and tape it for the best results, especially the legs or skinny parts of your sculpture.

2.  Cut the paper strips for macheing about 1 inch wide and 4 inches long.  The long strips are good for certain areas, but not for others.

3.  There are many ways and recipes to do paper mache, from balloons to plaster.  This is how I do it, and they always come out AMAZING!

4.  Wear smocks and HAVE FUN!