This year I did a fun project with my 4th grade students that made use of paper pulp, which most of the kids say, "Ewww...its like oatmeal!" Most kids love projects that are messy, sticky, and have texture! This project has all that, plus color. We started with a plain Styrofoam bowl and they layer the outside of the bowl with tissue paper. Spreading an even coat of water/glue mixture over the top. They can add additional wrapping paper, magazines clippings, construction paper, newspaper, etc. to the outside. Once there is about 4-5 layers of various papers, it is time to add the paper pulp. Then each student receives a nice heaping of paper pulp (Celluclay) that I premix with water and Elmer's glue. I use an oatmeal consistency for getting the mixture just right. This is spread on evenly and smoothed out to remove any sharp edges when it dries. Before it is left to dry they press scrap yarn and string into the pulp. When the bowl is nearly dry the Styrofoam bowl is removed and I punch in holes with a needle tool so they may decorate with colored wire and beads. Lastly its given a "dry-brushing" of paint on the outside. The students were so proud of their creations, as well as excited to bring them home!
