Second Grade Paper Mache Design

I am really trying to push the students this year. Every year the second grade has made a huge paper mache art installation. The theme used to coincide with the harvest / fall time of year. Recently I have expanded the theme to include a 10'x10' paper mache aquarium, kids playing in a leaf pile, and forest scenes.

 This year the kid are going to make a safari scene.
They began today with a practice activity with the possible materials they could use to create the animals. I printed out pictures of different found objects and had them arrange them to create different animals.

Flamingo

Elephant

Giraffe

Next I gave the kids the real objects and had them create the pictures they just made.

Giraffe legs

We had to do a little math to figure out how many tennis ball cans it would take to make his legs.

Learning how to make a cone form with paper

Attaching the giraffe neck

Once all of the animal structures have been constructed  we will begin paper mache.

When all of the pasting finished the students will begin painting and adding details.

Putting legs on the flamingo

Problem solving

Final product!

This has been my favorite paper mache project ever! The kids worked so hard and really showed their talents in so many areas. I cant wait to see what they will make next year.

Clay Relief Sculptures

This is going to be a really cool project! Some of my second grade students are working on making relief sculptures. First I got their parents to send in a picture of their favorite place in Athens or Watkinsville (Oconee County) GA. Next we reviewed what they learned in the previous lesson about perspective techniques, such as horizon line, diminishing size, and overlapping shapes. The students then studied their pictures to find shapes. They traces all of the shapes separately on transparencies to create stencils to use later on the clay. All of the stencils got labeled and cut out. 

Next the students will trace their shapes on clay and build their relief sculpture. 

After applying the stencils the students cut out their parts and began scratching and attaching.The finished pieces are quite impressive!

Church, Oconee County

La Parrilla, Oconee County

Oconee County Library

City, USA

Swimming Pool, Oconee County 

Church, Oconee County

Golf Course, Oconee

Next the students will paint their pieces and add any final details after they have been fired.

Before the students began painting we had a review about caring for our paint brushes and color theory.