A Bowl of Fun

Mrs. Quirk’s class is working its way through a hands-on Foss Science unit entitled, GETTING TO KNOW PAPER. Loving reading and writing as I do, I have a special place in my heart for paper. This special place is reserved for the feel of a fat volume in my hands and will never be usurped by a Kindle or other electronic device masquerading as a book.

The focus question for the science work in kindergarten on the day of my visit was, “How can paper be made strong to form a bowl?” This question was glued onto the top line of science journal pages and was awaiting an answer. 

Most five year old children have experienced the swing of a baseball bat as they attempt to rend a hole in a papier-mâché piñata. But few have experienced the art of hands-on papier-mâché themselves. The class project was to create just this type of bowl.

Having been inundated with visitors to my office during the exact 30 minute period these marvelous bowls were being formed, Kathy Gordon with camera in hand kindly snapped some photos of the process.

By the time I got to the classroom, newly pasted bowls were drying by the window. 

Not wanting to miss their opportunity to share, students were more than eager when I arrived to interview them about their procedure.  Lilly jumped right in.  “We used sticky stuff with paper on top!”  Peyton agreed, showing me the residual paste which was clinging like scales to his already-washed fingers.  

The adhesive was made of flour and water but the students had some other ideas about the paste as they crowded around my legs, practically standing on each other’s feet to tell me the tale.  “It was sauce!” reported Liza, who is surely a marvel in the kitchen.  “Pancake mix!” said another student, with a sly grin.  With no-nonsense determination, Ellie spoke plainly.  “It was disgusting like oatmeal.” Several nearby students with paste-encrusted nails nodded sagely in agreement. 

Mrs. Quirk asked the students to do their word review for me, so they spoke of layering and overlapping the strips of newspaper.  They recalled how their fingers began to feel stiff from all that homemade paste.

An example of "homemade" paper

Among other paper-related lessons, recent activities included the actual making of paper (one week prior) and discussion about recycling. 








The class created a paper banner which was hung outside the classroom window and looked remarkably like Tibetan prayer flags. The banner was placed outside so the students could see how the structure of the paper was altered when it became wet.  

It was a little less colorful when I snapped the below photo, but amazingly, the kindergarten banner survived the final slushy snowstorm of the season! 

Before they headed out the door to recess, the children generously sang me a snappy classroom tune about WOOD.  The song starts out a little lackluster. “I am wood…I come from a tree...,” but as soon as I began settling in for a nap, the children with a twinkle in their collective eye, launched into catchier lyrics which included “I can be a floor, a door, a big stick, or a toothpick!”  There were tables and chairs involved too, I just couldn't write fast enough because I was distracted by my own toe-tapping. Seriously, if this melody (sung by my awesome KQU friends) was an option for download, I’d add it to my IPod today.