It started with good intention. Creativity is an element of my daycare that is often explored. Some crafts are easy, go off without a hitch, fun little keepsakes for the kids and their parents. We try to use recycling as much as possible with crafting so when I came across this new idea, I didn’t hesitate. However, some crafts require a little more thought…. Enter in Paper Mache and toddlers, not the best decision on my part lol.
Monday had started with the excitement of knowing we were going to embark on a new style of craft. Being aware this was a big craft, I had let the parents know that this would be a play clothes kind of week. Having gathered newspapers from recycling, I was excited for another opportunity to show the kids about repurposing items. Nothing could have prepared me for the sheer mess this paper mache project was going to be.
The kids were excited to pick out their balloons, and to start tearing the newspaper into long strips. Step one had gone well. Step two, preparing the flour and water mixture, had gotten a little messier, but it was done. Now came the construction phase 🙂 My goodness this was definitely turning into a lot of work! Soaking the newspaper strips, trying to get them to stay on the balloons, and stopping the paste from spilling was quite the feat! Wishing I had thought this craft through a little more thoroughly, I knew I had to see it to completion. Before too long I realized this was an incredibly messy craft! Thinking ahead we put all of the shredded newspaper into a bucket and covered it with the paste. Grabbing garbage bags I popped holes into the tops and sides and slid them over the children’s clothing.
Needless to say the paper mache craft was a world of fun! The kids loved mucking in the paste soaked newspaper, and piling it all over their balloons. It didn’t take long and my table was covered in bits of paper, the floor soaked from paste, their little hands incredibly sticky, and it was only day one. Apply soaked paper, let it dry, apply more soaked paper, let it dry again, and so on, and so on. For four days this process happened, for four days the cleanup was exhausting. Little helpers putting their balloons on a shelf to dry. Scraping dried paper off the table. We finally popped our balloons, and painted our craft. The end reward for me was insight.
Although I have never embarked on this kind of craft again, it ended up being a pretty cool keepsake. For many days after, I continued to find bits of newspaper like confetti in my kitchen.