Little House on the Bookshelf

 

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    This fun little winter art project was pretty easy to complete.  The students enjoyed working on them, each one adding their own little flair to their houses.  

     First of all, I made three separate patterns--a tall house, a short house, and a wider short house.  Using the patterns, we drew the lines on cracker and cereal boxes, or thin pliable cardboard I had saved up from curriculum order boxes.  (The roof is part of the pattern as well; it just didn't fit on all of the pieces of cardboard.) Then we cut it out and folded it on the edges.  

     Next, I squirted some liquid glue (I despise glue sticks) into a bowl, added some water, and made a papier mache paste.  Dipping torn pieces of pages from a very old dictionary and piece of sheet music (I do have qualms about this) into the mixture, I then used two fingers as a squeegee to remove most of the liquid.  Then, I wrapped the cardboard with the wet pieces of paper until it was completely covered, wrapping the edges completely around to the back.  I put it in front of the space heater to dry faster.  

  

                                      

      I try to always make one at home first so that I'll know exactly what I'm doing, and about how long each step will take.  At school, we cut out our patterns and cardboard the first day, added papier mache the next day, and then decorated them the third day.  Students added pictures they had cut out from magazines, adding initials, animals, windows, and doors.  One creative young man even made his own chimney from a pattern he had created.  

     Now this lovely winter scene sits on our bookshelf, making our classroom seem a little bit more cozy.