Rolled Paper Sculptures

My four-year old art students never cease to amaze me. Each week I spend a LOT of time thinking up projects for class. My main objectives for their art experiences are that they are: A) mostly process-oriented, and B) exciting! Because you never know with four-year olds. I’ve had my share of “this is boring” and “i don’t like this” statements (ouch!). So when I decided to set up this rolled paper project, i just crossed my fingers that they could do it and not be turned off by the difficulty. (I tried it myself first, and it’s not easy to roll paper that is straight and tight enough that it doesn’t completely uncurl!)

I showed them how to roll the paper. We talked about rolling it tightly versus loosely. We practiced a little. They decided to crunch them a bit in their hands after rolling just to keep them from unfolding too much (genius). It took about a minute or two, and then they were on their own. At first there was the problem of the rolls being crooked which made it hard to stand on end in the puddle of glue. But then we fixed that problem by cutting off the bottom with scissors. I would say they did about 90% of these sculptures all by themselves!! Occasionally I would help one child re-roll her roll a little tighter. But that’s it. I’m telling you, never underestimate a four-year old!

I got this idea from a blog called Art Actually. You must click over and see how elementary school art teacher Morgan displayed the rolled paper sculptures her art students made. Super cool!!

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Supplies needed:

~ Colored paper (I love this pack, and also this neon pack)

~ Elmer’s glue

~ A piece of cardboard

Process:

I just cut the paper into different sizes, laid them out in the middle of the table, and let the kids roll and glue. That’s it!

I love this girl’s technique of rolling first, then gluing them all at once.

At one point, one of the girls starting gluing down the cut bits and calling it grass. Then another girl chimed in and said that she was making a butterfly garden. And then they all wanted to make butterfly gardens (four-year old ideas are contagious)! So I cut some butterflies for them to glue.

I know I say it in practically every post, but I was so proud of these kids. They never gave up! Their fingers were tired, but they worked until their parents came to get them. It was a successful day!

Thank you, Morgan, for the awesome idea!!

xo, Bar