5th grade started collecting bottle plastic bottle caps and lids in September. We saved and saved annnnd saved until MAY! Yes, my classroom was taken over with lids! It got completely out of hand!
Here is just a glimpse as to the bins and bins of lids!
Let's start from the beginning of this year long project... I decided to teach the 5th graders about mandalas this year. Just a quick one day lesson on the meaning and variety of the lovely mandalas.
Interestingly, a local art center was hosting an environmental artist (Bryant Holsenbeck) who was creating a large scale mandala made from da da dummmmm.... lids and caps!
See an article (with a time-lapse video!!!) about the project here!!
My 5th graders spent an hour helping Ms. Holsenbeck sort and place the lids! What an awesome experience and oh the connections... to be collecting lids for a far away project, learn about mandalas, and then working with an artist who is creating a mandala out of lids! Timing is a beautiful, beautiful thing!
Fast forward to May... The 5th graders learn about the project (yes, I kept it a secret) that they have been collecting the lids for.
Students will be creating a mandala made from wood with lids drilled on to create the colors and designs! GASSSSPPPPPP... yes, I said the word drill!
So... students had to design a mandala that had meaning to their life. They had to be circle-ish in design and would be covered entirely with plastic lids. My wonderful boyfriend cut the shapes out from the plywood.
My school let us set aside a day dedicated to this project (OH YEA!)... In the morning, students painted the wood. **There was down time for this art project, but students were also working on a huge project in Science and L.A. on an environmental issues. So, after painting they worked on their research project.
5th graders then sorted their lids and began placing them out on the wood. I am glad we did this, because some of the design changed due to size of lids, lack of colors, or both! This was a really great process for the kids to have to experience. Students had to be flexible with the lids we had and they had to share.
9th grade came to help with the drilling process... Each 5th grader had a 9th grade buddy. It was fun to see the different groups interact! Also, the drilling was not scary at all. I was mega nervous, but they had fun with it... It was hard, but the kids did not complain (even though it was about 10000000 degrees outside that day!) I was so proud!
Check the blog tomorrow for the finished products!:)
