I thought this would be fun, but I didn't realize how fun. The kids seriously LOVED this project! It was easy yet engaging and it used all kinds of odds and ends (which I liked). First, I mixed up a batch of plaster of paris -- left over from sandcasting at the beach -- which I then poured into styrofoam plates -- left over our styrofoam printing attempt. In the center of the art table were little bowls full of beads, buttons, pasta shapes, googly eyes, rocks, shells, and popsicle sticks.
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The kids each placed, arranged, poked, poured, drew with, and set the various items in the plaster while it was still wet. It was a bit like our sandcasting, although we set the objects on top of the plaster instead of under and there was a lot more overall involvement.
They slip out of the styrofoam plates easily once dry. I'm not sure about the longevity of the pieces -- one of Maia's cracked while drying although a couple of others in the studio did not. Maybe it has something to do with how I mixed that particular batch of plaster of paris (we went through a couple) or maybe it's just about how much "stuff" was added. Don't know. But as such an awesome process-oriented activity I'm not going to worry too much about how they hold up over time. It's still well worth doing.
