A People Factory

I am a firm believer in the Montessori and Steiner philosophy of child-motivated learning and play. Finn has a great interest in pipes, electricity, machines and factories which leads a lot of his questions and learning. The pages below are some of Finn's favourite pages from books which we used as inspiration for making our paper mache factory. 

The Lorax- Dr Suess

Michael Bird Boy- Tomie-de Paola

Materials: Tissue boxes, cardboard tubes, masking tape, wallpaper paste, paint, decorations (pom-poms, buttons, paddle-pop sticks). 

We made this factory out of cut up cardboard rolls and a tissue box, using masking tape to keep the pipes in place, then covering with ripped up newspaper and wallpaper paste. 

Once the paper mache dried, we used a white undercoat, then top coat. 

Finn then decorated his heart out (buttons, pom-poms, paddle-pop sticks and glitter glue). 

We used cotton wool to represent the factory smoke. 

Paper Mache Robot

After Finn watched a bit of Wall-E, we thought it would be fun to make his own Robot using Paper Mache. 

Materials needed: Various sized boxes and cardboard tubes (e.g sultana box, toilet roll etc)

Masking tape, wallpaper paste, PVA glue, container for mixing, old newspaper, paddle pop sticks, and items for decorating (buttons, stickers, pom-poms, pipe cleaner etc).

Step 1: After deciding on a theme, join together boxes with masking tape. Mix together the wallpaper paste powder with water and add a bit of PVA glue. Let it stand for a few minutes. 

Step 2: Prepare the surface to work in (cover the floor with newspaper or cardboard box- it can get messy). Rip up some newspaper into small pieces, and cover the boxes. Encourage your child to use their hands to experience texture, and help them create a tight layer especially over the joins. Let dry in sun. 

Step 3: Once dry- paint with a white coat to cover newspaper print, and create flat surface. Let dry. 

Step 4: When undercoat is dry, paint and decorate using a variety of materials.