Free Choice Art Days and Recycled Materials

In the art classroom, students are expected to listen to the lesson and demonstration at the beginning of class, talk quietly at their tables during independent work, remain on task by working on their projects or finding an art related activity, and, finally, they are expected to clean up properly at the end of class. When the class works together to fulfill all of these expectations, they earn a ticket. After a class earns 10 tickets, they have earned what we like to call a "Free Choice Art Day". This is a day where the students are allowed to choose what they want to create, and we get out a variety of materials that they have shown me they can use properly. These are often the days when all of those wonderful materials you all send in get used the most. The students love to build sculptures and other artwork with the paper towel rolls, empty bottles and containers, scrap fabric and other items that families have donated.

Many artists use recycled materials and found objects in their creations. Allowing the students to use these materials lets them be creative, and take full ownership of their project. They are the designer, the builder, and the problem-solver. They figure out what they want to create and what materials would be the best for their project, and since many of these materials are free, it allows them to experiment with their solutions, make mistakes, and learn from them without worrying about wasting expensive supplies. These are also things that they can collect and use at home.

Today, Mrs.Halsey's fourth grade class had earned a Free Choice Art Day and got really creative with some biodegradable packaging peanuts. In an effort to be more green, or environmentally friendly, many companies have started to use these packaging peanuts instead of the old Styrofoam ones. Since they are made of starch, they will dissolve completely in water which cuts down on waste and all of those peanuts sitting in a landfill or spilling into our oceans.

Joker and Batman

They are a great material for creating sculptures. By touching the peanut to a wet sponge or paper towel, you can easily attach them together without using glue or tape. This led to endless possibilities for our young artists. It didn't take long before they also figured out that once they had created the form of their sculpture, they could add color simply by using markers. Before we knew it, we had cartoon characters and figurines, "brick walls" and bracelets and even a Batmobile.

Great job getting creative Mrs. Halsey's class!!!

Next time you get a package in the mail, check to see if those peanuts will dissolve. Have fun watching them disappear in the bathtub, make some interesting sculptures or send them on in to the art room. We'll definitely put them to use!!