Replicate a waterfall in the corner of your classroom with common materials.
When studying a jungle-themed unit in your classroom, consider including a waterfall in the decor. The students may assist in the faux landscape construction, and the teacher may find it beneficial to create the waterfall in a corner of the classroom. The project doesn't have to exactly replicate a waterfall, as the children may likely take pride in their cooperative project construction. The waterfall project may take a few days or a week to complete, but it adds to the atmosphere and theme of the class.
Instructions
1. Crush 10 to 15 cardboard boxes slightly with one foot to take the straight-edged shape from them to later use as rocks under the waterfall. Stack them in size from large at the bottom of the stack to small at the top.
2. Cover the boxes with chicken wire and secure the pieces together with snippets of craft wire cut with a pair of wire cutters. Depending on the weight of the wire, common scissors may be used.
3. Press the chicken wire down in the area where the boxes were crushed to create a rounded rock effect, and mold the wire fencing to appear as natural landscape.
4. Mix equal parts of flour and water in a bucket and stir until completely mixed to create paper mache. Tear strips of newspaper, dip them into the mixture and strategically place over the molded chicken wire. Cover every square inch of the chicken wire.
5. Allow the paper mache to dry completely; repeat Step 4 to coat the rocks, once again paying special attention to ensuring the landscape looks exactly like rocks behind a waterfall. Leave the structure for a few days to ensure it is dry.
6. Paint the paper mache in a grey rock color using washable tempura paints mixed from black and white, when grey is unavailable. Two coats may be necessary to hide the newspaper print. Dry the paint between coats.
7. Tuck the end of a light blue roll of mural paper between the homemade rock structure and the corner wall of the classroom and, using spray adhesive, glue to the rounded rock landscape. Draw light lines in various places on the paper to appear as falling water with a fine-tip black marker.
8. Adhere pieces of blue cellophane over the blue mural paper to give it a shimmering water effect with the spray adhesive.
9. Spray the adhesive at the bottom of the waterfall, on the mural paper, and stick large pieces of cotton pillow fill to replicate the foam effect made from waterfall splashing.
Tags: chicken wire, mural paper, paper mache, rounded rock, spray adhesive, waterfall corner