What’s in someone’s mind to bring home the wrinkly paper from school?
A compelling moment arrived when Mrs.T provided a metaphor lesson for the children.
All she had was pieces of paper to talk about core competency. It was such a meaningful lesson for the entire class. So I wanted to turn them into a meaningful gift as our memory.
In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to repurpose paper from school.
The background story of the paper from school
A few weeks ago, some students in our class had a conflict. A student was feeling a couple of his classmates had been making fun of him. They explained that they were just joking. But it wasn’t for him.
Working in a school environment, Mrs.T and I understood how serious the situation could potentially be. So, Mrs.T came up with a metaphorical lesson for teaching the whole class as a part of the core competency lesson.
To begin, she handed out a strip of coloured paper. She then asked the kids to feel and describe the feeling they get from it. They came up with soft, smooth, sharp (edges), and other descriptive words.
Next, she asked them to crumple the paper. Some did gently while others vigorously rolled the paper. Every time they crumple, the paper got additional wrinkles/creases just like our feelings.
She then asked the children to flatten and describe their paper. They started sharing descriptive words like rough, hard, wrinkly, sad, and more. Even when you try to flatten it, the paper won’t be as smooth as it was to begin with… just like our heart.
The whole class became silent, the students’ eyes were glued to the paper in their hands – a learning moment. She added that they can keep their paper throughout the day and reflect. And when they are done with the paper, put it in the recycle bin.
That was when the compelling moment arrived – to turn these wrinkly papers into something meaningful.
What I used
- paper strips (7cm x 21cm)
- glue
- jute rope
- scissors / pinking shears
- a glass jar (height: 11cm)
How to repurpose paper from school
1. Gather & Design
First, gather the items you need and make a pattern with paper strips. For this, I went with colour order and similarly wrinkled strips together. What you create makes a unique ‘one of a kind’ craft!
2. Glue all the paper from the school
When you have a design plan, start gluing the paper strips. Just to let you know, you don’t have to have a solid plan. Once you begin, your creativity kicks in!
For this, I had a circular design as you can see in the middle picture. Well, there wasn’t enough to make a complete circle. So I glued both ends to make a cone shape. Does it work?! Not so sure, but we’ll see… For now, let the glue dry.
3. Cut
Once the glue dries, cut out a hole to make it a bit bigger. Doing so makes it easier to make a few slits and reduces the bulkiness.
Then place the paper wrapper (the big opening facing up), and place the jar in the middle. You may find the paper quite stiff due to the glue. So lift the wrap & the jar together and use one hand to firmly press it against the bottom of the jar.
Before moving on to the next step, bind all pieces at the bottom with a piece of round paper. Simply glue it and press it down until it sticks.
Next, mould the paper wrap against the wall of the jar. If it’s too stiff, you can remove the jar and scrunch the wrap with both hands. That makes it a bit softer to work with. Then place the jar back in and start from the bottom again.
Final Step: Tie & Decorate
When you are satisfied with the look, tie the neck of the container with your choice of a jute rope/yarn/string. For the top, I trimmed it with some pinking shears.
What do you think? It can be used as a vase, a pencil/pen holder, a treats jar…’ one of a kind’ multi-purpose jar!
Mission Accomplished!
In conclusion, I’d like to share my intention. This jar truly is ‘one of a kind’ that will bring back the memory of our valuable lesson. Each paper has unique creases created by the students.
All the pieces are connected and bonded by the glue and the jute rope. The jute rope going twice around the jar represents Mrs.T’s Love & Passion for teaching our children. She is of course the bond of our caring community to embrace the diversity of our children.
Gluing all the pieces is what she does after school hours and at home. Hidden, but very important.
Me? As an Educational Assistant, I’m the round piece to strengthen the community. Again, hidden but necessary. And I love the way it is!
As a mother and an EA, I just want to shout out to the inspiring teachers “Thank you for your hard work! You are making a difference for our future!”