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| Mouse mat seats. |
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| My original piece. |
Some of you might have already seen the mouse mats I picked up in the scrap store over the summer, I got about 60 of them altogether & figured we would use them as seats when up in Bear Woods. Then we began to use them in the playground as seats around the fire when the logs were damp but we still took some up to Bear Woods each week in case anyone wanted a seat but really when in their rain gear the children are happy enough to just sit on the grass, stumps of pallets. One child had turned them over one day & chalked on the black side, so I then wondered about using them as a background for some transient art. all it took was for me to bring some out & then sit down & start making a picture myself before some children wandered over to see what I was doing & then they wanted to make their own. Some were a little confused by the fact the 'art' didn't stay on the 'page' but once they realised they could tip everything off & then start all over again, they fully embraced the idea.
The mats are brightly coloured & even the coloured side made a nice background for the art too. Now of course I am mad I didn't take loads more!
Fabulous uses of mouse mats! I need to join our local Scrapstore but I have that fear of spending way too much of my own money on school stuff - need to start working for myself! The art is wonderful and so good we can just snap a pic of it, tip it off and start again. I made some natural frames recently and the children have loved putting their creations in the garden inside them :)
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of the natural frames too. Luckily the scrap store stuff is all free, my favourite word!
DeleteAnother resource I picked up cheaply to use as sitting mats when I did environmental education was polystyrene swimming floats ... but I do think the black of the mouse mat works better for the environmental art. Have you seen the work Andy Goldsworthy does - he is my all time favourite environmental artist.
ReplyDeleteOoh yes the floats would be great too, must keep an eye out! Thanks for popping over to comment.
DeleteWhat a great idea, I bet the kids loved being able to create new pieces of art over and over again without wasting anything. I would never have thought of using mouse mats as such a useful resource. Thanks for linking up with Country Kids.
ReplyDeleteThanks Fiona, looks like you had loads of fun for Guy Fawkes.
DeleteAwww really love how you made sure that you upcycle those mouse pads. The finished products are so amazing =) #countrykids
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for popping over & commenting.
DeleteGreat works of art. Fantastic way to inspire the children :)
ReplyDeleteThey did look pretty good indeed, thanks for a lovely comment.
DeleteLove this idea - sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda, think I'll link it up to the new OPP on Friday too.
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