According to the modern education system, it is necessary to actively develop not only the logical thinking of the child and force him to “click” on the exact sciences, but also not to forget about the creative side that every student has and which also needs to be actively stimulated. Lessons for elementary school children have become more interesting, textbooks have become more colorful, with large pictures, so any kid is interested in the material that teachers are trying to present him correctly in the lessons.
Yes, and homework has changed, that is, it has become more difficult, as it requires the active involvement of mom and dad in the process of preparing a child. Not everyone, of course, likes this, especially when a beloved child stuns with the news that a rather complicated craft needs to be done. The most common task for the home, which almost all parents of elementary school students face, is to create a model of the Earth, for example, for an exhibition-competition. Often, moms and dads fall into a stupor, because they simply do not have enough imagination to complete such a task. Precisely forsuch parents, our article will be very useful.
Science fair tomorrow - will we have time to complete the task in the evening?
Among children in grades 1-4, various competitions are very often held in schools or they are voluntarily-compulsorily invited to participate in interesting scientific exhibitions. It may be a burden for some parents to help their child, but it is very interesting for the kid himself to take part in such events, because they allow not only to learn how to do something new, but also to get closer to mom and dad, because the little one can cope with the task a human being is simply not capable of doing it on his own. If the exhibition is devoted, for example, to astronomy, we can offer you interesting options for crafts that will help you depict a three-dimensional version of the planet Earth. A class 2 model of the Earth can already be done almost independently, so do not give up a couple of small hands that so want to take an active part. Our options for crafts can really be completed in the shortest possible time, while the result will pleasantly amaze even you!
Option 1. Making a planet using papier-mâché
As schoolchildren, we all made crafts using the papier-mâché method. Who has forgotten what it is, we recall that this is the creation of a variety of trinkets from wet pieces of paper and glue, such “ingredients” are attached to the base form. It will also work to create a model of the planet Earth in this way, the main thing is to follow all the rules for creating such crafts and acquire all the necessary elements to complete it.
We will use a balloon as a basis
Pieces of paper need to be fixed on a solid, stable base, if you need to create a model of the Earth, a round shaped balloon will be ideal. It is better to choose a more expensive ball that does not accidentally burst during the work. Also ask the seller to give you exactly a round ball, since the end result of your efforts should resemble a globe as much as possible - the model of the Earth that we know best. So, we inflate our balloon and put it in a fairly deep plate, the diameter of which will be smaller than the diameter of the inflated balloon. Place the ball with the end down, so it will less "dodge" and jump around while you cover it with papier-mâché.
Glue can be made at home
If there is enough time, we suggest you also prepare the glue yourself. We will make it non-toxic, so it will be possible to work with it for several hours without fear for the he alth of the baby, whom you will protect from inhaling dangerous fumes of glue from the store.
It will take at least a glass of hand-made glue per model of the Earth's surface, as the craft must be dense enough so that it does not accidentally break even before it is presented to the public.
Easiest glue recipe
To prepare, or rather, weld glue, you will need water and plain flour. You can simply mix them to get a substance of a sufficiently thick consistency, only then the craft will dry for a longer time, and if you boil it, your model of the Earth will dry at timesfaster - proven in practice.
So, put a small bowl on medium heat, pour 2-2.5 cups of plain water and immediately add 0.5 cups of wheat flour. Until the "brew" boils, it must be constantly stirred. So you get rid of lumps. As soon as our glue starts to boil a little, remove it from the heat and let it cool. In the end result, you will get something similar to a gel or jelly of a yellowish-white color.
Which paper is better to take?
In order to make a model of the Earth, you will need ordinary newsprint. It is better not to take written-off notebooks or ordinary office paper, since it is newsprint that is the most pliable, soft and everyone has at hand.
Knowing how to shred paper properly is important
Before you make a model of the Earth, you need to shred the paper. It is better to just tear it into small pieces or stripes. Refuse the help of scissors, because then the craft will not look beautiful, because the cut edges are more noticeable than the torn ones. Entrust this task to your child while you cook the glue.
The creation process itself is not complicated at all
In order to start making crafts together, pour the adhesive mixture into a shallow dish and "soak" each piece of paper in it. We must remove excess glue with our hands, because if there is too much of it, it will be difficult to attach the layer to the layer of paper, and our home-made globe will dry much longer. The model of the Earth must dry before painting the oceans and continents, soleave it alone in a well-ventilated area until completely dry.
Important! For the last layer or two, torn white heavy table napkins can be used to keep newspaper print from showing through.
The most interesting stage is decorating
On the dried model of the Earth's surface, carefully draw the contours of continents, oceans, islands with a pencil. Only after that we begin to paint them. It is recommended to use acrylic paint for this procedure, since gouache and ordinary children's paints can lay down in a translucent veil, and not in a dense layer.
If you need to make a system - the model "Sun, Earth, Moon" - make three papier-mâché models of different sizes at once, where the largest ball will be used for the Sun, and the smallest for the Moon. The algorithm for their creation will be the same, only the process of drawing will be different. The sun can be made yellow-orange and the moon white-grey.
What if you need to create a model of the planet's rotation around the Sun?
If your child was asked to create a model of the rotation of the Earth around our star, do not worry that you will not be able to complete such a task. We make two models (the Sun and the Earth) using the papier-mâché method, attaching ropes or strings to them. We attach the decorated crafts (we tie ropes or threads) to a small flat plank, along both edges. Just explain to the child that when showing the supervisor your creation and how the Earth moves around the Sun, you need to hold the edge with a pen, on whichattached the Sun by moving the bar around it.
Option 2. Plasticine model with a cut to study the internal structure of the planet
If the task for your kid was a little complicated by the fact that you need to show in your model not only the surface of the Earth, but also its layers - the earth's crust, mantle and core, we recommend that you make the model from plasticine. Since the model of the Earth is not only a globe, but also a map or a section of the earth's crust, you can also present such a craft to a science exhibition.
The craft will turn out to be no less colorful and informative, you will be able to cope with its implementation at 100% if you follow the correct algorithm.
Gathering all the necessary materials
To make the model as realistic as possible, arm yourself with the following materials:
- medium size plastic or foam ball;
- plasticine green, blue, blue, red, yellow and brown;
- yellow acrylic paint and brush.
There should be quite a lot of plasticine if the plastic or foam ball you choose is large. So buy several identical plasticine sets so that later it doesn’t turn out that you will need to buy more plasticine and the new one will not match in shades.
Getting Started
The algorithm of your actions to create a model of the Earth in the section should be similar to the following:
- We take our ball and red plasticine,evenly cover the ball with plasticine. Make sure that after the procedure you get a ball, not an uneven ellipse. To make the plasticine lie more evenly, warm up the pieces of plasticine in the pens.
- In order to make your model as realistic as possible, make the oceans, that is, the water surface of the planet, mixing blue with blue plasticine to make beautiful transitions, and wrap the ball with the resulting mass.
- Depicting the continents in stages. Carefully looking at the globe, we apply the continents with green plasticine. Since the continents consist of plains, uplands and mountains, leave the plains green, apply the hills on top of the “green plains” with yellow plasticine, and make the mountains on top of the plains with brown plasticine.
- Now it's time to cut the earth's crust. It is best to make it a triangle and so as to “cut” a piece of the mountain and the ocean. We get to our ball core and clean it of excess plasticine.
- We paint over a piece of the core visible to us with yellow acrylic paint.
You should end up with a colorful and understandable model of the Earth that your supervisor will definitely appreciate.
Option 3. A piece of a three-dimensional map made of plasticine
When making a model of the Earth, it is not necessary to represent the whole planet. You can display only one continent or part of it with hills. If this option is suitable for the upcoming exhibition or competition, and the child likes this idea -let's get started!
What materials do you need?
In order for the model to turn out to be voluminous, arm yourself with the same materials as for making a planet model from plasticine, but instead of a ball-core, we will take plywood, a wooden or plastic board and blue, light blue, green, yellow and brown plasticines flowers.
The process is very simple
In accordance with the spinning algorithm, we apply layers, starting from the mantle. Next will be the green earth's crust, on which a mountain of yellow and brown plasticine will rise.
Help your child make a beautiful craft by adding humpbacks, yarochki and the like. Make smooth transitions between the layers of plasticine to make the craft look as realistic and attractive as possible.
