Recipe for Playful Learning!
STEP 1: Have your child tear the paper into tiny strips.
STEP 2: Add paper to the blender, cover it with water, and run the blender on a low speed. (Make sure to have your child stand safely away from the blender when you turn it on.)
Since you will eventually be squeezing all the water out of the paper pulp, add only as much water as needed. If the blender doesn’t move easily, slowly add more water. (Run the blender a little bit faster until you get the paper mixture into a nice, smooth pulp.)
STEP 3: Place the window screen over tub.
STEP 4: Remove the pulp from the blender and have your child spread the paper pulp thinly and uniformly across the window screen on top of the tub. Place an absorbent cloth or towel on top of the pulp to absorb the extra water, while also pushing the water through the screen into the tub.
STEP 5: Place one hand firmly on top of the cloth while you flip the screen over onto a towel-covered table or countertop that can handle water.
STEP 6: Remove the screen and put the cloth with the paper pulp in a space where it can dry.
STEP 7: Once your paper is all dry, remove the pieces and have your children decorate it with colored crayons, markers or watercolor paints.
When pulp is on the thick side, the paper may not always look like typical thin paper. As a result of this, your child may wonder if they really made paper! This is a great opportunity to discuss and question how paper manufacturers might get such thin paper. Suggest tearing the paper up into smaller pieces, making the pulp thinner the next time to see different results.
Modification:
Add planting seeds to your pulp. Make gift bags with the seeded pulp and share with family and friends. Great opportunity to communicate to follow up to see what grows in everyone’s gardens!
Skills to Practice: Recycling, Sensory thinking, Critical thinking, Creative thinking