According to the modern educational system, it is necessary to actively develop not only the logical thinking of the child and make him “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 primary 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 correctly present to him in the lessons.
And the homework has changed, that is, it has become more difficult, since it requires the active involvement of mom and dad in the process of preparing the child. Of course, not everyone likes this, especially when your favorite child is overwhelmed by the news that you need to make a rather complicated craft. The most common home task that almost all parents of junior high school students face is to create a model of the Earth for a competition exhibition, for example. Often, mothers and fathers fall into a stupor, as there simply is not enough imagination to perform such a task. It is for such parents that our article will be very useful.
Science exhibition tomorrow - will we have time to complete the task in the evening?
Among children of grades 1-4, very often in schools they hold various competitions or volunteer-forcibly offer them 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 learning how to do something new, but also getting closer to mom and dad, because coping with the task is small a man alone is simply not within the power. If the exhibition is dedicated, for example, to astronomy, we can offer you interesting options for crafts that will help depict a three-dimensional version of the planet Earth. Earth model 2 class can already do almost independently, so do not give up a couple of small pens that so want to take an active part. Our options for craftsmanship can actually be completed as soon as possible, while the result will amaze even you!
Option number 1. Making a planet using papier-mâché
As schoolchildren, we all did 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. To create a model of the planet Earth in this way will also work, the main thing is to follow all the rules for creating such crafts and acquire all the necessary elements for its implementation.
We will make a basis for an inflatable balloon
Pieces of paper need to be fixed on a solid, stable basis, if you need to create a model of the Earth, a round ball will be an ideal option. It is better to choose a more expensive ball that does not accidentally burst during the execution of work. Also ask the seller to give you exactly a round ball, since the final result of your efforts should remind the globe as much as possible - the model of the Earth that we know best of all. So, we inflate our ball and put it in a rather deep plate, the diameter of which will be smaller than the diameter of the inflated ball. Place the ball with its tip tied down, so it will “dodge” less and jump 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. It will turn out non-toxic with us, so you can work with it for several hours without fear for the health of the baby whom you will protect from inhaling dangerous fumes of glue from the store.
At least one glass of hand-made glue will go on one model of the Earth’s surface , as the craft should be dense enough to not accidentally break before it is presented to the public.
The easiest glue recipe
To cook, or rather, cook the glue, you will need water and ordinary flour. You can simply mix them to get a substance of a sufficiently thick consistency, only then the craft will dry for longer, and if you boil it - your model of the Earth will dry many times faster - tested in practice.
So, put a small bowl on medium heat, pour 2-2.5 cups of ordinary 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 begins to boil a little - remove it from the heat and let it cool. In the end, you get something that looks like a yellowish-white gel or jelly.
Which paper is better to take?
In order to make a model of the Earth, you will need ordinary newsprint. It’s better not to take written-off notebooks or plain office paper, since it is newsprint that is the most malleable, soft, and at everyone’s hand.
It is important to be able to chop paper properly!
Before you make a model of the Earth, you need to grind paper. It’s better to just tear it into small pieces or stripes. Discard the help of scissors, because then the craft will not look beautiful, because the cut edges are more noticeable than lacerated ones. Entrust this task to your child while you cook the glue.
The creation process itself is not at all complicated
In order to start making crafts together, pour the adhesive mixture into a shallow plate 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 fix the layer on a layer of paper, and our home-made globe will dry much longer. The model of the Earth must be dry before applying the colors of the oceans and continents, so we leave it alone in a well-ventilated room until it dries completely.
Important! For the last layer or two, you can use torn white dense table napkins so that the printed text of the newspapers does not shine through.
The most interesting stage - painting
On a 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, as gouache and ordinary children's paints can lay down with a translucent veil, and not with a dense layer.
If you need to make a system - the model “Sun, Earth, Moon” - make three models of papier-mâché of different sizes at once, where the largest ball will be used for the Sun and the smallest for the Moon. The algorithm for creating them will be the same, only the drawing process will be different. The sun can be made yellow-orange, and the moon-white-gray.
What if it is necessary to create a model of the planet's rotation around the sun?
If the child was asked to create a model of the Earth’s rotation around our body, do not worry about the fact that you will not be able to complete such a task. We make two models (the Sun and the Earth) using the paper-mache method, attaching ropes or strings to them. We attach the decorated crafts (we attach ropes or threads) to a small, even bar on both edges. Just explain to the child that showing the supervisor his creation and how the Earth moves around the Sun, you need to use a pen to hold the edge on which the Sun is attached, moving the bar around it.
Option number 2. Plasticine model with a slit for studying the internal structure of the planet
If the task for your baby is a little complicated by the fact that you need to show in your model not only the Earth’s surface, but also its layers - the earth’s crust, mantle and core, we recommend that you complete the model from clay. 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 at a scientific exhibition.
The fake will turn out to be no less colorful and informative, you can cope with its implementation 100% if you follow the correct algorithm.
We collect all the necessary materials
In order to make the model as realistic as possible, arm yourself with the following materials:
- medium or medium sized plastic or foam ball ;
- plasticine of green, blue, blue, red, yellow and brown;
- yellow acrylic paint and brush.
There should be enough plasticine if the plastic or foam ball you have chosen is large. So buy several identical plasticine sets, so that later it doesn’t turn out that you will need to buy plasticine and a new one will not suit the shades.
Getting to work
The algorithm of your actions to create a model of the Earth in the context should be similar to the following:
- We take our ball and red plasticine, evenly stick plasticine around the ball. Make sure that after the procedure you have a ball, and not an ellipse uneven. To make the clay lay more evenly, warm the pieces of plasticine in the handles.
- 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.
- We depict the continents in stages. Carefully looking at the globe, we apply the continents with green plasticine. Since the continents consist of plains, hills and mountains, leave the plains green, the hills on top of the “green plains” are applied with yellow plasticine, and the mountains on top of the plains are made with brown plasticine.
- Now it's time to make a cut of 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 clear it of excess plasticine.
- We paint over a visible piece of the core with yellow acrylic paint.
You should get a colorful and understandable model of the Earth, which is surely appreciated by the supervisor.
Option number 3. Piece of 3D plasticine card
When making a model of the Earth, it is not necessary to depict a whole planet. You can display only one mainland or part of it with hills. If this option is suitable for the upcoming exhibition or competition, and the child likes a similar idea - let's get started!
What is needed from the materials?
In order for the model to turn out to be voluminous, arm yourself with the same materials as for making the planet model from plasticine, only instead of the core ball we will take plywood, a wooden or plastic board and plasticines of blue, blue, green, yellow and brown colors.
The process is very simple.
In accordance with the spinning algorithm, we apply layers, starting with 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 humps, bright colors and the like to it. Make smooth transitions between the layers of plasticine so that the craft looks as realistic and attractive as possible.