Last semester, Sunshine and Lily had the chance to do art classes with some homeschool friends. They absolutely loved learning and creating new things and their art teacher came up with a variety of cool projects for them. One of these was a Plasticine diorama. The girls have played with their dioramas a lot since making them, so I thought I’d share the idea with you.
This post contains affiliate links; as an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Create the Diorama
The art teacher brought boxes for each of her students. All of the boxes were about four to six inches square and two inches deep. The girls decided they wanted lids or flaps for their boxes, and added these with tape. They painted the inside of the boxes with acrylic paints, creating various background scenes for their dioramas.
Sunshine’s box features mountains against a light blue sky. She also added a little box in the corner of her box, to make a nest. And she coloured the lid of the box, so that it opens up to create a larger play space for her Plasticine creations.
Add the Plasticine Models
Once they had created their diorama, they began creating Plasticine models to add to the scene. Most of the girls picked one theme for their dioramas and stuck with it. Sunshine has somehow got dolphins playing with chickens so I’m not sure what the theme of her diorama is.
The girls have re-made some of their models into other things. Most of the models, however, they protect fiercely (particularly from their younger sister, who likes to play too) and they only make new models out of new Plasticine. I’ve been amazed at their creativity in making new creations and how well they can model various animals.
Sunshine and one of her friends wanted birds in their dioramas, so they used floss to hang the birds from the top.
Plasticine Diorama = Hours of Play
Jade liked these dioramas so much that I had to make her a box too. I used an old tea box and simply cut it open so that she had a flap on her box like the other girls. She coloured the inside of the box blue and added her own little balls of Plasticine. Sunshine and Lily helped her make some dolphins but she often squishes her clay.
While the girls picked their own themes for these dioramas, this activity could also be used for almost any homeschooling theme. For example, making a Plasticine diorama would fit in well with our study of history—the girls would have to do a bit of research or study the pictures in their books, but we could try to re-create one of the time periods they’ve studied.
No Responses Yet