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Education & Curriculum

Learning Through Play: Make your own paper

December 5, 2023
hero--Learning Through Play: Make your own paper

It’s a hive of Christmas craft activities at Green Leaves Robina. The children were eager to make some Christmas cards. One idea led to another, and the discussion resulted in the idea of creating a card that was sustainable and truly handmade! With the guidance of their Educator, the children made paper from scratch!

This activity is a great way to learn about recycling materials and incorporating science by demonstrating how materials can change through manipulation. This activity also explores creativity – the children get to select their choice of colours to add to the paper, or maybe even finish with a sprinkle of glitter. Once you’re familiar with the process, you can add a sprinkle of seeds to the wet pulp to make your seeded paper as gifts.

The process is simple, and the result is fascinating!

What you need:

  • A blender
  • Scrap paper that would usually go into your recycling, or shredded paper
  • An old tea towel
  • Baking paper
  • Rolling pin
  • A large container for soaking the paper 
  • Water
  • Food colouring and glitter (optional)
  • Paper

Method:

  1. Gather some scrap paper and tear them into small pieces. We used shredded paper but torn up paper will be just as effective.
  2. Soak the pieces of paper in water (just enough to cover the paper). Let it soak for a couple of hours or until soft and mushy.
  3. Once the paper is mushy, transfer it into the blender to process until it forms a thick pulp. If the mixture looks a little dry, add more water and blend again.
  4. At this stage, you can add some food colouring to give your paper some colour, or sprinkle some glitter for extra sparkle.
  5. On a flat surface, place a piece of baking paper on top of your old towel. Tip out of pulpy mixture onto the baking paper and cover it with another piece of baking paper.
  6. Flatten the pulp with your rolling pin. Remove the baking paper and dry excess moisture with a tea towel. Once completely dry, your paper is ready for use!