Snow Many Snowmen

SHOW ON THE ROAD: Today was a bit different for MPA. The kids and Christian were on their own, while I headed to a classroom down south, to spread a little seasonal magic ... and powdered sugar. :)

Oldest son Rick took me up on my offer to lead his class in a lesson in the fine art of fondant. I thought some 'melting snowman' cookies would be a fun project for third graders.

In preparation, I baked a couple dozen Really Big sugar cookie bases, and sculpted some Rice Krispies spheres (for their heads).  I also loaded up yards of parchment paper, cups and cups of sprinkles and candies, and about 30 pounds of fondant. 

We started today with me telling the kids my once upon a time when it came to sugary stuff. I was a writer and photographer for a newspaper for 20 some years, and I was assigned a story about making holiday cookies and I had to come up with something to photograph so I made them. Introducing the Gingy family. 

 I told the kids how much fun I had making them, and how, during the process, each one of them, in my own mind, started to have a name and personality - a back story. (For instance, see Suzy in the green dress up front? She is So Not Happy to be at this family gathering.)  From that experience, I was hooked. 

I shared lots of other examples of past projects with the kids - sports cookies, seasonal cookies, My Little Pony and other character cookies. I showed them video game themed cookies, and ones inspired by movies.  I shared with them photos of my space shuttle cookies ... 

and told them how, incredibly, my cookies wound up being eaten INSIDE two space shuttles!

I ended the introduction by showing them a photo of the first ever batch of melting snowmen cookies I ever made, and told them that's what they'd be working on today.  

Overwhelmingly, the kids were really jazzed about it, but I could see a couple were a bit overwhelmed. I know many kids (well, people in general) think art isn't their 'thing' and they're not artistic. I assured them that this was going to be Big Fun, and that absolutely anyone could do this, and no two snowmen would or should look alike and the great thing about making stuff like this is you get to eat your mistakes. ;)

The kids went to recess and came back, and then we had a 20 minute or so session talking about logistics. I asked the kids how many of them had ever helped prepare any food (from carrot sticks to cupcakes). everyone raised their hands. I talked to the kids about the three things that are paramount when preparing food for other people. Obviously, you want it to taste good, and if it looks good that is a bonus. But the third, and actually most important thing is that the food is SAFE - that it doesn't make anyone sick. And so, we reviewed how to be safe while preparing the cookies.

The other thing we talked about is the joy of preparing food for others. Since there were cookies, candies and other sugary treats involved, initially, the kids were super focused on how quickly and soon they could eat all this stuff. 

I held up the raw materials, and pointed out how large they were - bigger than any one person should eat, and beyond that, told them that when they were done, they were going to want others to see it - that it would be a shame to eat it and deprive others of seeing their art. I think they were skeptical, but it was time for them to go to music.

One other thing we talked about was their future snowmen's faces. I did a quick lesson on drawing cartoon eyes and eyebrows and how that would basically drive the whole personality of their snowman. I also assured the kids who weren't comfortable drawing the eyes that candies would be just fine, and that accessories could help tell their story, too. 

While they were gone, Rick, an adult volunteer, and I got everything ready and then the wonderful chaos ensued. :)  

As a class, I talked them through getting the fondant over their snowman's base and head, and after that, they were pretty much left to their own devices. I was so impressed with their creativity! 

I was super happy to see even the most (initially) reluctant kids were totally into it, and every single one of them was embracing the individuality of the experience.

I had a number of kids approach me individually to ask how to do this or that, and was happy to be able to offer quick tricks and tips. In the end, each and every one of them was so darn proud of their creation. They quickly went from wondering when they could eat it to acting very protective about them and deeming them presents for their parents or Santa. :)

Each and every one was a masterpiece. Here is a small sampling. ...

This sweet snowman is holding a soccer ball. 

And this one is playing a Nintendo DS.

This snowman is holding a heart and has a present close at hand. ...

The little girl who made the snowperson below made her a redhead. I showed her how to texture the hair so it looked more like hair and less like a helmet. In fact, I used the tops of their ugly 'woodgrain' desks as a talking point about texture. I pointed out to them how in nature things aren't all flat and smooth like that - they're bumpy and crooked. 

I love the bow the student added to the hair!

Naturally, there was one student who used Every Single Element available to him. Check out how he even integrated the plastic knife!

And, of course, when I got home, CJ and Annabelle got to make some snowmen with the leftovers. :)

A fun day, and I'm looking forward to doing the same with Kennedy's class.