In December we decided to create a Christmas Village as part of our art lessons. The original plan was to just create a village but when the Christmas Door competition was announced we decided to try and link the two projects. Our plan was to recreate Whoville with the Grinch looking on from his door.

The class divided into groups with each group having certain tasks. Groups were in charge of:

• designing the landscape
• painting backdrops
• building a mountain
• lighting the scene using electrical wires, lights and coding
• building the village
• creating the door

To begin we had to design where everything would go and how we would construct a mountain. This involved drawing on paper and using cardboard to create a mountain structure.

After the plan was made, the landscape group and the backdrop group got to work.

Meanwhile, the village group were busy designing and creating houses while the door team were making a suitably dull door for a Grinch!

Once the buildings were created, the village team worked out where best to place the houses. Now we had to move the whole village outside the door and once there, the electrical team used the house locations to set up a lighting system under the paper using wires, lights and coding.

Next we had to build and paint the mountain. This involved rebuilding the boxes outside the door, covering them with Plaster of Paris and then painting the scene. Meanwhile the backdrop team had completed their work and the landscape team had laid the train tracks.

To add the finishing touches, the children created people using clay while others rebuilt the village.

We added some signs and snow (icing sugar!) and finally, it was ready!

 

 

On the final day of the term, Mr Tyrell announced the results of the Christmas door competition and we were lucky enough to win first prize! The class calmly accepted the results!