Paper Mache Bear Cave

I am very excited to be writing a new feature at Totally Tots called What’s in the Tub?  My first sensory tub post will be up tomorrow morning.  This month our theme is bears.

To keep the bears nice and warm while they are hibernating I made a paper mache cave for the Bear Sensory Tub.

What You’ll Need:

• brown paper bag cut into strips
• newspaper
• balloon
• container to set the balloon in
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 cup of flour
• container to mix the paper mache paste
• brown, black, and white paint
• paint brush
• plate to mix plate

What You’ll Do:

1. Cover the area where you are going to work with newspaper.
2. Mix the flour and water in a container
3. Blow up the balloon to the size that you want your bear cave.
4. Place you balloon in a container with at least half of it exposed. 
5. Dip the strips of paper into the flour and water mixture, removing the excess paste and layer over the balloon. 
6. Cover 1/2 to 3/4 of the balloon, forming a cave.  Make sure you leave an opening for your bears to get in the cave.
7. Allow the paper to dry.
8. Pop the balloon and trim the edges so your cave will sit properly on the forest floor.
9. Once your cave is dry you can paint it.  I mixed brown, black and white paint to make a stone color.

Want to check out the completed Bear Sensory Tub?  Head over to Totally Tots tomorrow morning.

~Cindy