find us at flo's market in portchester each month for free sessions

Afterschool Club at Wicor School

Junior Reshapers launches this term's Caring Creator workshops

This autumn term, Artcycle was back at Wicor School for a prompt 3:15 PM start, building on the success of the Junior Reshapers pilot programme held during the latter part of the summer term in July 2026.

Eight Key Stage 2 children signed up for a four-week series of Caring Creator sessions. We based ourselves in the small area outside Mr Wildman's (head teacher) office, where many students passed by, stopped to say hello, and curiously asked what we were doing.

During Week One, we explored recycled materials by creating papier-mâché biscuits from card and paper waste. The children were initially hesitant when presented with the sloppy mixture of paper pulp, but their curiosity soon took over. The mixture was made from crushed egg boxes and newspaper, blended with cornflour as a binder, along with a sprinkle of salt and a dash of vinegar. To make the experience more pleasant, I added a little aniseed, which gave the mixture a fresh scent. The children were fascinated by its unusual texture and aroma.

In Week Two, we worked with the egg-box clay (papier-mâché) to make fun biscuit shapes and then decorated them with paint. By this stage, the biscuits had shrunk to almost half their original size, providing an opportunity to discuss how materials change as they dry and what improvements could be made.

Over the following weeks, we turned our attention to plastic waste. Through imaginative play and creativity, the children discovered new possibilities for materials that would otherwise have been thrown away.

This autumn term's Caring Creator theme focuses on stewardship of God's creation through joyful play and creativity. The sessions encourage children to value resources, care for the environment, and use their imagination to create beautiful models from waste materials such as card, paper, and plastic packaging.

Over three weeks, we worked with a single material, moving through the processes of designing and making. During Weeks 1 to 3, the focus was on card and paper, and the children produced 3D woodland animal head sculptures. Once again using papier-mâché, this time combined with a layered decoupage technique, the children spent a week painting and a further week decorating their creations.

On Monday 3 October, Fareham Borough Mayor Tina Ellis visited the children and observed their work. The visit also included filming by That's Solent TV, giving the children an exciting opportunity to showcase their creativity and environmental learning.

By repurposing items that might otherwise be discarded, the children are learning that creativity and care for creation can go hand in hand. They are also developing practical life skills, such as folding away their aprons and tidying up after each session.

Inspired by God's living creation, the children have been designing their ideas using 2D sketching to visualise their ideas as they explore underwater coral gardens, woodland floors filled with fungi and toadstools, colourful flower beds, and cactus gardens. Using discarded plastic bottles, lids, and other waste materials, they will transform and model these copies of natural wonders inside a decorative display box.

The finished models will be illuminated by flickering LED candlelight, making them ideal night lights for their bedrooms while celebrating the creativity that can emerge from recycled materials.

"I would give Artcycle a billion out of ten!" said Eva.

The enthusiasm shown by the group has been wonderful to see, and we look forward to continuing their journey of discovery, creativity, and environmental stewardship throughout the term with our Living Model Garden project.