Memories of Elementary School

I found these boxes at the Crane Paper sale last August and bought a case not really knowing how I would incorporate them into my art curriculum this year.  With the year almost over, I decided to investigate box art and see what I might come up with for ideas.  Many current artist use a box form to create art often collaging the interiors and exteriors or filling the boxes with found objects that relay a feeling or emotion.  With the emotion in mind, I decided to use the boxes with my 5th grade students.  They would create a work of art that reflected their memories of elementary school.  I put ideas out to them to give them a starting point but the box art was to become very personal in nature so the students were encouraged to take them in the direction that most reflected them.  I was extremely pleased with the results, so much so that I am hopeful about purchasing another case this summer.  The students took about a month to complete the project.  Here are some of the results.