Mosaics in the Classroom

Have you made mosaics with elementary students?

We first learned about the mosaics in ancient Greece and Rome.  The student thoroughly enjoyed sifting through my box of mosaic tiles to find the perfect pieces.

We used glass bits and bobs, shells, stones, square tiles and stained glass pieces.

Some tips:

• Be sure to cut your pieces inside a plastic bag to avoid flying pieces.
• Use sanded grout (available at a hardware store) to minimize cracking.
• Tiles should be placed about 1/4″ apart.  If they are placed too far, the grout may crack.
• We used masonite boards for our basehttps://www.artisbasic.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=7565&action=edits and used Elmer’s wood glue to adhere the tiles.  They stuck really well for us.
• Tell the kids to make sure they have their pieces where they want them before they leave class for the day.  In the past, many kids would come back the next day (after the glue dried) and want to move pieces.  Sometimes we could chisel the pieces off and other times they were just plain stuck.
• Check out Glittering Shards for some great ideas for mosaic making with children