Gelatin Printing--how did it go?

Gelatin printing in the 4th grade was a great success! We did some explanation of printmaking terms, showed some examples of printmaking illustrations in children's literature, and had the kids cut out their own stencils. We watched these two videos by Linda Germain on youtube, and went over the process. I took lunchtime to lay everything out on the kids' desks: white construction paper and orange sulphite paper for printing, newsprint to absorb ink and moisture on the gelatin plate, gelatin plate, brayer, piece of glass for ink, paper towels, and an assortment of leaves from nature. The students were in pairs and took turns (and even helped each other). They were quite prolific and each made at least six prints. We got out more scraps of construction paper in different colors and sizes and they went to town! It was a great project. Everybody was successful. Students selected a couple of their favorite prints to keep in the art portfolio and got to take home the rest.