Plushie Project Prompts Connections
Kindergartners, high schoolers team up to create soft monsters
Horns the candy-loving dragon and Snoopy, a monster with big orange ears who rolls instead of walks, only used to exist on paper.
But they both went home with the kindergartners who imagined them on April 3 thanks to the Plushie Project, a collaboration between University Park Elementary and art students at Highland Park High School.
Kindergartners each designed and named a monster earlier this spring during an art lesson that challenged their creativity and ability to translate their ideas into shapes that could be reproduced in three dimensions.
Then, high schoolers in Jenai Talkington’s Art I course brought the monsters to life as part of their fiber arts unit. Through the project, which is now in its second year, students learned both how to interact with younger children and practical sewing skills.
“Even if they never remember how to sew on a button, at least they know that they can do it … It’s not a mystery anymore,” Talkington said. “I think for a lot of people who have never picked up a needle, it’s kind of overwhelming. You’re not sure even how it works.”
The project was an exercise in patience for eager University Park Elementary kindergartners. By mid- March, students were stopping art teacher Jennifer Torres in the halls daily to ask, “Are they done yet? Are they ready yet? Are the kids coming yet?”
“You would think they were rock stars,” Torres said. “The younger kids just get so excited to see their plushie, but really to get to meet the high schoolers and spend some time with them.”
The pairs of monster creators finally had a chance to meet during the April Plushie Project celebration. Along with the monsters, high schoolers brought the kindergartners certificates of adoption that included their creation’s name, birthdate, color, and sewist.
Many of the high schoolers had added details to make the monsters extra special for their recipients.
Ninth – grader Elizabeth Dao stitched “Tommy” into the back of the yellow and orange monster with tentacles, eight eyes, and big teeth that she sewed for kindergartner Thomas Caudle.
Ninth – grader Adam Schaffer added stuffing to the dragon Horns’ wings so that they could move freely. He said he’d never sewn before making the purple, red, and black monster.
“They did a really good job,” said kindergartner Jonah Abelmann. Jonah imagined the monster Snoopy, who travels on a single yellow wheel instead of feet. He received two versions of his monster sewn by ninth-graders Elliot Bergin and Horatio Lonsdale-Hands.
Both art students said the project had its challenges. Lonsdale-Hands needed to start from scratch after discovering that he’d made a mistake in an early step that meant the plushie wouldn’t work.
“But it was worth it,” he said. “I’m very happy seeing Jonah liking it.”
During the celebration, pairs of high schoolers and kindergartners created a paper monster collage, took photos, played, and enjoyed Tootsie Roll Pops.
By the end of the afternoon, HPHS art teacher Talkington and Torres, who is also pre-k through fourth grade Highland Park ISD art coordinator, were already talking about ways to make the project better next year.
“I think the sewing went well. The excitement was high,” Talkington said. “And we made a good connection, which is the whole point.”
