Earth Day Art Contest!

My 5th grade students received a contest to design a ceiling tile for a local teacher/school store. The topic was Earth Day, and the winner would receive a $100 gift certificate for the store. The money didn't excite me much because I use art supplies more then regular things you would find at the teacher supply store. I was excited to use what I learned at the NAEA Conference to get my students to talk about ideas. The only thing I told them was to come up with a sketch of ideas that would help spread the meaning of Earth Day. I told them I was going to the conference and would be back to work on it with them. They all seemed excited! I came back the following Monday, ready to attack (since it was due that Tuesday!). The students were ready too. We had a sketch session where they all shared their ideas. I told them that we could use anything on the tile as long as they were permanently adhered to the tile. They kept bringing up recycling, and someone mentioned a recycling bin. We have them everywhere at school, and I'm always using recycled items for art and other things. They decided to create a recycling bin that was 3d on the background. But what to put in the background? One of the students brought me her sketch very quietly, she is always very timid about her artwork. Of course I shared it with the group, because it was sharing time! Everyone loved it! She drew two images. One of the world if we recycled, and one showing a world that threw trash everywhere. The students really pulled together to get the project finished in time, and I was so proud of the quality! Sometimes when we rush, we tend to get a little sloppy. But I just let them go, and they corrected themselves! I am so proud of the work they did even before we turned it in! I'm sad that I didn't get a photo of it. But the good news is...it will be up for a while because WE WON!!!!! When I found out, I almost cried! I was so excited for those students to see what they did! And they did it on their own! What a proud day, who cares about the money!!!!