Mirror mirror on the wall...

Mirror mirror on the wall ... made by a student of grade 4

You need:

1. piece of wood


2. mirror


3. bathroom tiles (ask a DIY market)


4. hammer


5. newspapers


6. silicone glue


7. painters tape


8. grout


9. plastic bags


10. cotton cloth


11. sponge


12. security glasses of old sunglasses

The fairy tale Snow White by the Brothers Grimm is the basis for this lesson mosaics.

Snow White tells the story about a wicked stepmother who is jealous of the beauty of the daughter of her husband. The stepmother tells a hunter to kill Snow White, but he feels sorry for her and let her escape. Snow White ends up with the seven dwarfs in the forest.

The stepmother finds out through her magical mirror that Snow White is still alive, and poisons her with an apple. The sad dwarfs  put her in a glass coffin assuming she's dead.

Time passes and a prince traveling through the land sees Snow White. He is enchanted by her beauty and falls in love with her. He begs the dwarfs to let him have the coffin. The prince's servants carry the coffin away. While doing so, they stumble on some bushes and the movement causes the piece of poisoned apple to dislodge from Snow White's throat, awakening her. The prince then declares his love and a wedding is planned.



In this lesson students are going to make the magic mirror of the fairy tale of Snow White. They learn the several steps to create their own mosaic.



Step 1

Determine the place for the mirror and paste it on the piece of wood. Draw a design on the shelf of leave it empty to create a free design later on.



Step 2

Breaking the tiles

Go outside. Choose the tiles you like and put them on a newspaper. Put on glasses to protect your eyes. Hit the tiles with a hammer gently into pieces. Choose the pieces you like and put them in a plastic bag. Put pieces you don't need in a container (they can still be used by other children).

Clear the table for the following student. 



Step 3

Go back in the classroom with your plastic bag. Paste the pieces of the tiles on the shelf, using silicon glue.  Plak de stukjes tegel met siliconenlijm op de plank. Leave 3 to 5 mm space between the different pieces. If the pieces have different heights, then use more or less glue. Remove excess glue and leave the work to dry for 48 hours.

Pasting the pieces

Step 4

Go outside if this is possible. Make grout according to the instructions on the package; it should be as thick as yogurt. Use a disposable container. Put newspapers on the table. Mask the mirror with painters tape. Apply grout with a sponge. Rinse the sponge regularly in a bucket of water and then wring out well. When ready, leave the work to dry for half an hour and remove excess grout away.

Sponging the grout

Step 5

Polish the stones and the mirror the next day with a cotton cloth.