“Our Favorite Things”

A mural project by the Normandale Elementary Class of 2024

In the spring of 2024, the 5th-grade class of Normandale Elementary School in Edina, MN left a colorful legacy in one of the school’s flex learning spaces. Inspired by their “favorite things,” the students crafted papercut collages that were then translated into a large-scale mural in the space.

What began as a seed of an idea for creativity in the classroom, blossomed into a fruitful creative project that included more than 100 students, 12 gallons of paint, and more than 375 square feet of blank wall. The 5th-grade class of 2024 is truly leaving their (very colorful) mark at Normandale.

A group of children placing colorful sticky notes on a whiteboard in a classroom.

First, we brainstormed a theme for our mural!

What is the story we want to tell? What is important to us? What inspires us? What legacy do we want to leave?

Colorful sticky notes on a whiteboard with handwritten and written text, stickers, and drawings, categorizing topics like nature, flowers, and subjects for a project or lesson.
Whiteboard with colorful sticky notes arranged in clusters, containing handwritten notes, drawings, and stickers.
Colorful sticky notes on a whiteboard with handwritten text about shapes, colors, abstract shapes, and sports, some decorated with stickers.

Our Favorite Things

The Theme

Children engaged in arts and crafts activities at a table with colorful paper, scissors, glue, markers, and other craft supplies.

We then created original artwork that would become the mural design.

Using papercut collage and mark-making to express a “favorite thing” each student contributed an art piece.

Children working on a craft project with colorful paper, scissors, and markers on a table.

Scroll on to view all the original art that inspired the mural design, process photos, and finished mural pics!

Handmade craft of a fish made from colored paper or cardboard, with green, blue, red, orange, and black colors.
Colorful paper craft of cherries with pink and orange fruits, green stems, and a green leaf.
Colorful paper collage with pink, blue, green, and black dots on a gray background.
Colored paper cutout of a strawberry with green leaves, a purple shape, an orange shape, and a blue shape attached to it.
Colorful paper collage of a banana with sections in green, pink, and yellow on a gray background.
Paper craft of a pink flower with blue and red leaves on a light gray background.
Paper craft of Totoro from the animated film, made from colored paper with drawn details, featuring a brown body, white belly with black marks, black eyes, nose, whiskers, and a green leaf on its head.
A crumpled paper collage of a turkey with black, pink, and orange paper pieces, featuring hand-drawn details.
Colorful paper cut-out depicting a pink bowl overflowing with multi-colored, melting-looking candy.
A small, colorful geometric artwork on a white background. The design features a red square at the center, surrounded by a blue patterned border, with purple and black lines creating a layered, abstract pattern.
Close-up of a small, oval-shaped paper with a colored and hand-drawn illustration of a robot's face, featuring blue and yellow coloring with black lines.
Collage of black and white checkerboard pattern with cut-out paper shapes, including a blue elongated oval, a yellow shape, and a small blue oval with a circuit-like pattern.
Colorful paper collage of a butterfly on white paper with torn edges.
Colorful space-themed drawing with a blue background, a moon, and stars in various colors and shapes.
A colorful paper collage featuring a yellow airplane with the names of the days of the week written along its body, set against a blue background with pink paper clouds.
Collage of blue paper cutouts on yellow background, forming a simplistic smiley face with two vertical strips, a horizontal strip, a circle, and a rectangular shape.
Green construction paper with the letter 'E' cut out of it, placed on a white background.
Paper cutout of the word 'Stay' on a green background.
A blue sheet of paper with a circular cutout and perforations along the right edge.
A pink and purple sheet of paper with two cutouts of clouds, one larger and one smaller, on a white background.
A pink paper with three butterfly cutouts revealing white paper underneath.
A yellow piece of paper with jagged edges on the left and right sides, placed on a white background.
Handmade paper craft of a blue bowl with white icing dripping down its side, filled with colorful paper candy rings and a black paper knife.
A collage of colored paper pieces assembled to form a fictional creature with a yellow body, brown limbs and head, and a black base.
Paper craft of an ice cream cone with pink ice cream, brown chocolate syrup, a red cherry, and a yellow cone on white background.
Pink cutout shapes resembling a flamingo and a question mark on a light background.
Colorful paper cutout of a smiling popsicle with a pink top, yellow middle, blue bottom, and a brown stick, with drawn eyes and a smile.
Paper craft art of a potato with eyes, nose, and mouth on a red background.
A paper craft representing a hot dog with an orange bun, a brown sausage, and yellow mustard on a white background.
Paper craft of a cartoon character with an orange head, blue eyes, blue mouth, and blue body on a white background.
A handmade paper craft of a llama or alpaca with a brown body, a drawn face, and wearing a blue necktie, on a white background.
Handmade paper craft of a yellow baseball with red stitching, placed on a white background.
Pink paper cutout shaped like a candy with the word 'CANDY' written vertically in black marker.
A black and purple L-shaped calculator or measuring tool on a plain white surface.
Paper craft of an orange smiley face with blue eyes and a blue mouth.
Red paper folded in the shape of a tulip or flower against a light background.
A colorful paper craft of a fire hydrant, with a red rectangular top, green circles on the side, and a green striped pipe at the bottom. The top has handwritten text that says 'I am a Fire Rocket' and 'Power' in a box.
Colorful paper star decorated with spots, featuring a smiling cartoon face in the center.
A handmade paper craft of a pink and purple leafy tree with a yellow trunk, surrounded by a black circular outline.
Colorful children’s drawing with various shapes, patterns, and doodles, including stars, triangles, swirls, a lollipop, a small plant, and a cube. The word 'Doodle' written in the center.
Colorful hand-drawn picture of the Earth with landmasses in green and oceans in blue, on a piece of paper with wavy edges.
Colorful sign with the text 'WHAT?!' in bold, stylized green letters on a black background.
Collage of colorful hand-drawn and cut-out illustrations of animals, abstract shapes, and patterns on a black and white background.
Colorful paper cutout of a strawberry with green leaves on top, designed with black seed-like lines.
A colorful drawing of a purple owl holding a small Ecuador flag, with blue feet, a blue bow tie, and black ears.
A collage of a woman with blue hair, pink skin, and closed eyes, set against a backdrop of a bright sun and swirling ocean waves.
Colorful poster with the message 'You can do hard things' and a pink heart-shaped ribbon at the bottom.
Drawing of a red strawberry with green leaves, black seeds, and a white background.
Colorful paper craft of a basketball, a flame, and a shark against a black background.
A paper craft depiction of planet Earth with green landmasses and blue oceans, featuring a small black silhouette of a person standing on the white polar ice cap, set on a black background.
Child's chalk drawing of a rocket with pink, green, and black colors on a black background.
Colorful collage featuring a drawing of a puppy with its tongue out, surrounded by various colorful paper backgrounds including yellow with dog paw prints, pink, blue, orange, and black with a strawberry illustration.
A drawing of a red slice of watermelon with black seeds on a plain light-colored background.
Colorful drawing of a pink sun, blue cloud, purple fish, and blue butterfly on white paper, labeled 'Evan'.
Paper craft of a fish with an orange body and black lines resembling scales, and a yellow tail with blue and pink decorations.
A drawing of an ice cream cone with three scoops, featuring a purple scoop on top, a white scoop with black details in the middle, and a yellow cone with grid lines.
Colorful drawing of a two-scoop ice cream cone with pink and blue scoops topped with a cherry and decorated with colorful square sprinkles.
A yellow paper cutout resembling a sun with rectangular rays around a circular center on a white background.
Paper craft of a purple and pink flower with circular petals and a scrolled center.
A green cutout letter E with a yellow border on a white background.
Handmade paper cutout of a green cactus with black outlines on a white background.
A cut-out illustration of a rocket ship on a white background, made from blue and white paper.
Paper airplane with handwritten text 'Charlie Oil' on the wing.
A drawing of an orange sneaker with black outlines, white laces, and a black Nike logo, on a plain gray background.
A colorful paper craft depicting a rainbow with a yellow, orange, red, and maroon arch, set above a blue body of water with squiggly black lines representing waves.
A flat, orange, L-shaped object with black tape at one end and a black, rounded end at the other, placed on a light-colored surface.
Creative paper collage of a person with pink and purple clothing and blue shoes, made with cut-out colored paper, on a pink and purple background.
Children's colorful paper craft of two tulips with purple, pink, and blue petals, green stems and leaves, labeled 'L. S.' at the bottom.
Blue circular paper craft with purple outlines and abstract line patterns.
Silhouette of a black umbrella on white background.
A paper craft of a Nintendo Switch console with blue and red controller sides and black screen, with text and symbols cut out and glued.
A paper craft of a green leaf with pink and blue flowers attached.
Paper craft of a musical note with a yellow crown attached at the top.
Colorful paper craft featuring pink circle with orange geometric shapes connected by lines.
A paper craft of a baseball with blue and yellow-green lines, inside a blue glove.
Pink circle with a blue recycling symbol inside, placed on a white surface.
Close-up of a craft paper gun made from blue and pink construction paper on a white background.
Colorful paper craft resembling a slice of pizza with yellow cheese, red pepperoni, and green basil leaves, drawn with black marker.
A small circular object with a white border, containing orange and green shapes inside, on a plain white background.
Brown paper cutout in the shape of a football, with pink tape crossing it in a plus pattern.
Handmade paper craft of an American football on a pink background with handwritten notes.
Pink paper cutout of a bear with blue facial features on white background.
A sticker of an orange slice on a plain light-colored background
Colorful circular logo with a yellow background and the words 'TICK' written in green and 'TICK' in white featuring a staggered pattern, outlined by red and blue borders.
A blue paper cutout with a pink ribbon spelling 'AIDS' on a white background.
Colorful paper ice cream cone craft with a pink scoop and orange cone, decorated with small dark marks, placed on a white surface.
Colorful handmade card with a purple and yellow purse design, displaying the number 24 in black, and the name Brynat written on it. The card is placed on a white surface.
A craft of a slice of pizza made from yellow and brown paper with torn red paper toppings on a white background.
A colorful poster featuring a musical staff with black notes and a pink butterfly with yellow wings designed as a girl, floating above the staff. There are four rectangular labels with artwork, in yellow, blue, and turquoise, with handwritten titles
Colorful handmade card with drawings, messages, and decorations. The card has a green, yellow, and pink theme, with stars, hearts, and a drawing of a dog. It features handwritten notes and a cut-out star with 'God' written inside.
Child's colorful handcrafted art project with a brown cross, a pink arrow, a yellow sun, and the text 'Family!' on a blue background.
Paper craft of a yellow butterfly with red spots on a beige and white background.
A crumpled white sticker with a pink outline of a face and crossed pink lines resembling a medical or surgical mask.
Child's drawing of a white animal, possibly a dog, with orange and red coloring, on a crumpled white paper.
Yellow paper or foam cutout of a bear lying on a wooden surface.
Colorful paper craft with a blue T-shaped cutout, a yellow rectangle with the number 247 written in black, and the word 'Buyant' handwritten on the blue paper, all placed on a wooden surface.
Pink note card with yellow football shape, white tape strips, and pink tape in the center. Handwritten text on the note says "2023-2024," "Astrid," "Football SLAYSS!!!" in red ink.
Pink circular sticker with blue geometric shapes in the center, placed on a wooden surface.
Colorful paper craft resembling a slice of watermelon on a wooden floor.
A paper craft of a dog made with blue, pink, and light pink colored paper, placed on a wooden floor.
A paper cutout of a pizza with marker drawing of toppings, placed on a wooden floor next to a bright pink sticky note.
Colorful paper ice cream cone craft with pink and blue scoops decorated with blue and pink square confetti, on a wooden floor.
A paper craft art piece of a melting ice cream cone with a chocolate and pink scoop in a yellow cone, placed on a wooden floor.
A white sheet of paper with two tear-shaped cutouts, placed on a wooden surface, with faint colored markings around the cutouts.
Colorful graffiti-style mural with a purple locker on the left and various vibrant shapes, characters, and doodles, including a dinosaur, a planet with a person standing on top, strawberries, a ballerina, stars, moons, a UFO, cherries, and the French phrase 'On peut travailler dur'.

Then, we designed the mural to fit on the unique walls and pillars in the flex learning space and the adjacent hallway.

How could we tell stories using vignettes that combine elements from the students’ artwork and ideas?

Artist and mom of one of the 5th graders, Kim Senn, digitally recreated each of the 100+ individual pieces of art, measured the available walls and pillars in the flex space, and designed the mural to suit the space. Using only the kids’ artwork, leftover scrap paper with unique cuts, and smaller elements of the designs, Kim created a collection of vignettes that surround the space.

There is a fun element of discovery as you view the murals throughout the room – each time you’ll notice something new or find a detail that delights.

Colorful abstract illustration with various objects including a mountain, a football, cheese, a hamster, and a game controller, arranged in a collage style.
Abstract colorful artwork with pie chart, ice cream cone, strawberry, shoe, and various geometric shapes.
Colorful cartoon doodle collage including a crown-wearing orange character, a globe, ice cream cone, a smiling face with a pink hat, a small dinosaur, a rainbow, a laptop, a basketball with a crown, a banana, a globe on paper, a cat, a pizza slice, and a patterned square.
Colorful border with various illustrations including a pineapple, parrot, girl, pizza, cake, paw prints, dog, football, cactus, colorful shapes, and the phrase 'You Can Do Hard Things' in a playful font.

After the design phase, we needed to transfer the digital mural design to the walls as outlines.

We projected the design onto the walls and traced each shape with a pencil, creating a “paint by number” style plan. There was a lot of “creative problem-solving” in this phase!

8th Grader Hugo Senn creating outlines from the projected design.

Colorful mural with lockers on the left, including a yellow dinosaur and a large yellow gear, pink and purple shapes, a strawberry, a pink butterfly, a green and blue moon, a UFO, a small pink figure on earth, stars, and a tennis ball. Text reads 'On peut travailler dur' in blue letters.
A section of a white tiled wall with a bright orange level tool hanging vertically on the left side. A faint, colorful, cartoonish drawing of various food items, including a strawberry and a pineapple, is visible on the wall behind the tools.

Now the fun begins!

Armed with paintbrushes, paint, and a plan, the students began adding color to the walls. We included reference printouts throughout the space to ensure the correct colors were used in the mural.

Children creating a colorful mural on a wall, featuring various abstract shapes, flowers, stars, a globe, and the text 'We put travel'
Group of children and teachers in a classroom with colorful murals on the walls.

C’est Fini!!

Wowza! We finished! Every student contributed their time, talent, energy, and passion to making this inspiring project come to life.

Click on an image below to zoom in and get a closer look! Finished project photos by Chelsie Lopez. (Merci, Chelsie!)

A large group of school children and teachers gathered in a classroom for a group photo. The classroom walls are decorated with colorful artwork, including animals, scenery, and a message that says 'You Can Do Hard Things.' The children are seated an
Colorful mural art on school walls with children walking through corridor
Colorful mural on school hallway wall with French text 'On Peut Travailleur Dur', playful illustrations of flowers, a ballerina, the Eiffel Tower, a strawberry, a football, and a cartoon Earth. Students walk past in the corridor.
Colorful mural art on classroom walls with images of ice cream, pizza, and abstract shapes, and a whiteboard, in a school classroom.
Colorful wall mural with various playful illustrations including a guitar, starfish, rainbow, cake, space rocket, a cactus, and text that says 'You said I don't read things' in a classroom with a whiteboard and a clock.
Group of school children and teachers in a classroom with colorful murals on the walls and windows.
Group of children in a colorful classroom with graffiti-style art on the walls, sitting and standing on a blue carpeted floor.
School hallway with colorful mural on the walls and students walking.
Colorful mural art on the walls of a school hallway with children walking through.
Colorful mural with various abstract and cartoon-like shapes and figures decorating the walls of an indoor hallway or corridor.
A woman with curly hair holding a floral sign and smiling, standing in front of a group of children seated on the floor in a brightly decorated school hallway.
A group of children and a teacher posing in front of a colorful mural in a school hallway with purple lockers. The mural has vibrant illustrations and the text "On Peut Travailler Dur." The children are smiling and some are kneeling or sitting in fro
Group of students and a teacher posing in a school hallway with purple lockers and colorful wall art.
Group of children and a teacher posing in front of a colorful mural with a message in French, inside a school hallway with purple lockers to the side.
A group of children and a few adults posing together in front of a colorful mural in a school hallway. The mural has playful shapes, a dragon, and the words 'Ce on Peut Travailler Dur' in French. Purple lockers are on the left side.
A group of children and their teacher in a school hallway with colorful wall art and lockers.
Group of children and a woman posing in front of a colorful mural in a school hallway. Children are sitting and lying on the floor, some making gestures or facial expressions.
Group photo of children and a female adult in a classroom with colorful, graffiti-style murals on the walls.
Group of children and a woman posing in front of colorful mural with playful images and text that reads "You Can Do Hard Things" in a classroom or activity room.
Two girls in a colorful room with a mural that has the phrase "You can do hard things" and various playful illustrations, one girl is standing holding a sign that says "You can do hard things" and the other girl is kneeling holding artwork.
A girl standing in front of a colorful mural holding a handmade sign that reads 'You can do hard things' with a heart symbol.
Young girl in a black outfit kneeling next to a colorful wall mural with the phrase "You Can Do Hard Things" and various playful drawings including hearts, a rainbow, a dog, and paw prints. She is holding a yellow paper with the word "DOGS" and paw p
A young girl with dark curly hair, wearing a black T-shirt, turquoise shorts, and colorful Crocs, stands indoors beside a vibrant, cartoon-style mural on a wall. The mural features playful images of a yellow star, a gray rock with crossed yellow bone
A young girl with shoulder-length light brown hair smiling and holding a flower-shaped paper cutout, standing next to a colorful mural with painted objects including a yellow object with the number 21, a pink teddy bear, a volcano, and a collage of b
A boy standing in front of a colorful wall with hearts, a smiling frog, and text that says 'You are a hard thing.' The boy is holding a craft project made of colorful paper and drawings.
A woman and a boy smiling and hugging, standing in front of a colorful, cartoon-style mural on a classroom wall. The mural features playful illustrations including a bear, a soccer ball, an airplane, a strawberry, and various abstract shapes.

Merci beaucoup!

A project like this is only successful with collaboration and trust. Thank you to everyone who believed in this project, embraced uncertainty, rolled with challenges, and stepped up to help make it come to life. The student artists showed creativity, focus, energy, and flexibility as we navigated the creative process together with the support of so many people in our community.

A huge thanks to Ashley Mary for providing the inspiration (and generous initial guidance!) for our project. Her talents and kindness are unmatched.

We are grateful for teachers like Sarah Kiel, who helped steward this project from idea through completion. This project would not have happened without her vision and leadership.

We hope creative projects like this become common in schools as arts programs are scaled back or eliminated. More than anything, this shows how capable our students are when engaged in a project requiring creativity, teamwork, trust, adaptability, and comfort with uncertainty. They not only embraced it but thrived throughout the entire process.

~ Kim Senn, Parent Volunteer/Artist/Project Leader

Normandale 5th Grade Teachers + Interns

Sarah Kiel, Katie Stengel, Molly Swiderski, and Josephine Tritsch

Maëllis Dubois and Camille Schmitt

Admin Staff + Custodians

Principal Chris Holden, Anne Anderson, Maria Sepulveda, and the entire building custodial staff during the week and on weekends!

Parent Volunteers

Parent volunteers run the world, and 17 of ours stepped up to help manage the energy of 25+ kids painting on walls at one time. They washed countless brushes, refilled water buckets, helped with spills and drips, and gave endless encouragement to the kids as they created!

Community Painting Helpers

Sarah Blackwood, Meghan Figueroa, Hugo Senn, and Marty Senn

Photographer (Finished Mural Photos)

Chelsie Lopez

Parent Volunteer, Artist, and Project Leader

Kim Senn

For more information about this project, please contact Kim Senn at kimberly@sennandsons.com.

217 Brushes

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12 Gallons of Paint

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104 5th Graders

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19 Parent + Community Volunteers

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4 Classroom Teachers (+ a Library Media Specialist!)

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2 Interns

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217 Brushes 〰️ 12 Gallons of Paint 〰️ 104 5th Graders 〰️ 19 Parent + Community Volunteers 〰️ 4 Classroom Teachers (+ a Library Media Specialist!) 〰️ 2 Interns 〰️

Students walking through a colorful school hallway with vibrant, playful murals of ice cream, animals, and abstract shapes on the walls.