This is a simple ‘direct’ method of mosaic making.  The children who made the coasters also made the ‘Rose’ mosaic which was made using the ‘indirect’ method and so they could contrast both ways of working.

The children drew round their simple wooden coasters on paper and then worked out their designs using the tiles but without sticking them down.  This was quite useful so that any mistakes could be rectified and it allowed the children to see how many tiles they would get on their coasters comfortably.

Once they were happy with their designs, they then stuck the tiles onto the coasters one at a time from their paper template version.

The tiles then were left to dry overnight before the grout was applied.

Some of the finished coasters.  So many different possibilities just using simple square tiles!