Elementary Plaster Hand Sculptures

I have wanted to do this project with my elementary classes for a long time.  It's one of my favorite art memories from childhood, except we did not cast our hands, we cast our FACES!  The kids, who were initially skeptical and may have thought their teacher had lost her mind, warmed up to the idea of having their hands wrapped in gooey plaster gauze, allowing it to harden, and then sliding it off.  The sliding off was the hard part!  It would have helped if their hands were boneless!  After they spent a week drying, the kids painted their sculptures and some added embellishments and fluorescent paint so they glowed during our Glow Parties.