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The shortcut to paper pulping you are looking for may be only as far as
a walk to the janitor's closet: Toilet Paper! T.P. is readily
bio-degradable in water and makes a fine pulp for sculpture without the
need for a blender. Along with swiping a couple of rolls of T.P., grab
an empty 5-gallon drywall bucket ( the kind they use to catch the drips
from your ceiling during rainstorms)and fill it half full of warm water.
Cut the T.P. into strips with a utility knife or exacto and loosely
place in the water. It should make a lovely pulp by the next day. You
can help the process by stirring occasionally. Squeeze out the excess
water, and go at it. I usually add a small glob of Elmer's-type glue to
the pulp as a hardener. I think you should be able to add a small
amount of bleach to the pulp for preservation, as long as you don't tox
out your students in the process! After all, they bleach pulp to get it
that lovely shade of institutional gray! Hope this works.