A Pueblo pottery project for kids to make with real clay: fun way to learn about artifacts from the American Indians of New Mexico.
Wow these paper molas really extended my students. After showing the students real molas we practised making small ones based on traditional designs of the Kuna culture with the influences of the modern world. Mola art developed when Kuna women of the San Blas Islands in Panama had access to bright colour fabrics. How to make. Colored card Use primary and secondary to create Complementary colour schemes. Glue sticks, Images of traditional designs. Scissors. Step one students draw or trace around templates of animals etc using a primary colour. I made about 15 animal -bird , fish shapes - but more capable students could create their own,. Once traced - cut out and glue onto an A5 size piece of paper . Students can choose its complementary colour as the background. Students then trimmed leaving about 4-5mm or around 1/4 inch. Glue the animal shape onto a rectangle of black paper A4 size. Stduents then decorated the the animal and filled in the background with small rectangles, paper punched dots as required. etc
In this multicultural art project, kids will make a "mola" out of construction paper, to represent the beautiful molas in folk-art from Panama.
Use music and playful activities for Teaching Children about South America. So many great ideas for toddler, preschool, and elementary age kids.
Finally on a couple of weeks holiday and ready to start putting up my first blogs and the fantastic art work my students created Our theme in the first term middle grades has been Celebration and in particular Latin America. I discovered the paper cutouts of the villages in the Otomi Community San Pablito in the Sierra Norte in Puebla.- the following links provides the essential information http://www.festivalofmexico.com/sanpablito.html http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kering/amate.html See below the artworks my students made. How to make them Brown paper A4 Wax candle Clothes iron Black A3 cart for display Glue Brown edicol dye or food colouring Basic template of figure Step 1 Fake Amate Paper Rub brown paper with wax candle using it ion its side. Ensure a good waxy coverage. Crumple paper well to crack the wax coating. Open out and smooth ready to dye. Dye with brown dye and iron flat between two layers of newspaper. Step 2 Paper Cutting Create the figure using a strong piece of card see template . Fold the brown paper in half lengthwise. Fold dyed side to the inside and trace the figure onto half the paper. Add the extra shapes which could be fruit shapes , leaves animals etc- check website for ideas. I printed out lots of examples for students to use. Carefully cut out keeping paper folded to create symmetrical figure. Glue onto black paper for display. `
Molas are cloth panels that form part of a blouse for the Kuna women of Panama. This lesson teaches children how to create paper cut molas with only a few
Pinay Homeschooler is a blog that shares homeschool and afterschool activity of kids from babies to elementary level.
Last week, the Art around the World class visited South America. We have explored the South American geography, culture and art. We looked at various fabrics and noticed the bold, bright colors and…
Learn about Peru for Kids with these printables worksheets to read, color and learn about this South American country!
Part of Montessori Preschool classrooms is a fun introduction to other cultures and places around the world; here are some exciting activities on South America.
Our recent geography study has taken us to South America and that involved some more updated printables for Kaleb. Brazil is our first stop in our
These Paper Plate Rio Carnival Masks are perfect for teaching kids about Rio Carnival, Brazil, and the Rainforest. Also a great Mardi Gras mask craft for kids.
We're finally done with our South America unit! We spent about four weeks on it, and that felt like a good amount of time for our usual casu...
Take a quick trip around the continent of South America with us, exploring some of the countries, finding out a little about their geography and their history and what makes them tick, and printing out a full set of printable flag activities, too. We've also got location and fact worksheets for many of these countries.
Fun facts about Peru for kids. Peru is an amazing, country in South America. Learn these cool Peru Facts with links to more Peru resources.
An extensive list of 130+ South America unit study ideas. This list includes books, videos, virtual field trips, recipe ideas, hands on ideas, and more.
Learn about fascinating South American country of Argentina for Kids in this free printable country study for elementary age kids to color, read, and learn!
Learn about molas from the Kuna people in Panama with this molas lesson with information, discussion questions, resources, and lesson ideas.
As part of my current residency I did these masks with Grade 2/3 today. They are studying Peru in Social Studies so we are investigating the gold masks of the Inca. This was an excellent lesson. We completed most of the project in a 1 hr session. Here are some of the masks that we made today. We still have to add the sequins and coloured paper. MATERIALS REQUIRED: - canvas board or rectangular piece of heavy cardboard, ours are 6"x8" - black and gold acrylic paint - scraps of thin and thick cardboard, paper rolls - little wood cubes (Dollar store), little wood sticks (Dollar store) - doilies - tacky glue - rick rack and trim - gold and silver sequins - black and turquoise paper - scissors PROCEDURE: I handed out the boards and we put our names on the back with sharpie. Working on top of wax paper or newspaper, each student painted the canvas board with black acrylic paint. Set aside to dry. I gave each student an oval cut from corrugated cardboard. This is the base of the face. They then collected materials from the recycled stash. I pre cut the heavy pieces of cardboard into smaller more manageable pieces. We built up our mask details and glued them on with tacky glue. Student work in process. When it is all glued down we painted the whole thing with gold acrylic paint. Embellish with sequins and bits of coloured paper. At school we skipped this step as we were out of time and just glued our masks to the base board. For my sample I put glue on the back of the mask but at school the masks were still wet so we put the glue on the black boards (they were dry by the time our masks were painted), and then placed the mask on top of the glue. We'll do our embellishing at school next week. Great job Grade 2/3! Gail
Last week, the Art around the World class visited South America. We have explored the South American geography, culture and art. We looked at various fabrics and noticed the bold, bright colors and…
Teachers looking for multicultural art projects will appreciate these miniature figurines made of Ecuadorian Migajón Clay made with only two ingredients.
Your students will LOVE creating these colorful, authentic sounding rainsticks! Be sure to show students where Chile is located on a map or globe, and talk about its unique geography and weather!
Use music and playful activities for Teaching Children about South America. So many great ideas for toddler, preschool, and elementary age kids.
Although you can find this type of instrument in several locations around the globe, zampoñas from the Andes mountains of South America have a beautiful, breathy sound that can be heard playing som…
Fifth graders recently studied the Aztec Sun Stone in Art class. The Aztecs lived in Mexico from around 1300-1500 AD. They worshipped the sun because it provided life to all people. They carved a huge stone disk, three feet thick and almost twelve feet in diameter that is now known as the Sun Stone or the Aztec Calendar. When the Conquistadores arrives, it was buried after no one was able to destroy it. In 1760 it was found buried in Mexico City and is now in the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. The Stone shows how the Aztecs believed the world went through four creations and destructions. They used glyphs, or picture symbols, to communicate meaning. It is a complex and fascinating calendar system with the face of the sun in the center of the radial design. Fifth graders were able to create their own radially symmetrical design using gylphs. They began with pencil and repeated shapes around the circle and creating an interesting sun face. They added paint and marker, finishing their projects with cut pieces of construction paper!
Bem Vindo ao Brasil means Welcome to Brazil! Help your kids learn about Rio, the Andes, and many other things about South America! These beautiful Brazil-inspired crafts for kids are a perfect way to get
Are you looking for a Latin American craft to incorporate Hispanic culture in class? Make Puerto Rican vejigante masks with kids!
Set of FREE printable world map choices with blank maps and labeled options for learning geography, countries, capitals, famous landmarks
Here are a few finished pieces (ages 5-7) This project was inspired by a friend's recent amazing trip to Macchu Picchu. Truly a bucket list moment! Since the chances of me making the trek there an
Molas are a form of reverse applique using many layers of fabric. In a later lesson we will sew simple molas out of layers of felt. In the mean time let's make one out of construction paper so that we can better understand the reverse applique process. First, choose an image that inspires you. Choose a design with simple colorful shapes. Flowers, birds, fish and suns all work well as mola designs. Next create a simple line drawing. Notice how wide the feet are? You will need to cut out your design so make sure to compose it of bold simple shapes that you can easily cut. Create a simple cut out pattern without any detail. When you are done cutting flip the pattern over. Does it look like a recognizable image or just a blob? If it isn't immediately recognizable you need to go back and do a more precise job cutting. Here are the layers of my mola design: The top layer is yellow with a bird shaped hole cut out of the middle. Whenever I need to cut a hole out from the middle of a paper, I pinch the paper and make a tiny cut on the fold. Then I open the paper, stick the scissors in the hole and continue cutting. Pointy scissors can fit into smaller holes than blunt tipped scissors, allowing for more precise cutting. Now lets begin to put the design together: Layer 1 layer 1 and 2 layer 1, 2 and 3 All four layers together Have some fun with your mola by adding some pattern cut outs to layers 2 and 3. For more extensive information on molas visit http://www.molaartandcraft.com/ Learn about the Kuna people of Panama by clicking here. Learn more about this art form by clicking here The most common mola motifs are; birds, fish, animals and flowers. I have created some simplified patterns based on common images from real molas. Feel free to download or print them or use them as inspiration for your own ideas. Start with a simple design of three layers. You can always increase the complexity and detail of a paper mola design by adding more layers of color. Paper molas make beautiful cards and framed pictures. You can sew or glue simple molas using felt. Felt is a good material for children to use because you do not have to worry about the edges fraying. Kuna women use light weight cotton fabric to make molas. They cut a fringe along the fabric opening and tuck the edges of material underneath to create a clean design. The hallmark of good mola craftsmanship is that you appreciate the image before you notice the materials used to create it. This is true no mater what media you use. Sloppy stitching, visible glue, loose threads or ripped paper all detract from the quality of the design. Nancy Walkup, the editor of School Arts Magazine, writes about using Mola designs as a vehicle to teach big ideas to children: http://www.slideshare.net/mobile/nwalkup/teaching-with-big-ideas
Discover the 3rd largest country in South America w/ Amazon rainforest, Incan remains, llamas, and Machu Picchu with FREE printable Peru coloring pages.
This project was inspired by a friend's recent amazing trip to Macchu Picchu. Truly a bucket list moment! Since...
Hi Blogging buddies! Kerri here... Can I just say how completely JEALOUS I am that so many of you are on your summer break, while I sit her...
Discover the 3rd largest country in South America w/ Amazon rainforest, Incan remains, llamas, and Machu Picchu with FREE printable Peru coloring pages.
Learn about Peru! 4 strategies for engaging kids with this fascinating country, plus printable mini-books in English or Spanish full of Peru facts for kids.
Teacher Sample One of my students was desperate to do a sloth project, and made her wishes clear each time we met for class. Eventually, the whole class was behind this request. To appease their yearnings and fulfill their wishes, I developed this hanging sloth project using watercolor with crayon resist for my group of 7 year olds. The results were just amazing - too adorable - and the kids were wild for this project. They all went home to make many more sloths on their own. See my time-lapse video here for a quick overview of how we did this project: Step 1: Drawing Draw the sloth in pencil. Begin with very simple basic shapes: body shape (like an large kidney bean), then head (round, oval shape) with eyes and snout, then back legs (thicker at the thigh, thinner at the ankle, arms (thinner than the back legs), branch (curved and uneven, with knots and stubs), claws (three pointy long fingers that are wrapped around the top of the branch. Refine all shapes for more accuracy. Draw several very large leaves which enter into the composition from at least three sides of the picture frame. Go for variety in shape and size. Leaves should both overlap and underlap the sloth to show depth. Step 2: Crayon Contouring Outline all the leaves, branch and the sloth in crayons. We used many greens, blues and yellows for the leaves, and added plenty of implied texture to the leaves indicating veins. We used many browns, black and white for the branch and sloth. Add fur texture to the body of the sloth using short dashed lines, and implied bark texture to the branch with short horizontal dashes. Be sure to use white in the sloth too, as this will show up nicely once the watercolor resists it. A ring of white or light pink can also go around the outside of the eye for contrast. With a permanent black marker, color in the black part of the eyes and the eyeball (leave a reflection spot in the eye). This could also be done in black watercolor. Step 3: Watercolor Using many greens, blues and yellows, and mixing combinations of these colors, paint the leaves. Using different browns, paint the sloth and the branch. Think of light and shadows: The underside of the branch should be darker, and upper side lighter. The bottom of the body is darker than the top, inside of the legs are darker than the outer side, etc. The kids grasped this concept and rolled with it, and their sloths took on really good dimension. The face of the sloth is A very light brown or beige color. Tip: Important is that watercolor is applied in light transparent layers, and darker values are slowly layered on. Step 4: Background - Negative Space With a small, round brush, paint the negative space in the background in opaque black. Students were very careful to paint along the contour edges of all leaves, sloth and branch, and made sure to fill up all the small spaces between leaves with a small detail brush where necessary. If the black was not dark enough after the first layer, add a second layer of extra opaque black paint for super strong contrast. Optional: To fill up empty space in your composition, add additional simple details on top of the black with crayon where there is space (for example, thin twigs, long grass, etc.) The kids were amazed by the magic of the crayon resisting the watercolor. We took off the tape to reveal the crisp white border. My seven year olds LOVED this process, and were so proud of their results. One mom told me her daughter took her cherished painting to bed that night. Now that’s love! Day 1 Progress Day 1 Progress
Bem Vindo ao Brasil means Welcome to Brazil! Help your kids learn about Rio, the Andes, and many other things about South America! These beautiful Brazil-inspired crafts for kids are a perfect way to get
