Dream Catcher Art Project
Charlotte Holtan, grade 3 teacher Gordon Head Elementary, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
This project was inspired by the art and stories of the children from Afghanistan and by the following quote:
All things are connected.
What befalls the earth befalls all the sons of the earth.
This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth.
All things are connected like the blood that unites us all.
Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it.
Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself
(Ted Perry, 1972; Chief Seattle, 1800s).
Reference:
http://www.ecopsychology.org/journal/gatherings6/
Project Progression (5 - 40 minute sessions):
First Nation Dream-catcher was used to frame the project.
1. Children brainstormed words and wrote them all around a drawing of a “Universal Child” that was sketched on poster/chart paper. The words were to represent everything a child would need to feel happy, healthy, safe, loved, and nurtured. Generating lots of discussion was important at this stage.
2. Each child then received a white paper (15” X 15”) and traced out a pattern of a web (cut out of cardboard). The outer part of the circle was stamped with painted twigs to create a border.
3. On the inside of the web, children drew a picture of themselves.
4. Surrounding their self-portraits, children chose 5 personal and powerful words from the “Universal Child” poster words and wrote these on their individual posters. (Children could also choose words of their own that were not written on the chart. The key at this stage is for the children to choose words that are significant and meaningful to them as individuals, i.e. “child honouring”)
5. Next, for each word, the children pencil-sketched a picture to illustrate this word and chose an example of how this looks in their ideal world. The theme, “The Way I Want the World To Be” was chosen.
6. When the pencil sketch was completed, the children coloured their pictures with pencil crayon.
7. Children conveyed further meaning of their dream catchers by writing a paragraph (or more) about the pictures, words, and meanings in relation to the Afghanistan artwork and to “the way they want the world to be” for all children in the world. These notes were glued to the back of the dream catchers.
8. The dream catchers were completed with a light top layer of chalk pastel colour to achieve a dreamy affect.