Day-of-the-Dead Art Projects
On November first and second, the people of Mexico come together to remember and celebrate their deceased friends and family in a celebration known as the Day of the Dead. People construct altars consisting of sugar skulls, marigold candles and the departeds' favorite foods. Teach your children about the holiday using Day of the Dead art projects.
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Clay Sugar Skulls
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To make clay sugar skulls, you will first need sugar skull molds. You can purchase the molds from online retailers or your local supermarket around Halloween time. Make a ball of polymer clay and push it into the mold so the mold is completely filled in. Next, pop the skull out of the mold and set it aside to dry. Once the clay dries, give it a coat of white paint. When the white paint dries, use bright colors such as yellow, orange, red and blue to paint the face. To make these skulls look like real sugar skulls, dust them with shimmery makeup powder.
Paper Marigolds
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Make paper marigolds in honor of the Day of the Dead. You will need multicolored tissue paper, green pipe cleaners and scissors. Begin by layering five sheets of tissue paper and cutting them into eight-inch squares. Fold the set of papers like an accordion so it resembles a thin rectangle. Cut a small v-shaped notch in the center of the rectangle, one notch on both sides. Twist the end of a pipe cleaner around the notch. Point the stem downwards and carefully fluff up the layers of tissues, one by one, so they look like flower petals. Continue to back more paper marigolds until you have a whole bouquet.
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Day of the Dead Mask
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A Day of the Dead mask project requires a paper plate, crayons, scissors, glue, one-hole punch and ribbon. Give each student a white paper plate. For younger children, print out a skull face template from an online resource such as Free Kids Crafts. The kids can then glue or tape the template onto the back of the paper plates. Older kids can draw a skull face on the back of their paper plates. Cut the eyes out of the skull face, punch holes at ear level on each side of the plate and tie each end of a length of ribbon to the holes. Instruct kids to colorfully decorate the skull face using crayons.
Pasta Skeleton
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Put together a Day of the Dead skeleton using pasta. You will need a variety of pasta types such as spaghetti, macaroni, tiny tube pasta, long tube pasta, wagon wheels, long spirals and small shell pasta along with dried lima beans, black construction paper, white crayons and glue. Draw a stick picture on the black construction paper with the white crayon to use as a guide. Glue the wagon wheel pasta on as the head; tiny tubes for the spine; long tubes for the collar bones; macaroni for the ribs; long spirals for the arms and leg bones; small shells for the knees, hands and feet; and the spaghetti for fingers and toes. Use dried lima beans for the hips.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Dia De los Muertos image by walter r chinchilla from Fotolia.com
