Worry Dolls

Worry dolls originate from Guatemala and are a trusted source for your troubles.  Tell your doll what is worrying you and then place the doll under your pillow at night.   

I have done this project with kids in my regular art class as well as in a more therapeutic environment as part of my Masters program, with a group of kids who had all suffered some kind of loss (divorce, death of parent or family member).

Materials needed:
- Wooden clothespins...(optional - I glued mini popsicle sticks to the sides for arms with hot glue)
- Yarn
- Glue
- Markers

1.  Start by talking about worries and how it is normal to have things that we worry about.  Ask for volunteers to share what worries they have.  Examples may include; after a death of a family member there is worry of losing another, worry of abandonment by one or both parents, worry about never seeing a certain family member again, worry about changing schools or moving to a new town, worry about being home alone.

2.  Show the kids how to wrap the yarn around the worry doll, slowly and carefully, experiencing the calmness that a repetitive motion can induce.  Remind them to go slow and breathe.  Kids can switch colors of yarn to make pants, skirts, shoes, etc.  Use a little bit of white glue to glue down the ends of the yarn.  Try to overlap the different yarns, which also secures the loose ends.

3.  Glue on yarn hair and draw on a face (optional)

Van Gogh Starry Night Crayon Resist

Van Gogh loved bright, contrasting colors.  His favorite color was yellow.  

Materials needed:

- Example of the "Starry Night" painting

- Yellow, white and silver crayons

- Black crayon for the cyprus tree

- Watercolor paint (blues and greens)

- Watercolor paper

- Brushes

Directions:

1.  Color with crayon the stars, moon and swirls with the yellow, white and silver crayons.  PRESS HARD!

2.  Color the cyprus tree it the foreground with black.  Kids may also want to draw in the village.

3.  Paint a wash of watercolor over the entire picture.

Claude Monet Sponge Painting

Claude Monet
French Impressionist painter
1840-1926


Materials -
- White paper
- Various pastel colored paints
- Sponges (I used regular kitchen sponges from the dollar store and cut them into smaller 1"x2" pieces
- Examples of Monet's paintings
- Pencils (optional)
- Real flowers for inspiration (optional)

Directions -
1.  Show examples of Monet's paintings, (Water Lilies, Bridge at Giverny) and discuss his painting style.  Monet's paintings have a softer feel.  The paintings look fuzzy upclose but you can really tell what the picture is when you hold it farther away.
2.  Demonstrate how to paint using only the sponges, and not dragging the sponge, just "dip and dab" the sponge onto your paper.  (Children may want to sketch their painting in pencil first)
3.  Encourage the children only paint organic shapes and images - flowers, trees, etc.  Talk about how Monet would go outdoors to paint and was very inspired by nature!

"The richness I achieve comes from Nature, the source of my inspiration."  - Claude Monet