Hello Friends,
I really like to discuss Native Americans of the past at this time of year. In my class, we study Native American homes and crafts. We talk about the differences in the tribes throughout the country. We discuss how not all Native Americans gathered their food, hunted, or wore clothes in the same way.
We make 3 different Native American homes - the pueblo, the plank home, and the tipi.
To make the pueblo, we used a square box of tissues and covered it with brown paper squares to show the bricks that were used.
A messy project, but worth the end product!
We made plank homes in much the same way, but used a regular sized tissue box. The children covered the sides with long strips of paper to simulate the logs used to build the house. Craft sticks were glued to the front and a black construction paper door glued to the front. They colored a totem pole sheet which was wrapped and secured around a paper towel roll.
The third home was the tipi. We used a round tortilla shell doubled up. The kids used markers to draw Native American symbols on the outside. I foldes it into a cone shape and secured with a toothpick. When it was dry, it was glued onto a green painted paper plate.
They also made clay horses. We used a horse shaped cookie cutter to cut a horse upon Crayola modeling clay. We stuck toothpicks into the bottom for legs. The next day, the kids painted their horse. When the paint was dry, they used white glue to add details. Before doing this activity, we read "The Mud Pony" by Caren Lee Cohen
A few crafts that we make...
Native American masks - Paint a sturdy paper plate. I tell my students to paint a face, but sometimes they simply paint colors. Let dry. When dry, add features with paper, feathers, or beads.
Sand art is a fun craft to do! I print Native American symbols onto cardstock paper. Students paint it with watercolors. Let dry. Using a glue stick, spread the glue onto sections of the picture. Sprinkle colored sand upon the sections. This makes a very pretty painting.
The templates for the sand paintings and totem pole are found in my Native American packet. You can find it by clicking the photo below.
Until next time!
Blessings,