African Dancers

I have had to get "creative" with some supplies this year...stretching budgets and resources quite thin. Scrimping and scrapping and now I just found out THAT budget is going to be cut in half for next year. Anyone else in the same boat?

I had some faux African printed papers in my cabinet that I usually use for quilt block patterns, but I thought it would be nice to, you know, use them for an AFRICAN project, maybe?!

I did these with my second graders, and they took two days. On Day 1 we painted a 12x18" paper yellow and orange. We also used the African print papers to cut out the "robes". I had the students use Sharpies to draw a necklace on one robe, a sash on another, and a belt on yet another.

On Day 2 we used a ruler to draw the "frame" around the edges, glued on the robes, and brought our dancers to life! I did have different criteria for the "frames"- designs had to be geometric in nature, and patterned. Dancers had to have different hairstyles and each needed to be standing in a different position (legs and arms). One of my second graders told me they reminded her of a Kokopelli she has at home (different culture, but they look similar! Nice!!!) I am proud of the way they turned out, so striking in real life!

Note: I have seen a few different versions of these floating around on Artsonia and I love everyone's different interpretation...just like the different interpretations our kids have! Happy Friday, let's dance!