Animal footprints in the sand, tepees and totem poles - exploring the culture of North American Indians gives children an exciting theme for outside play. Help them make the following:
Plaster casts
Animals often leave their footprints in soft mud and sand. Making plaster casts of them will keep a permanent record. The children can decorate the casts with colours and symbols of the North American Indian and use the casts to decorate their tepees.
You will need:
A strip of strong card (the size will depend on how big your cast is)
Paperclips
Plaster of Paris
Water
Plastic tub or bowl
Spoon
Small trowel
Old brush or toothbrush
(If you wish to make your own prints) clay, a selection of shells and pine cones or other objects that can be pressed into the clay
To make:
1 Look for animal footprints in mud and sand.
2 Select the clearest footprint.
3 Bend the card around the print, secure it with a paperclip to make a circle, and push the card into the soft mud or sand.
4 Mix the plaster. Put two inches of water into the bucket or bowl and add the plaster (add plaster to water, not the other way round). Add enough plaster until you see a soft peak forming. Then using your hand or the spoon, mix gently.
5 Pour the plaster mix into the mould (the cardboard around the print) and leave to set. This will take between 15 and 30 minutes. The more plaster mixed with water, the quicker the mould will harden.
6 Once set, use a small trowel to dig up the plaster and print. Gently clean off the soil and sand with the old toothbrush and some water.
7 Once dry, the prints are ready for painting.
8 If you wish to create your own moulds, roll out a slab of clay 2.5cm thick and press your found objects into its surface. This will create marks and patterns. Then follow the same steps as above.
Dream catchers
An old Sioux Indian legend says that dream catchers were hung in lodges and tepees to ensure peaceful dreams. The good dreams, knowing the way, slip through the webbing and slide down the soft feathers to the sleeper.
The bad dreams, not knowing the way, become entangled in the web and melt in the dew at the dawn of a new day. Small dream catchers were hung on babies' cradleboards, so that infants would have only good dreams. Traditional dream catchers hold symbols of earth, sea and sky.
You will need:
Hoops, for example, old plastic bangles, curtain hoops, embroidery hoops or wire
Old scraps of material or leather
Feathers, buttons and beads
Long pieces of ribbon
String or strong cotton
To make:
1 Wrap the hoop in ribbon so that none of the original material is showing.
2 Make a loop at the top of your dream catcher with either string or ribbon (this is so you will be able to hang up your dream catcher).
3 Criss-cross the string or cotton backwards and forwards across the hoop until you have something that resembles a web or spokes. During this process you can also thread beads on to the string/cotton.
4 Attach your feathers to some more lengths of string and thread on some shells or beads. Repeat this three or four times. Then attach these to the bottom of your dream catcher to complete it. Hang your dream catcher above your bed and enjoy night after night of pleasant dreams!
Apache Indian calendar
The Apache Indian calendar enabled the Indians to make a record of important events that happened throughout the year. Icons, or drawings, were painted or drawn on to the surface to mark the different events. The calendar was then hung in the tepee.
You will need:
Four stout sticks, about 30cm long
Some twine or string
Needle and cotton
An old piece of sheet, about 25cm square
Feathers
Beads
Paints, brushes or felt tip pens
To make:
1 Bind the sticks together at the corners using the twine. This should form a square.
2 Now attach the sheet in the centre of the square by sewing the edges of the sheet loosely to the sticks.
3 Tie some string or twine on to the feathers, and thread some beads on to the string. Repeat this four times. Attach these to the four corners of the calendar.
4 Using the paint, brushes or felt tips, design your own icons to depict important events that have happened in your year.
Tepee
The nomadic hunting tribes of the Great Plains used tepees. They were extremely practical, being cool in summer and warm in the winter, and were decorated with traditional painted designs. When the children have made their tepee, they can dress up in head dresses and North American Indian costumes, and hold a ceremony to celebrate their new home.
You will need:
12 long bamboo canes
Ball of twine
12 pegs about 25cm long (cut down bamboo canes will be fine) Large old sheet
Large needle and strong thread
Paints and paint brushes
Scissors
To make:
1 Place the canes in a large circle, leaving an opening for your entrance, and gather them together at the top. Bind tightly with the twine.
2 Push the canes into the ground. This will give your tepee much-needed support.
3 Make a hole in the centre of your sheet, making sure it is large enough to place over the top of the canes.
4 When you have placed the sheet over the canes, peg down the bottom edge into the ground. This will give the tepee extra support.
5 Using the needle and thread, sew or tie the sheet to the canes at odd intervals, about three times on each cane.
6 Now paint your tepee with bold designs.
7 Using scissors, cut an opening into the sheet for a door. Start at the bottom and travel upwards leaving the last 25cm or so uncut.
8 Decorate your tepee with the plaster casts, dream catchers and calendars that you have made earlier in the project.
Totem pole
Totem poles were used by North American Indians to represent a family's status. Like a family tree, it used to record important family events. Every household was represented by a spirit in the form of an animal - for example, an eagle, raven, wolf or bear.
You will need:
A long carpet inner tube (ask your local carpet suppliers for the left over cardboard inner tubes from carpet rolls) A bucket of small stones or gravel
Old newspapers
Paints and brushes
PVA glue (mix three parts of glue to one part of water)
To make:
1 Design how you want your totem pole to look. Think about how you would like your family represented.
2 Add papier-mache features to the carpet tube by using small bits of torn up paper mixed with the glue. Build up the layers and leave to dry.
3 Other features can be added by gluing found items to the pole or painting your own designs. However, remember to leave 25cm to 50cm free at the bottom.
4 Dig a hole about 25cm deep and place your totem in it. Fill up the remainder of the hole and then tip your stone or gravel into the top of the totem. This will act as a stabiliser.
5 A layer of varnish or diluted PVA mixture can be painted over the whole totem, which will help to protect it from the elements.
