All About Me, All About You -- School-age
Games
Fool Your Family (active/icebreaker)
From: Games Kids Play Site
Equipment: One slip of paper for every player. Papers should be in groups of five, and each group represents a family, for example, the Smiths. So the first Smith paper would be Mr. Smith, the second Mrs. Smith, the third Brother Smith and so on.
Each family should have a different last name but the same characters (ie) one mom and one dad.
Each player is given one slip of paper and they must walk around trading papers with everyone else in the room. They should try to make as many exchanges as possible, and they should not be looking at which papers they are receiving. The leader then calls out "Find your family". The players must find the other members in their family. When they have found them, they must sit in order from dad to baby in a line on the floor. The last family to sit down may be eliminated if you choose to do so. The leader may also give out specific instructions, for example "Find your family without talking".
The Patchwork Quilt
The Patchwork Quilt
by Valerie Flournoy
Read the Book, "The Patchwork Quilt" by Valerie Flournoy.
Round Robin Story Retell
Have children retell the story "The Patchwork Quilt" using a round robin process: Begin the story by reading the first sentences just as they are printed in the book. Allow each student to have a turn at adding other sentences to the story, in their words.
Family Traditions
Ask children what Tanya's grandmother meant when she said, "Sometimes the old ways are forgotten." Why is it important to Tanya's family to remember the "old ways"? What kinds of family traditions are reflected in the story of "The Patchwork Quilt"? Brainstorm to make a list (quilting, Halloween and Christmas celebrations, caring for older family members...).
Ask the children to list traditions in their families. Compare the lists, helping the children to see how many things their families have in common. Explain that these traditions are part of the children's culture.
You may want the children to illustrate their traditions and compile them in individual books.
Games
Musical Apple
Need: Large apple shape from construction paper or a small red bean bag.
Children sit in a circle, play fun music while children pass around the paper apple. When the music stops the person holding the apple is sent to the middle of the circle (the apple orchard). Play just like Hot Potato with each person holding the paper apple sent to the center of the circle until only one person is left.
Art
Dream Bulletin Board
Cut construction paper into different size squares and rectangles. Have the children decorate the shapes. Place the squares and rectangles onto the bulletin board to look like a quilt. Using lunch paperbags have the children create puppets. Tuck the puppets into the top of the bulletin board quilt. You can place a white paper cloud above the puppets heads and have children write or draw in their dreams.
Designers Only
Ask each child to select fabric from the fabric box and design an outfit s/he might like to wear (dress, blouse, pants, shorts, etc.). Give each child an outline of a person. Have the children glue the outfit onto the outline. The children love doing this activity and will spend a lot of time working on their outfits.
Other Sites
Quilting with Children is a site by a teacher that will give you ideas, techniques, and resources for working with children in making quilts
Mandala
ACreating A Mandala
Background: A mandala is a design made in form of a circle. These special drawings were first created in Tibet over 2,000 years ago. They have been made by all cultures from the Aztecs to the Navajo Indians to people today. A simple definition of a Mandala is that it is a circular drawing made to represent the harmony and wholeness of life or the wholeness of a person.
Need: colored pencils, markers, tape dittos that have a large circle drawn on them-fills 81/2 paper from side to side. A teacher made model if possible.
As a class brainstorm a list of things that are important to a person's life.
Each child should choose ten items from the board and then rank order them from most important to least important. Each item should be something the student experiences in their own lives.
Children should now think a symbol that they could draw to represent each item on their list. Note: May need to explain what a symbol is. Use poplar business symbols in your area (examples: McDonalds, Nike...) Children should draw the most important symbol in the middle and then arrange the other items around the circle in a pleasing manner to each individual child.
Now color in the symbols on the space around them. Children may also brainstorm for colors that symbolize different items, for example, money might be shown as green dollar sign.
After they have designed their mandalas, each child could write one sentence about each symbol explaining what it is and why it is important to life. For example, The three figures in the middle represent my family that gives me strength, hope and support.
No name goes on the front of a Mandala. Hang them up on the walls and let the other children read them and try to guess who the Mandala represents.
