Mandala Mania!

4th graders are learning about radial balance and symmetry through the art of Mandalas.  Mandalas are circular artworks used for relaxation, typically made in Eastern countries like India and Tibet.

Here are the steps for my art teacher friends:
1. Trace a circle (I normally am not a fan of tracers but exactness is important for the mandala to be a success.  I use a tracer if I feel it does not impact the learning objective of the lesson.)

2. After cutting the circle out, fold it in half once, twice, three times.  This will give you 8 pieces of "pie".

3. Students draw a very simple (emphasize simple because they will be tracing the design 7 more times) shapes and lines in one piece of pie.  Trace that in Sharpie after getting the design checked with me.

4. Students will use the windows (I have great window space for this, but light boxes are excellent too) to trace the design onto all 8 sections.  Some students will need assistance folding the circle, but I push them to try, try, and try again until they find which way works. 

5. After they have traced all 8 sections, they color it in using crayons and colored pencils making sure each section is colored the same as the others to keep radial balance.

A mandala in progress. Gotta love when the woodblock art tables start to show their age.  It means a lot of ART has been going on!