Week 6: Garden Mandala

Before you start the garden mandala, I'd like for you to check on your kitchen scrap planting and note observations in your journal for week 3! How's it looking? See any green yet? Roots growing longer? What's the color of the water? This should only take you a moment to complete before you begin this week's activity:

Garden Mandalas!

This is one of my favorite activities to do with kiddos because every single one comes out so beautiful! To to this you need very few materials but take your time and really design your masterpiece!

Please note, we will be pressing these in your journals so be sure to collect only thin items that won't be bumpy and bulky. Flat items work best.

Also, because we use glue and will be pressing these you will need to be sure not to use too much glue. Only the minimum amount to keep the glue from seeping over the edges of the materials and gluing the pages shut. We used some wax paper to start out with first (as you'll see in pictures) and then took it out later to finish off the pressing.

Have fun and enjoy the beauty all around you!

Hugs and slugs,

Ms. Anne

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Materials Needed

• Your journal
  
• A pencil
  
• Glue
  
• A basket for collecting
  
• Petals and leaves etc from nature!
  

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1) Open your journal to a blank page. You will be dividing your mandala page into four sections. You can choose to do your mandala on one page or over two pages next to each other. Either way, title your page "Spring Mandala" and then draw a large cross on your page dividing it into four equal sections.

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2) Time to collect your materials! You will be designing a mandala that is symmetrical so you will need multiple of each type of material. Remember that flat objects are best!

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3) Now you design your mandala. All four sections should be identical so lay out your materials as you like. If you find that you need more- go grab more! This is the creative process using the colors and shapes of nature...enjoy!

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4) Once you've finished your design, take small amounts of glue and stick your materials to your page. We used toothpicks to ensure we wouldn't use too much and that was a good strategy!

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5) Time to press them! If you have wax paper at home then cut a piece of it and put it over your mandala so that if there is any glue it will remove easier from the wax paper. After a couple of hours you can check on it, remove the wax paper, and then press for the week!