Materials
Grandmother's Dreamcatcher by Becky Ray Mc
Cain or Isaac's Dreamcatcher
by Bonnie Farmer
glitter glue in a variety of colors or homemade colored glue
colored pencils
vinyl sheeting (available from a hardware store)
white paper (5" x 5" squares)
Instructions
* November is American Indian Heritage Month.
1. Read Grandmother's Dreamcatcher or Isaac's Dreamcatcher to the
children. Explain that a dream catcher is used to catch bad dreams and
let the good dreams through. The hole in the middle of the dream
catcher lets good dreams come through to the person sleeping and the
web around the hole traps the bad dreams.
2. Help the children make their own dream catchers using glitter glue or
homemade colored glue (add food coloring or paint to white glue).
3. Give each child a pre-cut 5" x 5" square of white paper. Encourage them
to use colored pencils to sketch their dream catcher designs. Ojibwe
dream catchers are modeled after a spider's web. These are easy for the
children to make. Remind the children to leave the center open for the
good dreams to get through to them.
4. Cover the art area with newspaper. Cut vinyl sheeting into 6" x 6" squares
and give one to each child. Have them place their drawings under the
vinyl sheet. Demonstrate how to trace their design's outline with black
glitter glue or colored glue. Air dry overnight.
5. Encourage the children to fill in the rest of their designs with other colors
of glitter glue or colored glue. Make sure they fill in the entire drawing
with the glue. Air dry 24 hours.
6. Help the children carefully peel their dream catchers from the vinyl sheet
and stick it to a window. If the children are going to take their dream
catchers home, do not remove the vinyl sheet. Send home an instruction
sheet for the parents. Emphasize that they should put the dream
catchers on a low window (so children won't have to climb on furniture
to see it) that is closed and locked (to reduce the chance of the children
falling out the window while viewing their dream catchers).
More to do Bulletin Board: Encourage the children to tell stories about dreams they
have had. Record their thoughts. Ask them to draw pictures to illustrate
their dreams. Make a bulletin board about their dreams. Have the children
work together to design a large dream catcher on paper. Post the drawing
in the middle of a bulletin board and put the children's stories about their
dreams, along with their drawings, around the dream catcher. Title it:
"We Are Catching Our Dreams."
