Earth Day Prayer Flag Craft for Kids
An Earth Day craft to promote mindfulness!
Reading:
Establish a comfortable place for reading together, and read aloud, “I Am Peace” to your child. Discuss the idea of mindfulness, and the comfort and joy to be found in the natural world. Explain that like the Tibetan culture, they are going to make prayer flags that will blow in the wind, spreading positive words and kind sentiments to all.
Make an example of the art:
Besides creating an example to inspire your child, taking the 30 minutes to follow the simple steps and make the art yourself allows you to experience the art processes and any potential pitfalls your child might encounter. It will enable you to guide your child through the project with confidence and experience, thus creating a successful experience for both of you.
Set up:
Prepare your kitchen table for an art project! An old re-usable vinyl table cloth works best for protecting the surface and providing a water-proof background. It can later be wiped clean, or left dirty (with dried paint), and folded up. Old newspaper will also do, although it can slip around, and paint or water can soak through. Set out all of the materials for the art project.
Materials:
Faber-Castell Watercolor Crayons
Any Acrylic paint
Paper plate (palette)
1/4 yard of duck cloth (inexpensive canvas- like fabric)
Craft foam scraps
Letter stamps
Embroidery floss, needle, scissors
Yarn
Pencil, paint brush
Vinyl tablecloth or newspaper
The book,“I Am Peace” by Susan Verde
Vocabulary:
Template
Analogous
Loose, abstract
Embroider
Fray
Cut a piece of fabric
Help your child draw a 4 1/2 x 9 in. shape in the center of the piece of fabric. Cutting a cardboard template to this size for your child to trace around can make this step very easy. Mark 2 inches from the top with a line to keep free of paint and allow for folding down in a later step.
Color with watercolor crayons
Show your child how to lightly color the fabric with no more then 3 watercolor crayons. Analogous colors (colors found next to each other on the color wheel) will always look good, and not create a muddy result.
Paint with water
Show your child how to paint over the dry color with water. Voila! Watch the magic as the water transforms the crayon marks into a beautiful watercolor effect!
Let dry, and then trim along the pencil lines.
Make a stamp
Let your child draw their own cute, quirky heart onto craft foam, and then cut it out.
Squeeze a few colors of paint out onto a paper plate palette and show your child how to paint the heart with plenty of paint, in a loose, abstract way. Paint quickly, the acrylic drys fast! Carefully position the stamp onto the fabric and press down.
Stamp the word
Show your child how to gently press the letter stamps into a shallow pool of the paint and stamp onto the folded down fabric flap. I suggest practicing once or twice on some scrap fabric to get the hang of the letter spacing and the amount of paint you need on the stamp.
Embroider around the heart
If your child has never before embroidered, here is a great opportunity for them to experience it by adding a bit more interest to their art with a simple running stitch. Show them how to divide the embroidery thread in half, thread their needle, knot the other end and begin stitching by poking the needle up from the back of the fabric. Simply sew through the fabric in an up and down motion around the heart.
Final touches
Show your child how to fray the two edges of the fabric by gently pulling out individual strands of the fiber.
Finally, position a 10 in. piece of yarn under the flap for hanging. Tack the corners of the fabric down with a dot of hot glue.
Download printable instructions here!
