Douglas Wood is the brilliant author/poet behind the beautiful story, Old Turtle (he also authored the story that gave this blog it's name) and we believe this is a book every UU parent should have in their possession. It is the ideal tale for children of all ages, with it's deeply moving story, simple language, and stunning illustrations. If you've never read it or held a copy of the book in your hands, this Youtube video will give you some idea of how beautiful it is:
At our last Community Wednesday (a regular meeting of families and church members for delicious dinner and some fun activities at UUCFM) we introduced the kids to the story of Old Turtle and discussed the many messages within the text, all of which relate to acceptance and understanding of all faiths. Along with the story, we had a simple and ever so successful craft lined up ready to go!
We made some really wonderful little "mosaics," though arguably, they were collages, as no tile was involved. All the same, it was a rewarding activity that got the kids thinking and working together. To prepare for the activity, I found some free turtle clipart online and printed out a large version of one of these images on a page for each child. Then, I had 4 baggies filled with color-coded paper scraps. I chose to label them for the four elements, Earth, Air, Wind and Fire, but you could use other categories if you felt so inspired by the story (maybe Mountains, Animals, Oceans, Skies, Rivers, People, etc?)
Armed with a glue bottle each, the kids were tasked with using pieces from each of the elements to create a mosaic of Old Turtle, filled with the wisdom of each of these elements. The results were beautiful and so much fun to display!
It was wonderful to see the kids translate the use of these scraps of paper in different ways. Some dribbled glue all over and tossed a few of each colors onto it so that they ended up with amazing 3D turtle shells. Others carefully chose one scrap of paper from each element to place on each tile of the turtle's shell, fitting them together like a puzzle. A few kids teamed up to work on a single turtle, others went at it solo to create their own personal weaving of elements and wisdom. It was really easy to get the kids talking about their creations and about what they meant, and it was quite impressive to see how much they understood about the metaphors being used!
I encourage you to try this project with a group of kids or a single child - it was so much fun watching them digest the story of Old Turtle and turn around to create such marvelous works of art packed with so much meaning!
- Jenn Blosser -
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