Children's Hand Mandala

If you're looking for a quick and easy sub plan for your kids this may fit the bill.  I had to be out one day last week and while I was out kids began work on a community mandala.  Now our "Handala" is coming together and almost ready to hang.  In this lesson kids learned that a mandala is a circular design.  The word mandala comes from the Sanskrit language and means "circle".  Sanskrit is an ancient Indian language.  Mandalas aren't just found in India.  They are found all over the world and in many diverse cultures.  They are considered sacred designs.  The round shape of the mandala represents the whole world, everything in it, and the universe beyond.  It also represents our inner world of our heart, thoughts, feelings, emotions, understandings and experiences.  Each of us is an important and unique member our school community.  In this project kids were to trace their hand and fill it in with a design that represents their interests and personalities.  Their hands came together to form our precious mandala.
I can't remember where I first saw this project, but it may have been at the Hanigan Linwood Art Room blog.   If you have this lesson posted and would like a link to your blog or image leave a comment and I'll hook you up.