Learn to draw mardi gras beads

Highsmith, C. M., photographer. (2010) Mardi Gras beads hang in a tree for weeks after Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama . Mobile United States Alabama, 2010. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2010637141/.

Photo, Print, Drawing Mardi Gras beads hang in a tree for weeks after Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama

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Mardi Gras Learning Activities for Kids

Mardi Gras is about more than beads and King Cake. There’s a lot of symbolism to the celebration, and it marks a day of fun before the reverence of Lent begins.

There are a lot of different ways to incorporate Mardi Gras learning activities into your classroom, from crafts to reading books to learning a little French. Here are some activity ideas to get you started.

JDaniel4sMom wrote a post about decorating masks, making a bra graph and using beads to make a Venn diagram (that’s my favorite!).

Kids Activities Blog has a great collection of Mardi Gras activities, including links to masks and crowns, recipes, a shoebox parade float and a lot more.

Add a little Mardi Gras to your snack time with this “beaded” necklace made out of Twizzlers from No Time for Flash Cards.

Elemeno-p Kids has a Mardi Gras printable pack with handwriting activities, counting, matching and more, as well as a fun collection of Mardi Gras books for preschoolers.

Painting with Mardi Gras beads is a fun sensory experience and process art project. Where Imagination Grows shows you how.

The Handprint Mardi Gras Mask from Fun Handprint Art is another fun choice for a mask project. Add beads and feathers or just draw on it.

Learn more about how Mardi Gras is celebrated around the world, the religious meaning of the holiday and some fun ways to celebrate Mardi Gras in French class (or anywhere else) at the FluentU blog.

Do you celebrate Mardi Gras with your kids? I’d love to hear about the activities you do!

Next Plan Idea:

• Mardi Gras Activities for Kids

Have you read?

If you feel a little icky about celebrating American Thanksgiving, you aren’t alone. While gratitude is always a good thing, the roots of the holiday aren’t great, and it’s important to honor the indigenous people who were already here and for whom this day isn’t a celebration.

With that in mind I thought I would share some native people you should know, whose biographies can be incorporated into your lesson plans at any time of year. Have kids research a particular figure and do a little writing or a presentation about their life. You may also be able to find activities related to some of them if you want a more detailed unit study, as well as books about them.

Have Fun with History has a good overview of 13 famous indigenous people from history, including Sitting Bull, Sacajawea, Jim Thorpe, Maria Tallchief and more. Most of these are pretty well-known historical figures, but it’s a fine place to start. Stacker has another quick list that includes some more current names, and very brief biographies that will get you started.

Here are a few more indigenous people you should know to get you started on your own explorations.

Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte was the first Native American to receive a medical degree. Inspired by a white doctor’s unwillingness to treat an Indian patient, she served the Omaha tribe and surrounding areas in Nebraska, treating both white and Native patients. Her lifelong dream was to see a hospital opened on the reservation, which happened in 1913, two years before she died. The hospital today includes a museum dedicated to her work and the local tribes. (Source: National Institutes of Health)

Edmonia Lewis was a renowned sculptor whose father was African American and her mother was Chippewa (Ojibwa). She was orphaned at an early age and grew up in her mother’s tribe. She worked as an artist in the United States and eventually moved to Rome, where she began to work with marble and insisted on doing all her own carving so people wouldn’t give credit to someone else for her work. (Source: Smithsonian Institution)

John Herrington is a member of the Chickasaw Nation and was the first Native person to go to space on a NASA mission, in 2002. During his mission he carried a Chickasaw Nation flag. (Source: Chickasaw Nation Hall of Fame)

Deb Haaland is the current Secretary of the Interior and the first Native American to be a cabinet secretary. She’s a 35th generation New Mexican and member of the Pueblo of Laguna. She became the first Native American woman elected to lead a state party after running for Lieutenant Governor in New Mexico, and she was one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress. (Source: Department of the Interior)

Joy Harjo was one of three Poet Laureates to serve three terms, and the first Native American poet to be named to the post. She’s a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and her work honors the land and the people of the American Southwest. Watch her read her poem “Remember.” (Source: National Poetry Foundation)

Josie “Little Doe” Baird has worked tirelessly to document the Wampanoag language, which was unspoken for years but she’s developed a dictionary that includes 11,000 words and aims to preserve the language further with the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project. (Source: USA Today)

Bringing Contemporary Art to the Classroom

Teaching students about Stephan Wanger, a NOLA artist who promotes reusing materials and upcycling is a great way to bring contemporary art into this lesson. There are a lot of cultural connections that can be made to beads and NOLA as well as to science and reusing materials.

While doing this art project at the convention, we drew on the cardboard and used a caulking gun to attach beads. Sometimes we cut the beads into shorter strands. Other times we just filled in space with the whole necklace strand. Look at how dirty my hands got from the caulking!

How to Create Mardi Gras Bead Art

First, you need to know that this particular type of art will take 4-10 class periods (considering they are 50 minutes in length). It’s also a great idea to write down a few objectives that can be taught while doing this project. Here are a few to consider:

• Study the artist (Stephan Wanger).
• Learn about the history of New Orleans Mardi Gras.
• Understand the importance of recycling (great to do for Earth Day too!).
• Create a mosaic made of recycled beads.

While discovering the history of Mardi Gras, don’t forget to make connections with other festivals held around the world. You can find some pretty eclectic festivals from just about every country. Have your students compare and contrast how they are similar and different.

Tips to Consider

With this particular project, there are a few things to keep in mind. You can use a variety of shapes and sizes to create texture. Although you may want to substitute using caulk, it’s not recommended. Hot glue and regular glues won’t hold the bond of the beads together as tightly, but they can be used for elementary levels.

Last but not least, a white adhesive can be used to help create a grout look. And, smaller beads work best.

Prepare for the Project

When doing this with your class, take a few extra steps to prepare by:

• collecting beads*
• cut your desired pieces of cardboard

*Depending on the age and grade of your students, you may want to cut the beads off the string and separate them by color. You can also keep them on the string (which I found to be easier for gluing.

Directions

Step 1

Have students sketch or print an image that represents Mardi Gras on foam core.

Step 2

Have students paint their image. Color choices are optional but should either match or contrast with the bead color. Let the paint dry.

Step 3

Begin covering the main part of your image with the glue, section by section. Choose beads to match or contrast your paint colors and begin to stick them onto the pre-glued area.

Step 4

Once you have the main part of your image beaded, start filling in the gaps and the background. Let dry.

Personal Thoughts & Ideas About the Project

The photos are ones I took in our classroom. A good way to differentiate this project is to let students use the beads while they are still connected. It is easier to place the beads if they are attached. Overall, this was a great experience for both me and my students. They were able to learn valuable lessons on top of fun new ways to create art!