Labyrinths

Another successful Art Week at May Street Elementary has come and gone.  This year the week-long lesson was about labyrinths and mazes.  I first taught the students the difference between a labyrinth and a maze. (A labyrinth has one path leading to the center with no tricks, dead-ends or false paths.  A maze is meant to be a puzzle to figure out.)

The students spent the week creating labyrinths with the idea of using them to help focus, slow down, solve problems and center themselves.

The students made books filled with many examples of labyrinths to use as finger labyrinths.

I taught them how to create their own labyrinth by starting with drawing a seed.  Students used recycled book pages, and watercolor crayons on their labyrinths.  They outlined their labyrinths with white glue to create a raised line and barrier for their finger when they use their finger labyrinths.  Their creations were added to the cover of their books.

Students also decorated bean bags with a finger labyrinth.  Each student worked with me to sew the bean bags with my sewing machine.  I bring my sewing machine into as many lessons as possible and am always amazed at how many students have not had the experience to seeing a sewing machine in action.

We used the bean bags to create a walking labyrinth.  The student worked together to figure out how to create the labyrinth on the classroom floor and then took turns walking through it with a focused intention.

The younger group of kids created a simple spiral labyrinth, but also enjoyed walking through it.

On our final day together, the students collaborated on a walking labyrinth made on the backside of a reclaimed billboard.  I gave the students metallic markers to use on the black vinyl billboard.  These labyrinths were given to the school for classes to use whenever they desired.