Sinthia Cousineau
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Lesson: Mandala Decorations
By: Sinthia Cousineau

Picture
Population:
Seniors aged 60 or more who suffer from memory loss such as Alzheimer’s and dementia. Many also experience disabilities that limit their mobility or cognitive abilities.


Lesson Overview

            This lesson is intended for seniors aged 65 or above who suffer from memory degeneration or loss of mobility. These participants require encouragement through the art making procedure as well as art lessons in which the materials are easy to manipulate. The lesson needs to stimulate their interest and keep them focuses whilst not being so challenging as for them to lose interest.
            For this particular population art plays an important role in their emotional well-being. The main goal of Saint-Margaret’s Day Centre is to provide seniors with an environment where they can socialize with one another and express their ideas freely.  Art making promotes a friendly and safe environment for these seniors to communicate more easily with others.
            This lesson is part of a keepsake unit, in which the participants can bring home their artworks. This project allows participants to sit together and socialize while making their Mandela mobiles.  It also allows them to observe and learn how patterns can be incorporated into objects. Overall these participants will create colorful Mandala pattern mobiles which will brighten their rooms.

Lesson Objectives

Learning Objectives

Art Making Objectives

  • Participants will learn about patterns by exploring and discussing the topic of Mandalas.
  • Participants will learn about how the word Mandela means circle, and how the circle represents the universe in Hinduism and Buddhism.
  • They will learn how Mandalas can be used in various spiritual traditions as a way of maintaining focus and helping in meditation.
  • Participants will learn about geometric patterns.
  • Participants will learn about tracing techniques.
  • Participants will learn how to incorporate different patterns and color combinations in a circle.
  • Participants will learn how to incorporate three-dimensional objects to their two-dimensional mandala to create a mobile.
  • Participants will pick appropriate color combinations and paint them to their mandala.

Art Appreciation Objectives

Social & Community Objectives

  • Participants will gain a better understanding of the meaning of Mandalas in Buddhist and Hindu spirituality.
  • Participants will learn how to appreciate patterns and color usage in works of art that feature Mandela’s.
  • Participants will learn about the meditative qualities that creating Mandal’s offers.
  • Participants will socialize and share their ideas with each other while maintaining a friendly environment.

Materials

Equipment & Support Materials

  • Beads
  • Buttons
  • Plastic straws cut in pieces
  • Shells
  • Any small object with holes in them
  • String
  • Scissors
  • Tracing Paper
  • Mandala Stencils
  • Paint (acrylic)
  • Small Paint brushes
  • Glue gun & glue sticks
  • Mylar or Acetate paper
  • Black Bristol board
  • Hole puncher
  • Ink pens or black sharpie
  • Glue Gun
  • Scotch Tape
  • Books about Mandalas & Patterns
  • Prototype Mandalas
  • IPod and stereo
  • Meditative Music
Picture
  • What is a Mandela?
  • Regarding Mandalas what does a circle represent?
  • Have you ever seen a Mandela?
  • What kinds of images could you put in a Mandela?
  • What does the word Mandala mean?
  • What cultures did the Mandala originate from?
  • What do you notice about Mandalas that makes it interesting?
  • What kinds of patterns could you use in a mandala?

Questions to initiate Discussion:

Lesson Steps

Picture
Picture
Picture
""Project Prototypes""

Display of Participants Mandalas

The completed Mandalas of the participants at Saint-Margaret's Day Center for seniors with dementia.  
Picture
Picture

Seniors & the Creation of Mandalas

I documented the art making process. The participants really enjoyed this activity.

Participant's Finished Mandalas

lesson_plan_mandalas.pdf
File Size: 789 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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  • Sinthia Cousineau
    • My Resume
    • My Philosophy of Education
    • Artists that Inspire Me >
      • Claude Monet
      • Leonardo da Vinci
      • Pierre-Auguste Renoir
      • Georgia O’Keeffe
      • Vincent van Gogh
      • Michelangelo
      • Sandro Botticelli
      • Antoni Gaudí
  • Drawings
    • Illustrations >
      • Roman Ruins
    • Ships
    • Self-Portraits
    • Animal Drawings
    • Drawing from Observation
    • Cross Drawings
    • Skulls & Skeleton
    • Fictional Characters
    • Flowers
  • Ceramic Art
    • Functional Ceramics >
      • Bowls
      • Boxes
      • Mugs
      • Vases
      • Containers
    • Molds
    • Animals
    • Figures
    • Decals
    • Violins
    • Abstract & other
  • Paintings
    • Self-Portraits
    • Models
    • Imaginative Worlds
    • Saint-Joseph's Oratory
    • Still Lives & Nature
    • Ruins & Architecture
    • Painters that Inspire Me
  • Photography
    • Cyanotypes
    • Photograms
    • Pin-Hole Photography
    • Photoshop >
      • Photoshop Lesson: Recreation of Famous Artwork
      • Lesson: Double Exposure
    • Digital Photography >
      • Butterflies
      • Architecture & Cities
      • Ruins
      • Flowers >
        • Dandelion
        • Roses
        • Water Lily
      • Nature
      • Churches & Sanctuaries
      • Objects, Patterns, and other
      • Travel
    • Other Light-based Media Stuff >
      • Lesson: Scanner Self-Portrait
  • Art Therapy
    • Approaches to Art Therapy >
      • Psychodynamic Approach
    • Symbols in Art Therapy
    • Art Therapy Interventions >
      • Group Art Therapy >
        • Structural Family Therapy
    • Art & Social Anxiety >
      • Art Therapy & Anxiety Disorders
    • Art & Prisons
    • Art & Leukemia
    • Art & Bullying
    • Art & Disabilities
    • Art Therapy Activities
    • Emotional Expression
  • Art Education
    • History Lessons
    • Art Education & Seniors >
      • Lesson: Mandalas
      • Lesson Plan: Zentangle Cards
      • Lesson: Analogous Still Lives
      • Lesson: Eco Collage
      • Lesson: Clay Decorations
      • Other Lesson Ideas
    • Art & Children >
      • Introductory Lesson
      • Door Mural Project
      • Ancient Egypt Art
      • Holiday Art
      • Lesson Unit: Fables & Stories
      • Lesson: Landscape
      • Lesson: The Color Wheel
      • Lesson: Optical Illusions
      • Lesson: Roman Mosaics >
        • Roman Mosaics
      • Lesson: Northwest Aboriginal Art
      • Lesson Plan: Renaissance Invention Scroll
      • Lesson: Paper Puppets
      • Lesson: Reconstructing Scenery
      • Lesson: La Bande Dessinée
      • Lesson: Warm & Cold Motion Figures
      • Lesson: Alliteration Drawing
      • Lesson: Shibori
      • Other Lesson Ideas
    • Art & Adolescence >
      • Mural Project
      • Ceramic Mosaic
      • Lesson: Eco Art
      • Lesson: Decorating Fabric
      • Lesson: Zentangles & Patterns
      • Lesson: Social Media, consumerism & war
      • Lesson: Bag Sculptures & Positive Body Image
      • Lesson: Caricatures & political activism
      • Lesson: Canadian Landscapes & Group of Seven
      • Tattoo Art & Meaningful Images
      • Lesson: Stenciling Street Art
      • Lesson: Plaster Figures (grade 7-9)
      • Photoshop Lesson
      • Lesson: Value Scales
      • Lesson Plan: Video Art
      • Lesson Plan: Sound Art
      • Lesson: GIF Project
      • Lesson: Mashup Videos
    • New Media Art
    • Types of Art >
      • Activist Art
      • Eco Art
      • Kinetic Art
      • Street Art
  • Videos
  • 3D Art & other mediums
    • Fibers >
      • Weaving
      • Crochet Projects
    • Dolls
  • Animation & GIFS
  • Kids: Coloring Printables
  • Contact Me
  • Blog
  • Travel
  • COVID-19 Art Response