Day of the Dead: More art!

We have been so busy getting ready for Day of the Dead! Here are some more projects my kids have been working on.

Tin art Calavera by 7th grade:

 Paint and oil pastel Sugar Skulls by 8th grade:

Bones in Action by 2nd grade:

Can you guess what they are up to?

Rock Sugar Skulls by 3rd grade:

"Day of the Dead" Through Spanish/Art Collaboration

Do you know the words "Calaveras", or "Papel Picado"? Ask a our students and they can tell you! The Spanish and art classes collaborated to teach our students about the popular Mexican holiday called "Dia de los Muertos" or "Day of the Dead" which takes place place October 31 - November 2. Far from being a sad time, it is a celebration of the lives of those who have died. It pays tribute to the circle of life and death and ensures that the stories of ancestors are passed down. Families gather and put out favorite foods, flowers and candles for the spirits' yearly visit.

The students at the school have built an "ofentda"  or "altar" to show honor and to celebrate those who have died. It is located down by they school office.

• Kindergarten used coffee filters to create colorful marigolds, also called cempasúchitl, symbolize death. Their strong fragrance also help lead the dead back to their altars. Marigold petals may also be sprinkled on the floor in front of the altar, or even sprinkled along a path from the altar to the front door, so that the spirit may find her way inside.
• First grade created candles to welcome the spirits back to their altars and families.
• Second grade studied how bones worked to create poses for their calacas, skeletons doing everyday activities.
• Third grade painted rocks to appear as sugar-skulls, calavera, which are used as offerings and tasty treats.
• Fourth grade drew images of people or pets they would like to honor for the holiday. They included a small paragraph about who they chose and why.
• Fifth grade built monarch butterflies out of mix-media. Why butterflies? Monarch butterflies arrive at their winter home around the same time as Day of the Dead. They symbolize the souls returning to earth for their yearly visit.
• Sixth grade learned how to create papel-picado, paper cut images, banners depicting Day of the Dead symbols.
• Seventh grade worked metal foil to create a relief of calavera images.
• Eighth grade built relief sculpture masks.

Day of the Dead

We are celebrating Day of the Dead, called Dia de Muertos in Spainish. It is a Mexican holiday that falls on November 1st and 2nd of each year. On the Day of the Dead, the boundaries between life and death begin to blur. Men, women, and children of all ages honor and celebrate their loved ones who have passsed away, participating joyously in a festival that has roots nearly 4000 years old. To help celebrate, students will be creating different ofrendas to go on our altar here at school.

Ofendas are an essential part of the Day of the Dead celebration. The word ofrenda means offering in Spanish. During day of the  Dead, Dia de Muertos, families and friends will go to the cemeteries to clean up where their loved ones are buried. They may bring flowers, food, or objects the person enjoyed in life, ofrendas. If they are honoring a child the family and friends might bring toys and candy. Often there will be pictures set-out to remind the living what the person looked like. 

Sometimes altares, altars, are created at home because families are unable to attend the grave-site or they want a more intimate reminder of those who have gone on before. The altars will hold a pictures of the people the family and friends are honoring along with: candles, foods, marigolds, sugar-skulls (calavera),images of Saints, tequila for the adults, milk or water for the children, rosaries, pan los muertos (bread of the dead), incense, fresh fruit, salt, and other symbolic ofrendas. These are the items the spirit may enjoy when they come back to earth to visit their family and friends.

The soulds that visit their altars do not actually eat or drink what is on the altar. They can't-- -they have no bodies! Instead, they absorb the aroma and energy of the food, which nourishes their spirits.

After the holiday is over, the foods and drinks on the altar are distributed among the family and friends. 

What an amazing time to remember and experience joyful representation of the duality of life and death!