In preparation for Thanksgiving, it is fun for children to learn about the culture of the people involved in the First Thanksgiving, that is, the pilgrims and the Native Americans. When I was young, I loved Native American art and culture. I had a dreamcatcher that hung on my bedpost. I didn’t know there was a Native American myth that went along with it. I only knew it would catch my bad dreams and they would burn away with the morning sun. My good dreams would pass through to be dreamt again. I’ve been meaning to make a dreamcatcher for my kids, and with a quick search online, you’ll see that it’s a popular DIY craft right now.
There are several legends about its origin, but most scholars believe the dreamcatcher started with the Obijwe tribe. I told my children the legend I learned HERE, being honest about the fact that it is not “magic” or “spiritual” but that it is part of the Native American culture and can also be viewed as a form of art. We didn’t follow the intricate weaving pattern of a true dreamcatcher but made sure to include the feather in the center to represent the breath of life. The most fun part for my little ones was choosing the washi tape to wrap around and decorating each string with beads, buttons, and braids.
DIY Dreamcatcher
Supplies:
- Wooden embroidery hoop
- Washi tape
- Yarn
- String
- Beads
- Buttons
- Pom-poms
- Feathers
- Glue gun (if desired)
Directions:
- Cover your hoop with washi tape. You can use all of the same patterns or mix and match. We found it more fun to choose some tape in the same color palette and then mix and match it.
- Choose one color of yarn and wrap it around the hoop tightly to form the “web.” If you wrap the yarn too loosely, it will slide off. (This happened with my 2-year-old.)
- Tie a feather with a piece of string (I found that the feather would slide out of the yarn), then tie the string to the center of the dreamcatcher. This is the “breath of life.”
- Now for the fun part! Cut long pieces of yarn and decorate them with buttons, beads, pom-poms, etc. Toward the end, I got tired and braided several pieces of different colored yarn together, and it turned out pretty cute. Just make it your own, and don’t be afraid to decorate the wood frame with pom-poms, flowers, beads, etc.
