Wampum Designs For Kids

We have been learning about Native Americans this year and these past two weeks we have been learning about our local Native American Nation...the Iroquois Nation.

I wanted to add some artwork into our studies so I decided to have the kids make wampum "belts".

Wampum were made from seashells.   They were typically made from the quahog (purple beads)  and the whelk (cream/white beads) shells. Wampum were used between tribes to send messages or to tell stories. (We mistakenly thought it was used for money...it was not)

First I printed out graph paper for the kids to make some practice designs. 

I used graph paper with 3 lines per inch.



After picking their favorite design, I had them string pony beads onto white chenille stems. We used the traditional colors, white, purple and black.

The grid we used was 12 squares by 6 squares.  This was a good size for the finished product.

I then cut an 8 inch square piece of matte board.  I cut 6 slits in the edges of the board to bend the  6 chenille stems into place. This secured them nicely.

Kimberly's final product.

Luke's final product.

I found this great idea at Create Art With Me!