Picture This – Art Exploration for Kids “Quilting Our Way to Freedom: How Quilts Helped Slaves Find their Way North”

“Come hear some fascinating stories about how quilts helped guide slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad, then create your own story-quilt.” Kindergarten through 5^th grade.

· Have kids browse through Black History Month titles, and quilting books as they enter

· Discuss Underground Railroad (not a real railroad), Harriet Tubman, slavery & escape

· Read Under the Quilt of Night (PicBk Hopkinson)

· Show Show Way (Reading Rainbow DVD through end of book segment)

· Talk about creating our own “Show Way” – quilt of something important in our lives or family history

· Create “quilts” -- (Supplies: 11x17 tagboard, wallpaper squares, scrap fabric & felt, tacky glue) markers, crayons, magazine squares, glue)

· Showed the rest of Show Way while kids worked, continued with The Patchwork Quilt (also Reading Rainbow) (both Reading Rainbow episodes discuss family history, Show Way has a sensitive treatment of a grandmother who is a Holocaust survivor (her story of hiding has echoes of the Underground Railroad.)

· Additional possibilities: The Patchwork Patch (PicBk Stroud), Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt (PicBk Hopkinson) The Secret to Freedom (PicBk Vaughan), Most Loved in All the World (Pic Bk Hegamin ) or read another quilt-based underground railroad book.


Reading Rainbow: The Patchwork Quilt.

Picture This – Art Exploration for Kids “Celebrating Black Artists” -- Faith Ringgold

“We’ll share Faith Ringgold’s book Tar Beach,
then create our own story-quilts.”Kindergarten through 5^th grade.

As kids arrive – let them browse books illustrated by Faith Ringgold

Read: Tar Beach (Picture Book Ringgold) (Also available as Reading Rainbow Video/DVD)   Share parts of Faith Ringgold (Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists series) by Mike Venizia (JBiog Ringgold)

Talk about dreams & imagination – what they would “fly over” if they could?

Create “Tar Beach” drawings surrounded by quilt squares made from 1”x1” papers cut from magazine pages (Supplies: 11x17 paper, markers, crayons, magazine squares, glue),

Play jazz music while children are making their pictures.

Resource: Inspirations: Stories About Women Artists (J759.13 SIL), Dinner at Aunt Connie’s House by Faith Ringgold, Harlem Renaissance Party by Faith Ringgold (Picture Book Ringgold), Faith Ringgold (Portraits of Women Artists for Children) by Robyn Montana Turner