mask
Queen Anne’s Lace has curled into old nests, sunflower heads hang heavy with seed, autumn leaves fall and bright orange pumpkins fill roadside stands. The Halloween season is here and although many families want to celebrate it, finding a way to participate in the magic without all the scary and frightful sentiments in the air can be challenging for a parent of young children.
But Halloween can be observed in meaningful ways without the horror hype. Celebration masks for the season are created gently by connecting our children with the nature while offering them the opportunity for their own creative expression.
Nature and Animal Spirit Masks interpret nature’s cyclic patterns. They also honor the natural world of plants and animals. The first step in creating a mask is to talk to your kids about the changes now taking place in nature – the falling leaves, migrating geese, the absence of song birds gone south, abundant fall vegetables, and plentiful seeds. Share in the wonder of animals preparing for winter by looking for things like squirrel food caches, thickening fur (even on house pets), insect cocoons, and the gathering of winter birds near feeders and fields of wildflower seeds. Talk to your children about the many fascinating ways wildlife adapt to winter and ask them what your own family does to prepare for winter months. Maybe it’s getting in firewood, canning, or simply pulling the warm sweaters, hats and mittens out of the attic. Maybe Grandma and Grandpa head south for the winter like the many songbirds of our region!
Basic Materials
Masquerade-style masks can be made simply by cutting a sturdy paper plate in half, carefully cutting out eyes, and gluing on a stick or dowel to one side for your child to hold the mask face up to their own. For a hands-free mask you can whole punch both sides of the mask and use a large rubber band or yarn to tie on the mask. You might also want to purchase pre-made, undecorated eye masks sold in most costume shops.
Nature Spirit Masks
Begin by collecting feathers, corn husks, autumn leaves, dried beans of different colors, seeds or even faux fur at a fabric shop. Allow your child to decide on a theme from nature based on your “finds” that they can use to express the season. Don’t worry about making the mask look like a specific plant, bird or animal. Be creative: feathers can become antennae, corn husks become a mane or are snipped for whiskers, and leaves can be skin or even a beard! Arrange decorative fall treasures on the mask and use tacky or Elmer’s glue to secure them on. A glue gun works best for heavier decorations and the hand-hold dowel.
Animal Spirit Masks
If you child needs something more concrete to grasp onto, or is simply animal crazy, make a mask of a favorite wild animal. African style masks can be cut out of sturdy construction paper (use the same attachment methods as listed above in the Masquerade-style masks) in the shape of a leopard, lion, or antelope face. Decorate with dried beans, raffia, colored markers or paint. You might want to choose a local, native species of the region like a coyote, fox, or chipmunk. Faux fur can be used to cover the face and ears can be constructed out of heavy stock paper, covered with the same material, and glued onto a headband. Your child can roar or bark to bring the mask to life!
Sunflower Spirits
Make your little one look like a sunflower by attaching dried corn husks around a headband (wearing it over the temples and under the chin for a fully round face.) Plain husks work fine but you can also paint husks or dye them with yellow or orange sugar-free Kool aide or Ritz dye. Either way, your little one’s face can be the bright, shining center of the sunflower!
Persephone’s Crown
In Greek Mythology, Persephone was the loved daughter of the Goddess Demeter who was lured to the underworld by Hades. While her mother mourned the loss of her daughter, the world went barren and winter arrived. Persephone ate the seeds of the pomegranate given to her for food so she would have to spend half the year with Hades in the Underworld – giving us autumn and winter – but could return in springtime to herald all things blooming and green.
Persephone’s crown can be made from a grapevine wreath. Size the wreath to fit your child’s head and decorate with autumn finds like acorns, rowan berries, mums, small dried sunflowers, pinecones and feathers. Make a Greek Toga out of a small sheet to wear over clothes and the Spirit Crown is a complete costume.
Enjoy the true nature of the season by celebrating Nature herself!
Angela Cannon-Crothers is a contributing writer to Genesee Valley & Rochester Area Parent Magazine. She lives in Upstate NY.
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