Fifth graders in Mr.Dwyer’s and Ms. Greene’s classes created these beautiful mandalas while learning about radial symmetry and about different cultures. A mandala is a circular design that originates around a central point. We found that mandalas exist world-wide; Celtic knots, celestial maps, Aztec calendars, the Yin and Yang are all examples of mandalas, and these mandalas mean different things to different cultures. Mandalas also exist in nature – flowers, shells, and snowflakes are all radially symmetrical mandalas. Using linoleum tiles, they carved a small design, and printed it several times in a radial design. Afterwards, they explored printmaking on their own, creating reduction and multi-piece prints of their choice.
