This November we are studying Native Americans and we are doing lots and lots of crafts to go along with the unit study.  One of the crafts is to honor the very sophisticated art of Sand Art which was used by some of the Southwestern tribes.

Sand Art was often used in healing rituals and typically had a very specific style which often included a human body figure. We decided to make one template with a traditional style art of the human figure, as well as a couple of other options just for fun!

Below are 3 free templates that I created which you can use in your own homeschool or school art classroom to honor the beautiful Native American art of Sand Art!

Recommendations for Sand Art:

Before sharing the free templates with you, I first want to share a few recommendations to help you successfully create your own beautiful sand art:

• Print the templates on card stock paper! Thick paper is absolutely necessary when creating sand art because you need something sturdy to hold all of that glue!
• Cut out a card board backing to glue behind your card stock paper for additional support. Just use old shipping boxes from your most recent Amazon order....admit it, you have one or two (or three or four) currently in your recycle. We all do! =)
• Use liquid glue, not glue sticks.
• Use colored sand in bottles with a small spout to make it easy to control where the sand is poured. Click here to see the sand we used.
• Start at the top of the page applying glue to only one section at a time. Pour the sand over the glue, and then let any excess sand slide down the page. If you work from top to bottom you will avoid colors accidentally getting mixed when you allow the excess sand to pour off the page. This is important for best results!

Here is the brand of sand we used below. Click here to view on Amazon:

Below are the free templates which you can use for your own Native American inspired Sand Art Craft. Three templates are included and the free download for all 3 files at the end of this post.

Sun Behind the Clouds Template:

The first free templates is of a sun shining behind the clouds. This one requires quite a bit of glue because it covers the entire page. One alternative would be to reduce the size and print it at a 4x6 or 5x7 size so not as much glue is required.The free download is at the end of this post and you can reduce the size when you print it if you'd like!

Thunderbird Template:

The second template I made is a Native American Thunderbird. I chose to leave the black borders empty and only include sand inside the borders, but you could put sand over the black borders if you choose. This one is by far the easiest of all 3 templates. It requires the least amount of glue and time. If you are doing this project in a large classroom setting, I would recommend using this template. The free template download is at the end of this post.

Traditional Native American Sand Art Template:

The last template included in the pack of 3 free templates is the traditional Native American Healing template. Typically, Southwest Indian tribes used sand art for healing and would often include a human figure in their art. This one is a little more detailed than the others and requires an artist who is willing to give attention to detail. My 10 year old son breezed through it and finished his faster than me! My 6 year old did fantastic with his, but only got about halfway done...it was a little too detailed for him if that gives you an idea of skill level required for this last one.

Free Downloads:

CLICK HERE to download your free Native American Inspired Sand Art Template! I hope you enjoy them and create beautiful art!

Leave a comment below if you enjoyed these or if you have any recommendations for improving them.

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