Guatemalan Worry Doll Desk Decorators

Use ordinary wooden clothespins to create original versions of Guatemalan worry dolls. These minipeople hold important papers or perch on pencil cups to add color to your desktop!

• 1.

  Research people’s lives and livelihoods in Guatemala. Locate the country on a world map. Compare and contrast how life in Guatemala is alike/different from where you live. Gather pictures or examples of tiny worry dolls. Children are usually the ones who create these worry dolls, using tiny scraps left from beautiful cloth weavings that are classic art forms in that area of Central America. Here is one way to make replicas of these worry dolls.

• 2.

  The clothespin’s round ball end is the doll’s head and the two tines are legs. With a Crayola Marker barrel, roll colorful, thin Model Magic™ slabs for clothing. With Crayola Scissors, cut out a tiny shirt with a V or scoop neck. Place it on the top of the clothespin.

• 3.

  Roll a long coil for arms. Attach arms behind the clip and wrap them around to the front. Add small balls for hands.

• 4.

  For pants, cover the bottom part of the clothespin. With a craft stick or scissors, carefully remove compound between the legs. Add small oval balls to each leg for feet.

• 5.

  Add the face and hair last. Use Model Magic to make great eyes, noses, and mouths with tiny dots. For fun hair, press a ball of modeling compound through a garlic press. Cut off the strings. Attach them to the head. Add additional details with Crayola Gli

• 6.

  Why not make several of these dolls? While traditional worry dolls were put in a little pouch under a pillow before bed, these fun replicas can hold papers, perch on a pencil cup, or just hang around on your desk!

Benefits

• Students research life in Guatemala and compare/contrast some ways of life there with where they live.
• Students demonstrate their understanding of traditional worry dolls by decorating wooden clothespins as detailed, colorful replicas.

Adaptations

• Create several dolls with different styles and types of culturally authentic clothes. Hang on string against a wall or in a window.
• Ask students to list recycled things that are common around their home. Discuss how the items they find are different from those Guatemalan children find to use when making worry dolls.
• Create self-portrait dolls. Make dolls for a puppet show.
• Assessment: Students are successful if they create dolls on a clothespin that have clothing, body parts, and details.