Mandalas For Kids
Traditional mandalas are used for meditation and are designed to promote healing and spiritual growth. These mandalas feature a series of concentric circles beginning with a central concept and working it’s way to the outer ring with repeating shapes, colors or designs. Children require a simplified version of mandalas which has led to an array of designs for children.
How Are Children’s Mandalas Different From Traditional Mandalas?
Children’s mandalas typically have larger images and lack intricate details. These simple mandalas are easy to color and are suitable for younger children. While they are almost always round or circular, the concentric circles may be lacking. The focus of the mandala is typically concrete and has a definite form, such as an animal, leaves, hearts or other kid-friendly designs. The central design, such as a unicorn, may repeat throughout the mandala or it may be complemented by other related designs, such as hearts and rainbows.
What Are Some Common Mandalas for Children?
Children’s mandalas range is size, shape and design. While many are not mandalas in the traditional sense, you will find them labeled as such on websites and in coloring books. Some common mandala themes for children are:
- Nature – This may include natural elements such as leaves, seeds and trees or may focus on science or social studies concepts like the water cycle or biomes (desert, rainforest etc). These mandalas are designed primarily as teaching aids.
- Animals – Like the nature mandalas, animal mandalas may focus on one specific animal or contain images of multiple animals, such as farm animals or zoo animals. These mandalas are also popular for teaching science concepts.
- Fantasy/ Fairy Tale – These mandalas express a central theme, such as unicorns, or focus on the details of a popular fairy tale, such as Cinderella. They may be used in language arts classes or with preschoolers to work on retelling a story.
- Holidays/Seasons – Holiday and season mandalas are popular with kids as they allow children to explore the changing world around them and celebrate holidays and changing seasons.
- Food – Most children enjoy discussing and coloring their favorite foods. Food mandalas are also a convenient way to teach food groups or to talk about healthy and unhealthy food choices.
- Geometric: Geometric mandalas appeal to children’s desire to experiment with patterns in color. They promote creativity and teach basic math concepts.
How Do Children Use Mandalas?
Some children’s mandalas, such a geometric designs and flower mandalas, can be used in meditation, but that is not often the case as few American children practice meditation. Some believe that children can derive the healing and spiritual benefits of mandalas by coloring the design. Therapists and school counselors may use mandalas to assist children in focusing attention and relieving stress and anxiety. Art teachers may use mandalas to teach children about color, design or the emotional impact of artwork. Teachers use mandalas to reinforce classroom skills, while parents often encourage coloring mandalas as a form or entertainment or as a healthy outlet for emotional stress. The completed mandalas can be framed and given as gifts to grandparents or other significant people on your child’s list.
Where Do You Find Children’s Mandalas?
Children’s mandalas are a common theme in coloring books and on children’s websites. While you can purchase a coloring book or even books with many designs that you can photocopy for children to color, there are also many resources for free printable mandala coloring pages on the Internet. You may also find delightful graphical depictions of bright mandalas in children’s books, on posters and in children’s artwork.