Spectacular Self Portraits

         We are having an Art Show in our class this Friday and I LOVE how our self-portrait studies came out.  The children did 3 different types of "portraits."  

         First we looked at lots of portraits.   I told the children that their first portrait would be of their whole body. We then read the book Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin.  We moved our various body parts and talked about how they were connected and how big they are.  For example, we touched our toes and realized our waist was about the mid point of our body.  We noticed how wide our necks are (almost as wide as our heads) and that our arms come out of our shoulders.  The kids did a great job with these observations but I knew it would be hard for Pre-Kers to remember these things when they started to draw.  They did a great job.  I gave them a permanent marker and had them draw a "whole body picture" of themselves.  Next they covered their portrait with little pieces of tissue paper.  We then sprayed the paper with water so that the colors bled on their portraits. I saw the idea for this portrait at Princess Artypants.

      Our next portrait was done in a style similar to what is described in Deep Space Sparkle.  I traced a head outline on each child's paper.  On the first day, the children painted their skin, clothes and the background.

On the second day, the children added their facial features and hair.

          The final part of their portrait study was a "portrait poem."  I have done these before but I got the idea of mounting them with the other self portraits at Princess Artypants.

            The poems all came out a little different because I had trouble getting the kids to answer the same questions. For example, some couldn't think of 3 words to describe themselves so I asked about what they wanted to be when they grew up or what they are good at.  I then mounted all 3 pieces on 1/2 sheet of poster board.  I love them and I'm sure the parents will too.