Treating Our Kids Like the Artists They Are!
Recently I wrote a post titled Self-Portraits on a Box in Grade 3. I always wonder after sharing my lessons and ideas here on Art lessons For Kids if anyone actually uses them, how did the lesson turn out, did the students like it, any interesting twists on the lessons, etc.. One thing is to read the post but does anyone actually do the lesson?
My wondering ended last week when I received an email from one of my lovely readers called Enji with photos of the finished projects she did with her two kids Molly and Ethan. You cannot imagine my happiness because out of all the wonderful people who take their time to read my posts, I was actually connecting with one of them beyond the typical comment at the end of a post!!!
I constantly remind my parents to appreciate their children’s art work, show it off and frame it, just like they would any other important artist they admire. My son’s art work greets everyone that comes to our home along the walls leading to the living room. To me, he is as important as Van Gogh or Picasso. Our kids are artists in their own right and if we don’t nurture this from the beginning, they wither away like a flower with no water. I wonder how much talent goes un-noticed at home and even in the classrooms?
I wrote Enji asking if it was ok to publish the finished art work here on the blog and conduct a mini interview with these wonderful two little artists! Ethan, aged 4 and Molly, 9 gave the thumbs up are are so excited to share their art work here with you today.
1. What did you like most about this project?
Molly liked to do this project because it was new to her.
Ethan said he liked it because it was fun.
2. Were any parts challenging?
Molly said it was hard to draw hair and the background.
Ethan: Not challenging at all for him.
3. Why do you like art?
Molly said drawing is very entertaining.
Ethan said that he likes drawing because he can make his parents happy.
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As many of you know, I love starting off the school year with a few lessons exploring and creating self-portraits. It’s a great way to re-connect with students, get to know new ones and teach or review face proportions.
I wanted to share with you a lesson I did with my grade 3 students three years ago. Being the queen of recycling, I saved some packaging boxes that reminded me of pizza boxes. If you can’t get your hands on some just start eating a lot of pizza (!!) or better still, tell your students to save some pizza boxes that are relatively clean 🙂 then you are set to go. These pizza boxes will become a sturdy frame for the self-portraits.
The stand up mirrors are so handy and great!
Review face proportions, have your students practice drawing their face using a stand-up mirror and do a final drawing on a piece of paper no bigger than the surface size of your box.
I had my students leave their self-portraits in pencil and use markers for the clothing. If you do this project with older kids, try having your students paint their portraits with watercolors. The effect is quite nice and soft and older students can control the watercolor better. The pizza box should have contrasting colors and designs so the self-portraits stand out. Another thing my students did was glue pieces of recycled cardboard to the back of the self-portraits and glue these onto the finished boxes to create a 3D effect!
My students wrote a bio of themselves and glued these inside the decorated boxes. Instead of a bio why not have your students write poems, goals for the year, hopes and dreams, a story about their holidays, etc. Go crazy people and take advantage of that back to school high everyone is on now.
What I love about this project is that you can display the self-portraits anywhere! I placed these around the room for open house. When my parents came to visit the art room, I challenged them to find and recognize their child by their self-portrait drawing. These were a hit!
For more ideas for self-portrait lessons read this post I wrote last year. Still want more ideas? Check out my best selling PDF e-books I have made for you with loads of ideas. For only 5 $ each it will save you lots of planning time! You can find them here , above on the lesson plan tab or on the side bar —>.