Making self portraits is a fun activity for little ones. I love seeing how children see themselves. This activity puts a bit of a spin on simply making a self portrait. This time you and your child will make portraits of each other. You can also allow siblings to do this or other members of the family. My family did this one evening at the dinner table and drew who was across from us. It was an evening of laughter and fun. Any time a family can have fun together, no matter the age, it was a successful activity. So break out the paper and crayons and get drawing. Regular printer paper and pens work just as well if you don’t have construction paper or can’t dig up the crayons. Crayons always go missing in my house. My little artist brings the with her everywhere and leaves a trail.
What You Need:
- Two pieces of construction paper in a light color
- Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
What You Do:
- Discuss the concept of portraiture with your child. Remember, portrait may be a new vocabulary word that he has yet to learn. It may be helpful to show your child portraits in art books or even remind him of a family portrait that was taken by a photographer.
- Give one piece of paper to your child and take one for yourself. Sit across from each other at a table or other suitable workspace.
- Look at each other and begin drawing (allow your child to choose his favorite drawing implement such as a marker, pencil, or crayon). Encourage your child to use shapes to draw your face. An oval can be the head, circles and ovals for eyes, and so on.
- When both you and your child have finished drawing the other person, exchange portraits.
- Display the portraits next to each other in a prominent space such as a family room or kitchen.