Back
“I Like Myself” Self-Portrait
This activity will have you spending quality time with your child crafting a self-portrait using nothing more than materials found around the home. This will be a great chance to raise your child’s sense of identity and awareness of who they are and how they perceive themselves.
Celebrating Black History Month
Kara Elizabeth Walker is an African-American artist who is well known for expressing historical narratives and social issues through her art using paper-cut silhouettes.
-
- A mirror
-
- Glue
-
- Scissors
-
- Loose parts and decorative materials such as cardboards, wires, pipe cleaners, feathers, rocks, stones, scraps of paper or fabric or wood, yarn, ribbon, markers, sticks, etc.
-
- Optional: YouTube video “I Like Myself” by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by David Catrow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VjArGrLyQw
-
1. Collect loose parts with your child.
-
2. Set-up the table with a handheld mirror. If that is not available, take a moment to stand Infront of a mirror with your child and ask them to look at themselves.
-
3. Ask your child to arrange the pieces they collected to represent the different parts of their face on the table.
-
4. For the face, you have the option of outlining a circle on cardboard or paper and cutting it out or use any loose part that is large enough to be used for the face.
-
5. For the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, ears and hair, you may use scissors to cut fabric or yarn or use any loose part to represent them.
This crafty activity provides children with a sense of identity and awareness of who they are and what they look like. Providing your child with a mirror on the table gives them a chance to look at themselves during the creation of their self-portrait to recognize the color of their eyes, texture of their hair, shape of their nose, tone of their skin and more. You can take turns to observe each other's features and ensure you use positive language to instill the value of accepting oneself and accepting others. This is a great foundation to form their identity upon. Embrace your similarities and differences and express to your child that you value and love them just the way they are. Most importantly, have fun creating your masterpieces together and post them someplace visible at home. This will give your child a big sense of accomplishment and will be a great reminder to love themselves and others just the way they are.
Tip: You can read-along the book “I Like Myself” by Karen Beaumont at the beginning or end of this activity. For older children, extend the conversation into talking about what is deeper than their looks, such as their likes, dislikes, interests and things they are good at. Also talk about the ways the people in your own family are different from each other. Be open and encourage them to talk about their observations and questions in a positive light.
EarlyON