Do you struggle to find engaging all about me activities to include in your plans during the first weeks of school? I looked for easy and fun activities for my students to do that were also meaningful. One of my favorites was an “All About Me Self Portrait.”
Crafts are fun and can be used to practice following directions, using glue, and for cutting skills. They make great bulletin board displays, too! What I like most about this all about me self portrait activity is:
- Children are able to use their creativity.
- It’s an easy prep activity.
- It’s perfect for a memory book.
- The activity shows each child’s uniqueness.
- It’s fun to see how each child portrays themselves.
All About Me Self Portrait Steps
The activity is a 3-step process. Each step can be completed on different days. Use it as a small group station or whole class during your art block.
Step 1: Draw, Color, & Cut
- Give each student a 12″ x 18″ sheet of white construction paper.
- Students draw a large picture of themselves with pencil.
- Next, they color it with crayons.
- Then, the children trace the pencil lines with black crayon.
- After, children cut the pictures out just outside the black outlines.
- Last, they glue the pictures onto a large piece of colored construction paper (volunteer can help with this).
Step 2: Clothing & Hair
- Children glue precut squares of fabric to their pictures for their clothing.
- Then, they take strands of yarn for their hair and glue them in place.
Step 3: Craft Embellishments
- First, gather craft items such as ribbon, sequins, buttons, pipe cleaners, twine for shoelaces, etc. You can use leftover craft items from prior projects or ask parents to send in items that they may have at home.
- Then, have students glue the embellishments to their self portraits.
Post the pictures in your classroom. They make the perfect back to school bulletin board! Or, post them throughout different areas of your classroom. Not only are the pictures bright and cheerful, but they add so much interest to the classroom.
The completed self portraits will tell you a lot about your students.
For example, you’ll be able to tell a lot about your students’ fine motor skills, how your students see themselves, how they approach the activity, and how they express themselves creatively. Some students will approach the activity in a meticulous manner with everything carefully placed. While others just have fun adding elements all over the paper.
Self Portrait Art Activity Tips
🖤 After that, save the projects until the end of the year. Then, have your students create another one. They will enjoy looking at the beginning of the year self portrait compared to the end of the year one to see how they’ve changed and grown. Once they’ve created a second one, add them to a memory book.
🖤 Use the self portraits for your back to school night. If you want to see how I’ve used these adorable all about me self portraits for back to school night, check out this Back to School Night Activities blog post. You’ll find this project, as well as, other activities and free printables!
Additionally, you can use these fun All About Me Activities printables to pair with the self portrait pictures.
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