We had spoken about faces and facial features with the kids for a few weeks already before making this craft. They had already named all the parts of the face and were eager to point them out on their own, their friends’ and their teachers’ faces. We had looked in the mirror a lot and had wondered about the different skin, hair and eye colours marvelling how we are all different and yet all very similar!

In this craft the goal was to paint a portrait of a friend. We paired the children randomly as it ever so often happens that when you have good friends working together, it does end in giggles and silly business rather than focusing on the task at hand 😉

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You need: 

• A4 cardstock, cut into about 3cm strips long way
• Cellophane
• Paints (hair, eye and skin colour, mouth, clothes etc.)
• Cotton swabs 
• Stapler 
• Glue

Prepare: 

At least a day ahead of the craft, make the frames. Staple the stips into a rectangle and glue on a fitting sized piece of cellophane. You can also glue the frame together, but it was easier to staple and then glue on the cellophane in one go. I found it better to glue the cellophane to the frame as that made the frame more sturdy. 

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Tips: 

Tape the frame to a window at a suitable height to the child. We had our kids sitting down as that way they stayed still better. Especially the model, who did get restless at times. In our classroom we have small windows, so we managed to get three pairs working at the same time side by side. I put the selection of paints into an ice cube form and put a cotton swab into each colour. The frame is quite small therefore the cotton swab is a good sized tool. I didn’t want the paints to get mixed in this craft, which is why the ice cube form with individual cotton swabs is a good palette to use. 

Painting: 

Tell the kids in their pairs that one is the painter and one is the model. Let the painter choose a frame in their favourite colour and show them the paints. Tape the frame to the window and ask the model child to sit down, look through the frame and sit as still as possible. Ask the painter child to observe their model; what colour are their hair, eyes and skin? Are they happy, sad or something else? (Of course at this point the child behind the window has already shown all kinds of faces, licked the window and drew pictures on it with their finger…). When the painter has observed enough they can start. It’s charming to see how the model child at this point calms down and starts sort of enjoying being the model. They follow as their friend makes strokes with the paint making their portrait and cheers them on as their work progresses. Since the model child is on the other side of the window, the painter can’t quite hear all the instructions that the model is giving – this way each child gets the opportunity to focus on their own work!

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