Lesson 7: Symmetrical Self Portraits

I thought the kids would be excited when I gave them a sneak peek of our symmetry project last week when I visited.. but I had no idea absolutely HOW excited they would be until I came Tuesday to a group of bubbly kids who could hardly contain the fact that they were "cut their faces in half," and bring it home to show their parents. Oh man, I love these kids.
I had taken a picture of each child the week before after our symmetry paintings. I got their head shots printed in color at Cougar Creations and cut each face in half and pasted them onto 8"11" paper. To save time, I wrote out their names underneath the portrait. I began the class by showing them portraits of both Vincent Van Gogh (done by himself) and Frida Kahlo (same). We discussed symmetry, reflections, and how to mirror when we draw or compose. And then..
I let the kids go LOOSE! Well, not completely. We drew out our face shapes with crayon and then I let them take it away! It was awesome to see so many kids raising hands to ask about methods for mirroring the nose or alligning the eye. I loved this assignment because it really got the kids thinking and they were so proud of the work they accomplished! I had been having a few students who would go too crazy or goofy with my art assignments. But for this one, I can't think of one kid who didn't put honest effort and concentration in perfecting his/her own self portrait! I would recommend this project for first graders one hundred times over! The fact that it was of themselves definitely gave it a personal connection!

 Blake did an amazing job!

 I love that first graders love to proudly show their work!

Sweet Kate and her self portrait