The theme for this month's Light & Reflections series is all about me. So, to explore this theme, we combined body tracing with self-portraits, but gave it a twist by doing it on a vertical, mirrored surface.
The result? Body tracing self-portrait mirror drawings!
This activity was great for practicing fine motor skills, learning about body parts and identity, exploring creativity, and practicing French words. And frankly, it was just plain fun! Plus, the results are totally adorable.
What You'll Need for this All About Me Drawing Activity
Here's what we used for this body tracing activity:
- Large vertical mirrors - We have two large mirrored doors in our dining room, but you could use a full length floor mirror or something similar.
- Window markers - You could also use dry erase markers if you prefer, but we like window markers for drawing on mirrors and windows.
- Googly eyes (optional, but way more fun)
To set it up, I first asked the boys to stand as tall as they could against the mirrors so that I could trace their bodies with the window markers. I really enjoyed the fact that K chose a "stick-em-up" kind of pose...haha
Once you have the outlines of their bodies traced, it's time to decorate them.
Body Tracing Self-Portrait Mirror Drawings in Action
The first thing the boys wanted to do was add some eyes. You can add googly eyes to the body silhouettes with a little bit of magic. Okay, not really magic, but pretty darn close. Simply add a splash of water to the back of the googly eyes and they stick right to the mirrors, similar to how craft foam sticks to mirrors when wet (see here) or what we did with this abstract window art project.
Here's K adding some googly eyes to his face:
Next, the boys added facial details like a nose and smile. And then some crazy, floating hair. Here's K working on his portrait:
J's self portrait originally started off with gigantic ears, but ended up with three ears on one side of the head. Then J added extra details like teeth, hair, and a shirt.
Since J just started French Immersion kindergarten, we practiced saying the different body parts in both English and in French as he draw and decorated his portrait. Then we followed up the activity by singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" in both languages as well.
Overall, both boys had a lot of fun with this activity. And it was a great way to explore body parts and learn about identity, while also building fine motor skills and practicing some French vocabulary.
Other All About Me Activities Your Kids Will Love
This body tracing activity is part of the monthly Light & Reflections series where a few bloggers and I share fun ways for kids to explore and learn using light and mirrors. Here are the other all about me ideas from this month's series:
All About Me Baby Play Station from Happily Ever Mom
All About My Feelings: Identifying Emotions with Self-Portraits from Still Playing School
Photo Puzzles on the Light Table from Where Imagination Grows
I hope you decide to give any of the above ideas a try, including the full body tracing self-portrait mirror drawings shown here. They're great for an all about me unit at school.
