At Manos, we worked on an exciting project in which we made our silhouettes and drew in the features of our faces and bodies. This challenged us to think about our features and their shapes and colors. We took things step-by-step and started by drawing our facial features and hair, trying our best to choose colors that actually corresponded to that of our real features. Next, we drew on our clothes, fingers, and shoes and displayed them on the walls for everyone to view. We had so much fun looking at each other’s drawings and seeing how similar (or not) they were to the friend who made it. Regardless of how realistic our drawings were, we enjoyed the process and are very proud of what we made.
It was amazing to see how focused and attentive to detail the kids were in drawing themselves, with some friends drawing in eyelashes, teeth, fingernails, and personal physical characteristics like freckles and bald spots. This activity not only allowed the children to refine their fine motor control, but it ultimately helped them gain a sense of self as they were challenged to think about and view themselves physically (i.e., “What do I look like?”).
