String and Yarn Self-Portraits

Making self-portraits is one of the great ways for children to explore and develop different techniques. Each month the Kindergarten teachers have tried to set up objectives that will help the children strengthen their skills in all the learning domains.

For March and April, the children worked with their previously taken photos but used string and yarn to fill in their face and features.

The objectives of this iteration of the self-portrait project were:

1. Having the children use their observation skills to choose the nearest shade of string to represent their skin, hair, eyes and clothes.

2. Enhancing fine motor skills by using the tip of their fingers to manipulate the string and fill in the proper areas.

3. Working on eye-hand coordination.

Teachers' reflection: Although a bit of a challenging task both for the children and the teacher, it was well worth it to reach these beautiful results. The children approached the project with enthusiasm and willingness. They displayed great perseverance and not even one mentioned that it was hard or wanted to stop in the middle. As for the teachers, this work required working with individuals or pairs to offer guidance, direction and support as well as to develop a conversation throughout the process. Overall, the teachers are very pleased with these newest self-portraits and proud of the children's effort.

The children also got to reflect on the process. Said Golda, creator of the above work: "I liked making this because it was fun and it was a little bit hard but it was fun."

Deborah: "It took me a long time but I think it is very nice."