Kindergarteners have been learning the difference between a portrait and a self-portrait. We looked at self portraits by Vincent Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo and Jacob Lawrence. Then we drew a simple pencil self portrait. The following week we painted the backgrounds of our self portraits. This week we painted a whole self portrait. This is challenging for kids because paintings are done in layers- when one part is drying we have to work on the other parts. We also have to start with the big areas like head and work on the small things like eyes last. That is really hard because the details are the fun part so everyone wants to start there! Self portraits can also be hard because faces are hard to draw, and sometimes it can be disappointing when it doesn’t look exactly like we do. I tried to alleviate any worries by modeling a painting for the kids, and also reminding them it was supposed to look like a painting that a 5 or 6 year old made- it would be a likeness of the, but not a photo of them. The kids jumped right in and the paintings are adorable!