Help the children in your class to make a special gift for a special dad! The Father’s Day "Daddy and Me" portrait is not just a great gift idea, but also a developmentally appropriate lesson on the creative process. Feel free to adapt this lesson to fit the needs of your specific age group and class.
Daddy and Me Portrait Lesson Objectives
- Increase fine motor skills
- Develop shape and color recognition
- Increase self-awareness
- Explore art materials and process
- Build aesthetic awareness
- Make size comparisons
- Facial feature/body part awareness and recognition
- Build art vocabulary
- Create a unique family gift
Grade/ Age
This activity can be used with children ages four through six. It may be tried with younger children (i.e., three year olds) by slightly altering the lesson plan.
Materials Needed to Create Daddy and Me Portraits
- Poster board or other thick paper
- White drawing paper (cut small than the poster board)
- Precut paper circles
- Crayons or markers
- Glue
- Yarn
- Scissors
Steps to Create the Daddy and Me Portrait
Pre-planning/Preparation Steps:
Before beginning this activity cut out circles from any type of paper. Construction paper will work well. Make one circle bigger than the other. These will become the faces for the portraits. One circle will be the father; the other will be the child.
Process Steps:
- Invite the children to trace both circles onto the white drawing paper. Remind the students that the larger one is the father, the smaller one is the child. It may be beneficial to discuss size and ask the children to make comparisons during this step.
- Ask the children to draw the facial features using crayons or markers. Discuss what features are needed for each person.
- The children can now add hair. This will be done using an assortment of colored yarn. Have the children choose a color (or colors) of yarn and glue it to the circle (head). If the father has facial hair, some may be added to the face.
- Set aside for the glue to dry.
- After the glue has dried ask the children to create a frame for their portraits. This will be accomplished by gluing the white drawing paper portrait to a larger piece of poster board.
Daddy and Me Portrait Lesson Wrap Up
After completing this project discuss the art process used with the children. Ask questions such as:
- What was the most fun thing about this art activity?
- Did anyone learn anything new?
- Was anything difficult?
- What shapes did you use to make your portrait?
- What does the word portrait mean?
Enrichment Activities for the Daddy and Me Father’s Day Activity
- Make a grandfather portrait: Not every child in your class may live with or see his or her father. Be sensitive of these situations and offer the entire class (do not single out one child) the option to make a portrait for a grandfather, uncle, or other special person.
- Self-portraits: Invite the children to create self-portraits. Try making a life sized self-portrait by body tracing on large sheets of butcher paper.
- Frame decoration: Decorate the poster board frame with paint, tissue paper collage, or shiny foil and glue.
This fun art activity can be easily created in the preschool classroom using minimal materials. It encourages the young child to build important developmental skills, while providing the opportunity to make a treasured gift for a special dad.
