Do you have a go-to back to school art activity that you love so much you do it year after year? Silhouettes is that activity for me! In fact, I actually start the silhouette on Step Up Day so that I already have work up on display in the hall on the first day of school!
**On the inside of our classroom, these same pieces of colored paper show each students WOW work!
If you don’t know what Step Up Day is, it’s a day when you meet your next year’s class. During the last week of the school year, we get to spend the day getting to know and having fun with our new class for the following year. It’s a great time to break the ice, do some fun activities and set expectations and tone for the following year. Each year, one of the activities I love to do is the silhouette.
We first play a game outside where I ask them true or false questions about me. They line up at a line on the handball court and I ask them questions about me. If they think the question is true, they take a step forward. If they think it’s false, they stay where they are. If they were correct, they stay where they are and if they were wrong they have to go all the way back to the starting line! It’s an easy, fun game to play for the kids to get to know me a little better!
After this, I explain that I want to know more about them and introduce the silhouette. To make this much easier, I use a generic head silhouette I found on the internet instead of tracing around each child’s head individually. This saves time as all kids can get started straight away. Here’s how some have turned out! I model for them how to draw and label inside the shape that I love and care about.
Check out how some of this year’s turned out!
What is your go-to back to school activity? I’d love to hear and get some new ideas!
