Body Paintings!

The activity that I chose to do is called, Body Paintings. Before I started this activity I read the book, Here are My Hands, by Bill Martin.

This is a children’s book that briefly describes body parts in a rhyming way. This book will help me trigger children’s thoughts about differences and similarities between them and their peers. It can also initiate different themes such as: I’m me and I’m special, boys and girls, alike and different, colors, and bodies. For my particular activity we concentrated on the theme, this is my body and I’m special.

Two more books that I think will go well with this activity are: My Noisy Body by Liza Fromer and Francine Gerstein M.D., and I am a Loveable Me, by Sharon Penchina and Dr. Stuart Hoffman. Both of these books connect with this activity by discussing the body and promoting a positive self esteem.

For this activity, I used large white butcher paper, paints, large paint brushes, paint platters, and tape. When I presented this activity, the children were very excited. It is important to be prepared for this part of the activity because there is a lot of energy. Also, I did this activity inside, I would do it outside in the future for an easier cleanup.

Have the children get into groups of two. Give each group a plate of paint and a paintbrush and two long pieces (long enough for each child to lay down on and have their whole body on the paper) of butcher paper. Have each child trace around their partner with the paint. After the paint is dry, the children can cut out the outlined person of themselves. Hang them up on a wall and ask children questions to trigger thoughts about the similarities and differences between the cutouts.

This activity meets anti-bias goals by helping to minimize and heal damage to children’s cultural identity. (York, 126 - 127) It is teaching children how to relate to one another and how to play fair by taking turns. (York, 127) Early education is a time when children acquire a self - concept, build their self esteem, learn how to make new friends, become aware of community, and learn to use new words to express themselves. (York, 129)

This activity promotes all of these, which will help them to grow up functioning well in society.

Another activity to do as an extension to this one is skin color match up. This will promote the theme, this is me and I’m special. It includes comparing different skin colors to different skin tone paints by painting it onto their skin. Each child gets to find their personal skin color. The children seem to really enjoy this activity, probably because they get to paint on themselves.

I also like to use a hair activity as an follow up. In this activity, the children get to compare their hair color and texture to their peers and then to different items such as yarn, material, fake fur, feathers, magazine cut outs, and glitters. When they think they have found a match they will get to share it with the rest of the class; they get to explain why they think it matches their own. It is fun to write down these things and post them next to the imposter hair items. If the Body Painting activity has already been completed, this hair could also be glued to it by the children, along with the captions. It makes a nice addition to the paper people. Children really seem to enjoy it.

The appropriate age for this activity is early childhood, ages 3 - 6 years old. The reason for this age group is the children are asking questions about their body during this time and are interested in themes about the body. (York, 180)

This is an appropriate theme because children learn best when they are exploring materials, experiencing the world with their whole bodies, as well as interacting with a variety of people. (York, 188)

The goals that this activity address are: recognize, appreciate, and respect the uniqueness, beauty, value and contribution of each child, foster positive self-esteem and a positive self-concept in children, promote respect towards others, increase children’s ability to interact, talk and play with people who are different form them, and help children live happily and cooperatively in a diverse world. (Goals for Anti-Bias Curriculum)

In conclusion, I chose this activity, not only because I thought the children would have a great time with it, but because it is a great tool for teaching anti-bias curriculum.