Paper plates make the perfect canvases for making self-portrait art in preschool. Have your little ones make paper plate self portraits and learn about their features and what makes them unique.
This is a perfect preschool art activity to use up scrap material from your other art and craft projects.
*this post contains affiliate links*
Paper Plate Self Portraits Art For Preschool
Making self-portraits is a fun activity for when you are having an all-about-me theme in your class. If you are extending the all about me unit to all about me and my family be sure to check out this wonderful my family paper house craft that tasks the kids to draw their family.
Want more crafty ideas – check out these fun paper plate crafts.
How to Make Paper Plate Self Portraits Art in Preschool
There are many ways you can go about creating these self-portraits.
What you need:
- paper plates
- paints
- paintbrushes
- scissors/glue
- all the scrap materials you have – yarn, cloth, paper scraps, buttons… Anything can be used for this art project. The more materials the better.
Making paper plate portraits is one of those activities where you can really let your kids get creative. Depending on your class, you can either let them go completely freestyle or guide them through the process of creating.
Tips on how to guide this art project
Begin the lesson by gathering the preschoolers in a circle and introducing the concept of self-portraits. Explain that a self-portrait is a picture of themselves, showing their unique features and characteristics. Emphasize that everyone is different and special in their own way.
Engage the children in a conversation about their distinctive features. Ask questions such as, “What color are your eyes?” “What is your hair like?” “Do you have any freckles?” Encourage them to observe and talk about their facial features, skin color, and other unique characteristics.
You can provide each child with a mirror or distribute small mirrors for sharing. Ask the children to look closely at their own faces and observe their distinctive features.
Give each child a paper plate and paints, crayons, markers, or colored pencils (depending on your choice), and other supplies. If you are working with scrap materials, you can also have them on a dedicated table and have the kids take what they need.
You can ask the kids to first draw outlines of their features or have them paint the paper plate with the color of their skin. The facial details can be either drawn on or cut out from scrap paper.
If needed, assist the children in cutting out the eyes, nose, mouth, hair…
You can also have the children further personalize their self-portraits by adding decorative elements. Provide stickers, feathers, glitter, or other materials for them to enhance their artwork.
Once the self-portraits are complete, invite the children to share their artwork with the class. Ask each child to describe their distinctive features and what they like most about their self-portrait. Display the self-portraits in the classroom or create a dedicated space where children can proudly showcase their artwork.
Some fun paper plate self-portraits examples
A painted paper plate with the yarn used as hair.
The edges of the paper plate can be painted with a child’s favorite color instead of being used as a part of the face.
If you are working with older kids, you can also use paper plate self portraits to explore different art styles and artists (Picasso being a fun pick).
Markers are great for kids who have better fine motor skills, they can really add details to their paper plate portraits.
The sky is the limit when it comes to children’s creativity.
Want instant access to all of our printable crafts, activities, and resources?
With thousands of crafts, activities, worksheets, coloring pages, and drawing tutorials to print, you will always have just the resource you need at your disposal. Perfect for parents and teachers alike!
