“Draw me / Draw you”

I decided to do this activity because recently I had a situation in my class where two children seem to be always questioning me about my skin color, why I have freckles on my face and where do the freckles come from. Another child asked one of his classmates if he took a bath or shower because his skin was dark and it looked dirty just like Ms. Esther’s color, and it stinks. So, I decided to do this specific activity with the children that I teach. I wanted them to learn about themselves and also their friends in class. “Children learn social roles and become members of American society through the process known as socialization”. (York, 40) I have such a small class that I decided to set aside the theme based curriculum and do my own activity because I feel it’s important to “achieve a community where everyone feels they belong, they are equals, and they are treated fairly”. (York, 52) As a teacher, I want to “help the children respect and value all races by including the contributions of individuals from all races into the curriculum”. (York, 55)

 “Draw me / Draw you”

This activity is based on themes used such as I’m Me and Special, Friends, Alike and Different, Five senses

The objective of this activity to appreciate the beauty and value of others, appreciate the physical characteristics of others and experience positive, respectful interactions with people who are different

The materials needed for this activity: Drawing paper, felt tip pens, crayons, mirrors (unbreakable), skin color paint, yarn, punch hole and glue.

Have the children find a partner and ask them to sit across from one another at the table.  Encourage the children to draw a picture of their partner’s face, ask them to look at their partner. Then ask the children “what color is his skin? What color are her eyes? Does he have freckles? What color is her hair? How long is his hair? Is the hair straight or curly? The drawing probably won’t look anything like the child, but it’s important for the children to look at features and learn about others”. (York,209)

I did add some adjustment to the activity. I had the children look at themselves in the mirror first and draw themselves using the paint matching their skin color. I asked them to really look in detail at their face if they had moles, freckles and if they had a round nose, pointy nose. I added yarn to resemble the hair. I really wanted them to capture all of their features. Then I had them look at their partner and draw each other. Then during Large circle time the children were asked to come in front of class and share what they learned about their friend and what were the similarities and differences? What they learned from this activity? How did they feel about this activity? And how they are going to treat others who are different from them?

Here are my students drawing each other features before they begin to use the other supplies available to them.

 I also related this activity by reading books related to this subject. I read the following books,We're Different, We're the Same is a book stressing how people and Muppets may differ in size, shape, color, and other external details, but remain fundamentally the same. A series of pages contrast illustrated snapshots of different noses, mouth, hairstyles, and other features, followed by a page showing a mass of people enjoying similar activities. Ages 4-8

 

A Rainbow of Friends is a book for ages 3-5. Friends come in all colors and sizes; they can be funny or serious, musical or athletic, outgoing or quiet. This book reminds children to celebrate their differences because that is what makes each of us so special.

 This is an appropriate theme activity because it helps the children learn about themselves and others. It helps the children understand differences and the accepting of others with differences. It helps them build on their language skills, their sense of observation and it helps them to begin the process of being an open and accepting person as they journey on to adulthood.

 

I selected the following goals for the Anti-Bias Curriculum which is the following;

Promote respect towards others, Provide children with a positive experience exploring similarities and differences, Increase children’s ability to interact, talk and play with people who are different from them. I believe that these goals are appropriate for the activity because it’s learning about themselves and others. “Children deserve to learn know about the truth about themselves, the real world, and the people in it”. (York, 128) Children need to be proud of who they are, and they need to learn to respect others.

This activity has many positive aspects to it. It helps children identify themselves, and others. It helps them develop language skills; it helps them be aware of differences and similarities and promotes the use of positive language towards the differences of others. It teaches how to deal with feelings and it’s a new experience for them. It allows for the children to know their neighbors and learn how to work together and get to know them better.  I believe that it’s important to teach children at a young age to treat everyone equal, because at the end of the day we are all human beings.