I’m back with yet another Back-to-School craft for you and your little ones! This one is for a Self Portrait craft that kids can make using any kind of crafting materials you have available – bits of colorful paper, fabric scraps, yarn, sequins, glitter, googly eyes, etc.
An All About Me activity is a wonderful way to help children begin thinking about their own identity while getting to know their new classmates. This simple self-portrait collage combines creativity with opportunities for writing practice, fine motor practice and self-expression – kids can make their pages as true-likenesses of themselves or any way that they see themselves – let their little imaginations go wild!
After little ones have had fun crafting their self portraits, they can then complete the accompanying All About Me printable with simple information about themselves. It’s a lovely activity for the beginning of a new school year, but it can also be used at home, in a homeschool setting, or as an anytime craft!
Features of the Portrait Collage & About Me Craft
- Portrait page features a simple person shape that can easily be decorated by little hands
- Encourages creativity and self-expression
- Practices fine motor skills with cutting, coloring, gluing, etc.
- Explores unique qualities each child has
- Makes a lovely keepsake page for kids to treasure
Good for: Preschoolers, Kindergarten, Classroom activities
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy
Skills: Cutting, coloring, printing, fine motor skills
What You’ll Need
- Printable PDF pages – 1 Portrait page & 1 All About Me page
- Cardstock
- Printer
- Scissors
- Yarn
- Scraps of colorful fabric, paper etc.
- Sequins, buttons, glitter, etc. – any crafty bits you can find!
- Crayons, markers, etc.
- Liquid glue
Download Templates & Print
To receive your free templates for the Portrait Craft and All About Me page – please go to the bottom of this post and click on the button that says ‘Click Here to Get PDF’.
Print the two pages at high quality printer settings and print on medium weight cardstock.
How to Make the Portrait Collage
- Gather all your supplies – useful things for this craft are yarn, colorful fabric scraps, rick-rack, lace, sequins, pipe cleaners, glitter. Crayons, markers and colored pencils in skin-tones are great for this project too.
2. Have kids write their name on the name ribbon at the bottom of the frame. There’s lots of room for little ones to practice printing their name in this space!
3. Have little ones color in the background and the skin tone on the figure before they begin adding any embellishments to the page as it will be harder to color in afterwards!
4. Now to decorate the shirt! Have little ones squirt some liquid glue all over the shirt area of the portrait page.
5. Start sticking some bits of fabric or colorful bits of paper to the glue.
6. Kids will love adding little embellishments like pom poms, rick rack, sequins, etc. to make their outfit stand out!
7. Next we’ll add some hair! Either adding true-to-life hair or some funky blue or pink hair might be fun – let their imaginations go with it! Show little ones how you can curl the yarn around to make the hair look curly, or how they could cut a bunch of shorter pieces to make bangs, etc. This is a great activity for helping them develop their fine motor skills. Adding more glue on top can help the yarn stick down better – liquid clear glue is handy for this!
8. Time to add some eyes – either drawn on or some googly eyes can make the portrait look cute and a little comical!
9. Add a nose and a little yarn smile, or use a pipe cleaner (chenille stem) for a mouth – anything goes!
10. Annnnd… if you’re brave – let the little ones loose with the glitter for some rosy cheeks, haha! That stuff truly gets everywhere though, lol.
11. Now for the second part of the craft – the All About Me page! Little ones love to fill out all those things that make them unique – favorite color, birthday, eye color, hair color, age, etc. Lots of spots to fill in and color in on this page!
12. If using for a locker decoration or to hang up around the classroom, the two pages can be glued or stapled together one on top of the other, like so!
I hope your little ones have lots of fun making their own Portrait Collage Craft! These pages make a lovely ‘arts night’ school project or classroom decoration or just a rainy day craft for kids to do at home and hang on their bedroom door!
Ideas for Using Portrait Collage and About Me Page
Here are a few ideas for using the collage and about me pages…
Classroom decoration – finished portrait collage could be hung around the classroom so students can learn more about one another and see how others used their own style to create their collage.
Bulletin Board – finished collages would look adorable presented on a hallway bulletin board for other schoolmates to admire their artwork. Hang everyone’s portraits together to create a colorful beginning-of-year display.
Locker/Cubby ID – these would work well as a locker identifier or hung on a cubby to help little ones identify where they need to be!
Ideas for Extending the Activity
- Meet the Class Activity – Have each child introduce themselves using their completed page.
- Beginning-of-Year Keepsake – Save the portrait and make another one at the end of the school year to compare.
- Self-Portrait Gallery – Put the finished artwork on display and have children walk around and look at one another’s creations.
Skills Practiced with This Activity
Skills Practised
- Fine motor skills
- Creativity and self-expression
- Observation skills
- Early writing
- Vocabulary and communication
- Self-awareness and confidence
- Appreciating similarities and differences
Grab Your Free Printable Pages Below!
The file includes both US and UK/Canadian/Australian spelling variations for the ‘All About Me’ page.
Portrait Collage Template & About Me Page
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