Young children often love it when you trace around their body and here are five suggestions for getting the most out of this fun, creative experience (and these ideas aren’t just limited to little ones, the big ones will enjoy these too!)
Drawing: Because of the large surface area of body outlines, it is a good idea to think carefully about what type of drawing utensils will make drawing and colouring quick and easy (especially for young children). Felt tipped markers, crayons or oil pastels will take less time than pencils. It can also be fun to add a paint wash over crayons or oil pastels for a colourful crayon resist effect.
Painting: Painting is probably the quickest way to decorate a body outline. Try tracing everyone in the family or your child in a range of different body positions to make a family of ‘people’ to decorate your wall.
Fabric collage: Use up scraps of fabric by creating clothes on your body outline. We used diluted child-friendly PVA glue to keep ours in place. If you don’t have fabric scraps, try tissue paper or construction paper scraps instead.
Magazine collage: Bigger kids can use magazine pictures to create a collage effect on their body outline.
Go abstract: Of course, you don’t have to outline the entire body. Tracing smaller body parts means children have less area to fill which opens you to a greater range of creative techniques. Why not go retro with some brightly coloured colour blocking! Using oil pastels, Immy and I took one hand and arm each and I love the results.
You’ll find further inspiration for getting creative with kids in my newly released book, Time to Create, check it out…
Christie Burnett is an early childhood teacher, presenter, writer and the editor of Childhood 101. More importantly, she is a Mum who believes wholeheartedly in the value of children learning through play, the importance of quality early education, and the togetherness of family.
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