Happy Martin Luther King Day! To celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as a peacemaker, this week’s activity explores skin color. Along with discussions about his life and work, we enjoy this meaningful project of creating our skin color with paint! The purpose is to look at the differences in one another and appreciate our individual beauty. The process includes experimenting with color mixing until each child’s skin tone is matched. The end result is a portrait of the group, class, or family; showing the differences in skin color, hair color, eye color, and clothing.
- 4 containers for paint
- 1 container or tray for mixing colors per child
- washable, child-safe paint in red, blue, yellow, and white
- 4 paint brushes, one for each color- plus 1 for a mixer
- clean water in a large cup or glass
- baby wipes or a sink for hand washing
- pure white paper, sized appropriately for the group
- cardboard or plastic, with a circle cut out. (this will serve as a stencil)
- crayons, markers, colored pencils, or oil pastels (any or all of these)
Process:
Jessie is a mother of three beautiful daughters (twin tots & a preschooler), an AMS trained Montessori teacher of 40 students, and a wife to one. Jessie has a background in dance, a yoga certification, and a Masters in Early Childhood Education. Jessie has a childhood education blog at http://educationofours.blogspot.com/.
Neat idea for Dr. Martin Luther King Day.
Like the art project idea.
We have some of the books you mention but not all of these titles, so thank you for sharing.
Freckle Juice is another neat one to share when discussing skin tones.
Have done that one as a read aloud with younger children or as an independent reader with early readers.
Great post, Jessie:)
Thanks, Colleen. I just bought a new great book called The Shades Of People. Lovely photos, and it reads simply.
Great post, Jessie! I love the emphasis on the fact that "we are all various shades of brown." And thanks for the links to some wonderful books about skin color and kindness. I featured your post at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/LivingMontessoriNow
This is a great post, Jessie! Unfortunately I read it too late for today, but will do it tomorrow! I have the "people color crayons" from Lakeshore that come in so many shades…the kids love to try them all out and match to themselves and their friends.
Katie
Such a great activity, Jessie! I featured your post and photos in my Montessori Inspiration for Martin Luther King Day post at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2012/01/16/montessori-monday-montessori-inspiration-for-martin-luther-king-day/.