Stay-in-Touch Portrait

crayola supplies

Erasable Colored Pencils
Construction Paper

household supplies

none

Why

How do you stay in touch with friends and family? E-mail? Letters? Phone? Display colorful portraits of people you love who live far away near your computer or desk.

Steps

1. Who do you wish you could see more often? It might be friends who moved away, grandparents, or other family members. When you stay in touch with people you love, you like to picture their smiling faces. The next time you send e-mail, write letters, or call them on the phone, keep them by your side with this portrait.
2. Can you remember what the person you miss looks like? Would it help to look at a photograph? Follow these steps to make a cool portrait.
3. On paper, outline the person’s head with Crayola® Colored Pencils. Fill in the darkest shades and shadows on the face next. Add the main features such as twinkling eyes and a smiling mouth. Blend different colors to mix skin tones.
4. Now it’s time to make your portrait look almost real. How? Erase color on the lightest areas of the face, such as sparkling eyeballs or a shiny nose.
5. Color in the rest of the scene. Show pets, scenery, phones or computers, and furniture.
6. Post your drawing by your computer or desk. The next time you stay in touch, you’ll know that person is by your side. You might even draw a self-portrait to send to them!

When & Where

"My son stays in touch with his grandfather by e-mail. He looks at the portrait as he recounts his week to Pops."
- Soledad T., father of 9-year-old.

"Our students also drew a self-portrait. They scanned both works to send to their correspondents."
- Geraldine D., after-school volunteer.

Interesting Info

The impetus for a National Grandparents Day originated with Marian McQuade, a housewife in Fayette County, West Virginia. Her primary motivation was to champion the cause of lonely elderly in nursing homes. She also hoped to persuade grandchildren to tap the wisdom and heritage their grandparents could provide. President Jimmy Carter, in 1978, proclaimed that National Grandparents Day would be celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labor Day.