Create a portfolio by collecting information and personal photos. Kindergarten students will construct a portfolio by obtaining personal information from parents and grandparents. You can include questions and answers about their lives and the lives of their family. This information will be used to create a "self-portrait" page, a "measure me" page, a "my physical characteristics" page and a "pictures of home" page. These pages will be illustrated through personal photos that can be scanned and digitally placed in the portfolio. Students can also decorate the portfolio with their own drawings and artwork.
Trace the hand of each family member and label the hands with the names of the student and their family members. Students will cut out the handprints and paste them on construction paper in the shape of a flower. You can use a vase template to finish the family hand flower craft and create a keepsake that symbolizes the unity of the family.
Hang T-shirts brought from home on hangers. Students can create a self-portrait of their faces on paper plates to hang above the T-shirt as the head; encourage them to draw specific and unique physical attributes. You can hang these figures in the classroom for open house parent visits and students can ask parents and family members to identify their T-shirt person.
Place lines of poetry written on sentence strips in a pocket chart. Students will memorize and recite poems. Give students the opportunity to write personal poems by using templates and filling in blanks with information specific to them. Students will create a class poetry book that includes poems written and illustrated by each student in the class.