TWO SIDES OF A COIN — Exploring Self esteem
There was a time (before you and I were born probably) when the world was a much kinder place. Technology had not reached into the hands of every kid on the street. And definitely Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram were nowhere on the scene. One could be themselves without fear of being trolled on social media or becoming an outcast in school. What our friends think of us, how they respond to our posts on social media and whether we are part of the cool group in school has a lot to do with how we think about ourselves. It is possible though that we are more critical of ourselves than others are of us.
Through this simple art activity, one can dispel negative opinions and help others feel better about themselves by sharing positivity. This activity can be done with a group of children or just with family members too!!
Blank white art book on a school desk with various paints, crayons and pencils.
Materials Needed
- A4 sheet of paper
- Markers/crayons/paints and brushes
Activity
- Start the conversation with how each person has particular characteristics – some really nice and others not so nice.
- Ask each person involved in the activity to share something about themselves that they would like to change and why.
- At the end of the round, each person draws a self-portrait. After completing the self-portrait they write three things that they would like to change about themselves.
- Now we put all the portraits in a pool and randomly distribute the portraits amongst the group members ensuring that nobody gets their own portrait.
- Now its time to spread the positivity… write three things they like about the person whose portrait they have got.
Talking points
Now that we have shared perception of ourselves and read what others think of us, its time to take a moment to think why we feel the way we do about ourselves.
- Give children a chance to read out loud the qualities that people like about them
- Ask them to talk about how they felt when they read the positive feedback.
- Reflect on the things they would like to change about themselves. Do they still feel they need to change after reading the positive feedback.
- What do they think about themselves now
Through this simple art activity, we can make others feel better and feel good about ourselves too because we have just made someone else’s day brighter.
Rhea
A student of art and psychology, Rhea is currently studying in Singapore. Art has been her happy place for as long as she can remember. While using art for therapy is nothing new, Rhea wants to explore how simple art exercises can be used at home or in the school to express feelings and teach values to kids who like her fall in the middle of the bell curve.
