If you are a preschool teacher and plan to use your camera to take pictures of each of your students as they stand in front of festive decorations this holiday season, give the children wooden frames and provide craft supplies for the children to decorate the frames by completing the project that follows. Insert each picture in its corresponding frame and set the framed pictures inside of gift bags so that the children can surprise their parents or guardians with the customized frames and photos. 

Materials

• camera
• festive backdrop
• wooden frames
• newspaper sheets
• craft paint
• thin paintbrushes
• bowls of water
• craft glue
• cotton swabs
• plastic or wooden beads
• glitter
• gift bags
• tissue paper
• self-adhesive tags
• marker

Take Pictures And Prepare A Decorating Station

Set up an area in your classroom to take the pictures. Purchase a large poster or board that depicts a winter scene. A picture of a snowman, carolers, or ice skaters are some suggestions that you can use. Use your camera to take a couple pictures of each child. After the film is developed, look through the pictures and choose one of each child. Place the pictures in a drawer or on a shelf until the frames have been decorated.

Move a couple of tables to one side of your classroom. Cover the tables with newspaper sheets. Lay the wooden frames across the newspaper sheets. Gather up art supplies that you would like the children to use. Set dishes filled with craft paint, thin paintbrushes, bowls of water, glue, cotton swabs, beads, and glitter in the central part of each table.

Allow Children To Decorate Frames And Place Pictures And Frames In Bags

Place chairs around the tables, and instruct the children to sit down in them. Tell the kids that they will be making customized picture frames for their parents or guardians and that you would like them to use their imaginations and decorate the frames however they would like to.

If the children would like to use alphabet beads to spell their names or a greeting across the top or sides of the frame, help the children choose the appropriate letter beads and show each student how to apply glue to the backside of each bead before pressing the embellishments against the wooden frame.

Tell the children to rinse their paintbrushes with water before using a different color of paint. Also, show the children how to sprinkle glitter across glue-covered surfaces. Once the children have finished the project, allow the frames to air dry. After paint and glue have dried, insert the pictures in the frames. Wrap each framed picture in tissue paper before setting the pictures inside of gift bags. Place self-adhesive labels on each bag and write the names of the recipients on the labels.