You will need two or more kids for this project, one to do the tracing, and one to lie on the paper.

You will also need:

Crayons or marking pens
Large sheets of butcher paper

Paints are optional, but are a lot of fun!

Have the children lie flat on a sheet of butcher paper. Then, have one child trace carefully around the other child's outline. Now they can color in the outline to look like themselves, or decorate it to look any way they want.

Some neat ideas:

Cut out the finished people pictures and hang them on your bedroom wall or closet door.

Glue some long sticks (dowels) to the back of the paper to make a really big puppet .

Make a mural. Instead of individual sheets of butcher paper, use one looooong sheet, and trace several people in a row. Hang the mural on an empty wall. For fun, have some of the people lie down in funny positions. Pretend to be running or jumping.

"I teach first through third grade. In November, I have my students trace and cut out their bodies two different times. The students use one pattern to make an indian and the other to make a pilgrim. We then hang them in the hallway. My students love this activity!"