We often don't get to celebrate Pentecost during the school year, as it falls fifty days after Easter (this year it is on June 4th). I thought I'd share a quick art idea connecting Pentecost and the Sacrament of Confirmation. With a little review of the Sacraments, you can work Pentecost in any time of year.
As part of our review of the Sacraments of Initiation, my students learn more about the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. We read several passages from Scripture, including the account of Pentecost above. We talk about how the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, has always existed and will always exist. And we connect that the Holy Spirit that was received by Mary and the Apostles at the first Pentecost after the Resurrection is the very same Holy Spirit that the students will receive at their Confirmation. We will use this Confirmation Foldable and add it to our Confirmation page in our Fulton Sheen Notebooks.
Then we did a basic art lesson about self portraits (balance, proportions of the face, size of features, looking in a mirror, etc.) and the students each created an image of their own face. They also used red, orange, and yellow paper to create flames hovering above their heads.
The results were awesome! I hope that it helps the kids start to internalize the relationship with the Holy Spirit they are invited into, and how it is strengthened by Confirmation. We displayed the Pentecost Self Portraits on our classroom door (no bulletin board=creativity) with a fiery dove, wind and a "Come Holy Spirit" sign. This completed our Doors to the Sacraments for Christian Initiation: you can see Baptism here and the Eucharist here.
Can you share a bit more about how you did the self-portraits? When I try to do them with older kids it always turns silly and with negative comments about their drawings/artwork. I try to keep it positive, but it seems like the mood of the room is always on edge with me trying to keep them on-task and applying themselves fully. I would love some guidance with this. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi! That is such a bummer- I know that self confidence (and self depreciation) is really hard at the middle school age. I did this specific project with 10 year olds and it wasn't a problem at all. However, I would not do this project in the same way with my 8th graders- I'm certain that we would struggle with the same thing that you are describing. My only thought is to find a creative self-portrait lesson that might engage them in a new way and be less critical? Maybe look on youtube for self portrait lessons for older kids? Use black and white photographs that they color in? Teach them how to make caricatures? I think that finding another type of self-portrait style might make this project still workable for older kids!
DeleteThank you for those ideas! I will definitely try them!
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