The SK 108 students have been working on self-portraits all year. Each month, they use mirrors to look closely at their own faces and sketch what they see. Recently, we adapted some of the self-portrait routines in order to support their ongoing efforts. Changing the routines (even just a bit) helped the students refocus and see something they have seen every single day (their faces) in different and more nuanced ways. 

Each month, we hang their self-portraits along with their thoughts, which we record while they draw, on the wall in the classroom. When we do the next month's self-portrait, we take it down and the portrait and their words are added to their journey binders. The first change we made was bringing the students' attention to their previous self-portraits. They each had time to look at their self-portrait journey in their journey binders, noticing improvements, changes, and thinking about what they liked most about each month's version. After taking this time and verbalizing what they noticed to their teachers and peers, they drew their next self-portrait. 

The following month, we reminded the students about their noticings of previous self-portraits. They kept thinking deeply, and expanded upon their efforts by using scratch paper to practice different elements of their faces. Some chose to practice drawing their nose. Others chose to focus on their smiles, their ears, or their eyes. Some chose to practice their entire face on scratch paper before starting the final draft. They reflected in real time on how their efforts and focus had changed. One student said, "Today I am really focusing on different shapes in my face like eyes, noses, and mouths. I am noticing that hair can sometimes be curly and sometimes big hair, like you or my mom has, and sometimes ears have jewelry and sometimes they do not have jewelry. There are a lot of different strategies I am practicing." Another said, "I'm making a bunch of circles because I wanted to practice the base of the circle. And I really like practicing before I do it. And I was practicing my ears and my nose. And my eyes." Still another said, "I am trying things on a scratch paper. I am trying to see what shape my head should be and what shape my mouth should be." 

As teachers, our main takeaway from this experience was that sometimes, changing the process of an ongoing project - even slightly - can create space for deep reflection and more focused attention. And the most important result? The students' immense pride in their efforts!