Neighborhood Portrait
Here's What To Do
1
Take a walk or drive around your community with a piece of paper and drawing supplies.
2
Ask your child to choose what part of their neighborhood they'd like to draw. Find a safe place to sit where they can observe and draw.
3
Prompt your child to notice buildings, vehicles, street lights, traffic signs, and other important features of the place around you.
4
Invite your child to make a drawing of all the important features of their neighborhood.
Put PEER Into Action
P
Pause:
- Gather everything you need for your neighborhood outing.
E
Engage:
- "When you think of our neighborhood, what do you think of? What feels important about our neighborhood?"
- "Let's talk about everything we notice around us. What do you see?"
E
Encourage:
- If your child is not sure how to start drawing, help them by drawing basic outlines of buildings and objects, and ask them to fill in the details.
- Praise your child's effort instead of the outcome, like this: "I'm noticing how hard you're working to draw our neighborhood. Keep going!"
R
Reflect:
- "What do you think is special about our neighborhood? What are some things in our community that other places also have?"
Not quite ready?
Skip drawing your neighborhood, talk about important landmarks and features of your neighborhood instead.
Ready for more?
Have your child write labels for important buildings and objects in their neighborhood portrait.
As your child masters this skill...
They will be able to notice landmarks and draw a model of a familiar place.