On Further Reflection: Mirror Play
WHO is that person in the mirror?
That question means something different to every person on the planet, and the answer evolves as a child grows from a baby into a big kid!
Early on, babies won’t recognize the person in the mirror as “me,” but will enjoy exploring a friendly face. Toddlers will start recognizing themselves in the mirror. Bigger kids can create self-portraits and other projects to keep growing their sense of self.
Play together to help your child to answer the question, “Who am I?”
Parent/Caregiver Tip: When kids become familiar with their own eyes, skin, freckles, and smiles, they build self-confidence and self-awareness. Even for ONE person, there are MANY ways to answer “Who am I?” A child-safe mirror and an open mind can help you and your child start to answer it!
Materials
- Child-safe mirror
- Small blanket or other cloth
Instructions
- Let’s look in the mirror together. I see myself, and I see you!
- Tap on the mirror to keep very young babies’ attention. Let your baby touch and explore the mirror with their hands. For older babies, you can make silly faces and wave at your reflections and say, “Hi!” Encourage them to do it too!
- Tuck or tape a small cloth to the top of the mirror so that your reflections are hidden. Now you’re ready to play peek-a-boo. When you use your child’s name as you play, you’re helping them understand that it is THEM in the mirror!
Vocabulary
Materials
- Child-safe mirror
- Dress-up clothes and other things to wear
Instructions
- Who’s that in the mirror? Why, it’s YOU!
- Let’s change how you look: You can wear a red fire hat like Marshall, goggles on your head like Rusty, red barrettes like Kai-Lan, or we can use makeup to draw jewels like Shimmer and Shine. We can even make puppy ears with two grown-up socks to look like Blue!
- Let’s look in the mirror again. How do you look in costume? Is it still you?
Vocabulary
Materials
- Child-safe mirror
- White paper
- Felt-tip pen or pencil
Instructions
- Who do you see when you look in the mirror? Take your time and look into the mirror at your face. What shape is your head? Use a pen or pencil to draw that shape on the paper — using a grown-up pen or pencil helps this feel like a very important project, which it is!
- What else do you notice about your face? What shape is your nose? Your eyes? Draw them how YOU see them. You’re the artist!
- Do you notice anything else? Do you have freckles? Glasses? What texture is your hair? Use the pen or pencil to draw them!
- If you’d like, use crayons, colored pencils, or watercolor paints to add color to your self portrait.
- A challenge for bigger kids: If you have an older child, add another layer of self-reflection to this activity. Think about the characteristics of the person in the mirror. Are they kind? Creative? Strong? Shy? Ask them to share their ideas aloud, or incorporate words into the picture.
