Mini-Me Makeover
Full disclosure: Today I did some basic make up then August came in and wanted to do his - so I handed him stuff item by item until he was finished. He then reached out to put orange liquid eyeliner on MY face and I said “no thank you I don’t want any”. Then I caught myself - why not?! My instinctive response to say ‘no’ in a bid to look ‘normal’ and not make a mess would have meant I was missing out on a bonding and learning activity. I quickly said “actually August, I’d LOVE you to do my make up” and sat for as long as he wanted letting him do whatever to my face.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Make up is essentially just painting on a moving canvas. August got explore the different mediums of make up and how they worked, moved and mixed together. Reaching out to paint someone’s face is supporting gross and fine motor development. Having a go at any type of art is an exercise in practising risk taking - you’d be surprised how many kids (and adults) don’t try to do art because they don’t think they’re very good at it. It all begins with having a go and taking a risk.
RANT:
Make up is for everyone. Boys and girls and everything in between. If you’re holding off from letting your boy explore make up then you’re doing it wrong. They might be the worlds next best make up artist. They may become the ultimate in weta workshops movie sculpture make up. Let’s not hold back our boys because of ridiculous gender stereotypes. It’s 2021.
LANGUAGE OPPORTUNITIES
We talked about:
💄 The names of each piece of make up
💄 The colours and how they mixed. The glitter! How the light reflected off it and sparkled!
💄 Parts of the face. This kid knows what a waterline is!
💄 Basic concepts like more/less, in/out/on, up/down.
💄 Positive language about our appearances. “We look beautiful!”
Yep - I want to see the make up looks your kids give you. Extra points for the dads who join in. Tag is if you try it!
