Silhouette Parade Directions
It’s never too early to plan ahead for a special event: Mother’s Day Tea, Preschool Graduation, Grandparents Day, Teacher Appreciation, Open House…you name it! In fact, this Silhouette Parade would be perfect painted as a mural in a preschool or in a doctor’s office? I absolutely L.O.V.E. this idea!
When I saw this, I just knew it needed more exposure and asked Bernadette to write it up! She graciously did so for the Busy Kids Happy Mom readers to duplicate it in their homes, schools, and communities.
Supplies needed for the Silhouette Parade:
- Black bulletin board paper
- tape
- bright light
- scissors
- string
Directions for the Silhouette Parade:
- Tape black paper to the wall. The black side should not be showing. Make sure the paper reaches to the bottom of the floor.
- Have the child stand facing the opposite direction you would like your shadow to be. Place their shoulder against the wall and position their feet in a walking stance. I also had the children pretend they were holding a balloon, because I knew I was going to add balloons to my “parade”.
- Place a bright light (or an overhead projector) on the child and move it around until you have the shadow you like. If it’s too far or too close it could alter the size and shadow. My light was a little tricky (a desk lamp that was falling apart), so I had to put it on top of a desk to get the top and then position it on the floor to get the bottom half. You may need to play with this a bit so that the children are realistic heights.
- Now the hard part – having the child stand still. This is probably the most difficult task. Some of the children I needed a hand with, so I had another adult hold them steady while I traced.
- Using a pencil trace the shadow, being sure to give special attention to the profile of the face. This is the hallmark of the shadow and what really captures each personality and profile. The rest does not have to be as precise, but should follow the outline. I admit I had to retrace some of the children because I just couldn’t keep them still and their shadow didn’t look right.
- Finally, it’s time to cut out each shadow. Use a really good pair of scissors and take your time! I did a few each day because it is so tiring on the hands. Kristen recommends these scissors (click here) to save your hands.
- Don’t forget to add the balloon and the child’s name!
- Just a side note – I taped these shadow to the fence the morning of graduation. I only used a small amount of tape because each family took their child’s shadow home. It was a huge hit!
Thank you so much for sharing your hard work Bernadette. These are just precious! Wouldn’t you love to surprise guests with a display like this? Be sure to send me your pictures at contactbkhm (at) gmail (dot) com. We love the Silhouette Parade!
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This would be so cool to do for a high school graduation. Start with kindergarten and do one each year then display them at the open house!
I just finished up decorating our Kindergarten in Esslingen, Germany with these, only they’re holding lanterns as they will be in an upcoming parade. I think it will be a success when everyone sees it tomorrow! I highly recommend this project and one tip that helped me, because I didn’t have a good light set-up, was to take a photo and sketch in or correct the tracing.
This sounds amazing! I can only imagine how beautiful this looks! I’d love to see a photo if you have a chance. Email: Kristenelisedesigns at gmail dot com.