Sun Visors
Give each child a large paper plate with a hole cut out of the middle. Let the children decorate the rims of their paper plates with crayons or felt-tip markers. When they have finished, help them slip their personally designed sun visors over their heads.
Self-Portraits
Set out paper plates to use for faces, various colors of yarn scraps for hair, different colored construction paper circles for eyes and funny hat shapes cut from wallpaper samples or fabric pieces. Have the children take turns looking at themselves in a hand mirror. Ask them to notice the colors of their hair and eyes. Then let them make self-portraits by gluing yarn "hair" and paper "eyes" that match their own hair and eye colors on paper plates. Have the children complete their self-portraits by adding noses and mouths with felt-tip markers and gluing on funny hat shapes. Hang their paper plate faces from the ceiling all around the room.
Feelings
Give each child two paper plates and two or three felt-tip markers. Have each child draw a happy face on one plate and a sad face on the other plate. Sit together in a group and ask the children to raise their happy faces when you say something that makes them happy and their sad faces when you say something that makes them sad. You might start with such statements as these: "Today is my birthday. I fell off my bike. Susie shared her orange with me. I couln't play outside today."
Food Collages
Discuss healthy foods with the children. (Depending on the ages of the children, you may also wish to discuss the four food groups--fruits and vegetables, dairy products, meat products, and breads.) Have the children search through old magazines and tear or cut out pictures of healthy foods. Then have them glue their nutritious food pictrues on paper plates.