Paper Doll of Inherent Worth

In today's story, Mullah Nasruddin found that he was treated differently when he wore fancy clothes. Clothes are important! They can keep you warm, they can shield your body from the sun, and they can express your unique style. But they never tell the entire story about a person, and everyone, no matter what they wear on the outside, has the same inherent worth and dignity on the inside. All people are important and worthy of respect, no matter what they're wearing!

So let's make a cool paper doll out of recycled paperboard to explore and play with these ideas.

-a cereal box or other largeish paperboard box from your recycling bin

-construction paper

-scissors

-pencil

-markers or crayons

I used a nice big cereal box, but check out your recycling and see what you have! Once you've picked a good box, cut it open so it lays flat. Flip it over so you can draw on the blank side.

Drawing humans can be tricky sometimes, so here's a simple way to make a human figure by drawing basic shapes.

You want your paper doll to have a flat base, so first draw a half oval against one of the bottom creases of the box flaps. This will ensure that your base is flat without having to worry about lining up a straightedge.

On top of the oval, draw a long rectangle. This will be your doll's legs. On top of that, draw another rectangle, but one with slightly diagonal sides, like in the picture. This is the torso!

Add two long, thin rectangles at an angle, coming off the shoulders of the torso. These are your arms! Add a narrow triangle at each end for hands.

Finally, draw a short rectangle for a neck and an oval for a head. Now you have a human shape!

Decorate your paper doll however you like! It can look like you, or it can look like anyone. Maybe it could even look like a monster! (Monsters have inherent worth and dignity, too.)

Once my doll was decorated and cut out, I added a big heart to symbolize everything that is worthy to celebrate about myself. What could you draw that means the same thing for yourself?

A paper doll needs a way to stand up!

Take a scrap of your leftover box, but one that has another crease in a straight line so that the base of your stand piece is also flat. Draw another half oval against the straight line and cut it out. Then, trace the cutout so that you can have two pieces that are the same size.

Cut a slit in the center of each curve, but be careful not to cut all the way through!

Cut two more slits int the bottom of your paper doll's bottom. Then, slide both stand pieces into the slits. Now your doll can stand up on its own! Cool!

Pick a color of construction paper you like. Take the doll off of its stand for now, and lay it flat on the paper. Draw some clothes around the body. I decided to make a fancy-looking dress, because I enjoy wearing dresses sometimes. But your doll can wear anything at all!

After you trace around the doll's body, move it away, finish off the lines that were blocked by the doll, and decorate the clothing. Finally, add some tabs on the top of the shoulders by drawing narrow rectangles against the outfit. You can add tabs on the arms, too, if you want it to stay on more securely.

I decided to make a less fancy outfit, too, because no one dresses nice all of the time. I have a really comfortable pair of jeans covered in paint splotches from projects I've done over the years. They are not nice jeans, but even if I'm wearing them instead of a fancy dress, I still have dignity, just like Mullah Nasruddin in his less-fancy clothes.

No matter what outfit I put on my doll, the heart is still under the clothes. As you dress your doll in different ways, always remember the importance in your heart under all the fabric.