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SNOW MITTEN DECORATIONS
- Take a large paper plate and cover it with some red or blue paint.
- Have your children place their fingers together and take turns pressing their hands into the paint.
- Then have them press their hands, fingers still closed down onto a piece of paper.
- When the hand prints are dry, cut each print out and use them as a mitten boarder around a bulletin board or around a door or window.
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VALENTINE HUG CARD
- Have children take turns placing their hands onto a piece of red construction paper while you draw around their fingers.
- Cut out each child’s hands and give the hands to the children along with a 2” x 14” piece of red construction paper.
- Have children fold the ends of the paper strip back 3” on each end.
- Next, have them glue their hand cut outs to the two flaps on the card, so that hands touch in the middle.
- Then give each child a strip of paper, approx. 2” x 4”, that has the following valentine greeting printed on it.
Roses are Red, Violets are blue.
Here is a Valentine, Hug for you! |
BABY CHICK PUPPETS
- First you will need to cut out 5” egg shapes from yellow paper. Two per child.
- Next, you will need to trace each child’s hand prints on yellow paper and cut out.
- Give each child some glue, their two hand cut outs, and one egg shape.
- Have them glue the hand prints on the sides of their egg shape to represent wings. (They can be glued facing out or down, whichever way the child prefers.)
- Next, help each child tape a large craft stick sticking out from the bottom of the egg shape.
- Now, have each child glue another egg shape on top of the first one.
- Set out orange paper beaks and black paper eyes for the children to glue on their baby chicks.
- Encourage children to use their baby chicks when singing chick songs and rhymes or when you are reading a story about a baby chick.
- Encourage children to name their baby chick.
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GROUP RAINBOW
Here is an idea that everyone can contribute to. A classroom rainbow.
- First sit with each child individually and have them paint the fingers on their left hand, starting with the thumb – one purple, one green, one yellow, one orange, and the pinky finger, purple.
- Then have them press their fingers onto a piece of white paper and make a hand print.
- When they are dry, cut each child’s hand print out and write their names on the back of their print.
- Finally, paste the hand prints in a rainbow arch on a large piece of paper, or directly onto the wall if possible.
- If everyone, painted their fingers correctly, it should resemble a 5 color rainbow.
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EVERGREEN BRANCHES
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Set out some green paint a paint brush and some large sheets of paper. |
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One at a time have children come up and put on a paint shirt. |
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Then have them paint a hand green and press it on a piece of paper. |
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Have the child continue painting hand prints across their paper, overlapping the prints to create an evergreen branch. |
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When their paintings are dry, give your children some small colorful paper circles to glue onto their evergreen branches for tree bulbs. |
Extension: When the tree bulbs are dry, let your children smear glue on each bulb and sprinkle on some glitter.
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EVERGREEN TREES
You will need some heavy green paper and some small safe scissors for this activity.
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Cut the green paper into 6” x 9” rectangles. |
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Fold the rectangles in half lengthwise. |
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Then cut across each rectangle (left bottom to right top) to create a triangle. |
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Give each child a paper triangle. |
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Have children keep their triangle folded then fringe the unfolded side, cutting from the outside edge towards the center fold (at an angle upward). |
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Have the children open their triangles and bend the cut “branches” out a bit, then stand up their trees. |
Extension: Let your children spatter-paint white snow onto their trees.
Extension: Have your children glue their trees onto sheets of construction paper or pin them onto a group bulletin board.
Extension: Wrap bottom branches towards the back and tape them together to create a finger hole, to create a tree finger puppet. Add a smiley face on the front of the tree puppet.
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HAND BUTTERFLIES
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Set out three colors of paint. |
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Have your toddler paint one hand in multiple colors and make an impression of his hand on a sheet of white paper(fingers open). |
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Have child wash off his hand, then paint the opposite hand with multiple colors and make an impression of his hand on the same or another sheet of white paper. |
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When hand impressions are dry, cut them out and glue the two pictures on either side of a large craft stick (or piece of cardboard cut into a large cigar shape) to create a butterfly.
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SPRING GRASS
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Set out some green paper. |
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Have your child place one or two hands on the paper. |
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Draw around your child’s hand and cut out the green hands. |
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Give the hands and an unsharpened pencil to your child. |
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Show him how to wrap each finger around the pencil and roll it down as far as it will go. The fingers will curl to the front to resemble bent grass. |
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Then take the rolled hands and fold the bottom third of the hand up and then cut that part of the hand off. |
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Have your child glue the hand grass to a piece of paper. |
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Give your child some egg or bunny stickers to place under the folded grass. |
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HAPPY CACTUS
You will need 12” x 18” sheets of beige construction paper, green paint and brushes, plus black marking pens.
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Invite your children to join you one at a time. |
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Help each child paint one hand and part of their arm with green tempera paint. |
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Have children hold their middle three fingers straight and touching each other, with the thumb and little finger stretched out. |
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Then have them make a green arm and hand print on their papers. |
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Set out a dishpan filled with warm soapy water and some sponges to help the children clean their arms and hands. |
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When the paint is dry, have each child draw a happy face on his or her cactus.
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SUNFLOWERS
Here is a bright and cheery hand art activity.
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Set out a small cake pan filled with ¼” of yellow
tempera paint. |
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Have child place one hand into the paint and make a
print of the yellow hand on a large piece of paper. |
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Then have your child repeat the action, by moving the
paper slightly and pressing down the palm in the same
spot, but with the fingers moving around in a circle. |
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This will create a flower with yellow petals. |
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When the yellow paint is dry, have child paint the
center of their flower brown. |
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Have your child use green paint to paint on a stem
and leaves. |
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Let children glue on real sunflower seeds onto the
brown centers of their flowers. |
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Add additional paper and let your child create a really
long stem. |
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For younger children, you may want to give them brown
paper circles to glue to the center of their handprints,
rather than having them paint the centers brown. |
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RAINBOW
FISH
This is always a fun and easy project with young children. You
will need a variety of colors of paint and brushes.
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Hold out one hand, palm up. |
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Paint stripes of colors vertically across palm. |
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Press hand on blue paper (thumb stuck out a little.) |
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When dry, add a black eye and mouth to
fish. |
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TULIPS
Here is a fun Spring Hand Art activity.
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Set out some red, yellow or pink paint and some brushes. |
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Give your child a piece of white paper, approximately
9" x 12". |
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Have your child paint the palm of one hand with the
paint. |
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Then, have them press their palm on the top of their
paper. |
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Let the paint dry, then give your child a green paper
stem and some leaves to glue onto their hand print to
make a tulip picture.
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BIRDS IN A NEST
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Have your child paint their hand blue this time. |
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Next, have them spread their fingers and make
an impression in the middle of a piece of paper. |
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When the print is dry, give her a nest shape (1/2
circle), cut from a tan piece of paper. |
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Have her glue the nest across the bottom of the
blue impression. |
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You now should have a nest with 5 blue birds in
it. |
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Let your children add eyes and v beaks with a
thin black marking pen. |
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Have your child hold up her
bird picture as you sing the song "Two Blue
Birds" at the Music Station. |
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KISSING SWANS |
| Here is a different hand art activity for Valentine’s
Day. |
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Cut a large heart shape for your child from a 12” x 18” piece
of red construction paper. |
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Set out some white tempera paint. |
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Help your child by painting each of his hands white. |
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Then, have him spread his thumbs out so they are touching
each other at the top (like two swans kissing). Their other
fingers will represent the swan’s feathers. |
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Have your child, then make an impression of his hands in
the middle of his red heart shape. |
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When he lifts his hands off of the paper, he will find two
white swans kissing.
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HOLIDAY WREATH
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Make a 5 inch wide, heavy white paper wreath for your
child. |
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The easiest way to make the wreath, would be to place
a cup upside-down on a piece of paper and draw around
the cup. This will we the center of the wreath. |
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Next, remove the cup and measure out 5" at certain
points all around the circle and then draw another circle
5" out from the smaller circle. |
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Finally, cut out the wreath. |
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Take a paper towel and fold it in fourth and lay it
on a small plate. |
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Next, pour some green tempera paint
on the paper towel. |
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Have your child dip her hand into
the paint and make hand prints all around the wreath in
one direction. Overlapping handprints look best but individual
ones are ok, too. |
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Tape on a red bow when the wreath
is dry and then, hang it up. |
Variation: Instead of a wreath, you can make
a holiday swag by cutting out whatever shape you want from heavy
paper and having your children make green bough prints all over
it. |
SNOWFLAKES
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Set out a small plate with a folded paper towel on top. |
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Pour some white tempera paint on the plate. |
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Give your child a piece of colored construction paper. |
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Have him dip his hand into the white paint and make
4-6 hand prints on his paper - in a circle from an imaginary
center. Fingers should point outward from the center. |
Variation: These large snowflakes are pretty
as is or you can let your child sprinkle on some white or clear
glitter when the paint is still wet.
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HAND PRINT TURKEYS
This activity has always been a favorite with young children,
especially at Thanksgiving time.
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Set out some brown paint and a large brush. |
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Have your child paint the palm and fingers of one hand
brown. |
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Then, set out a sheet of orange or yellow construction
paper and have her make a hand print on the paper with
her fingers spread out. |
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Let the turkey print dry. |
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Then, using a black marking pen, add turkey feet and
an eye. |
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Then, using marking pens, let your
child add additional features to her picture, such as;
grass, a tree, a barn, a fence, etc.
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Variation: If you want a more colorful turkey, you could let
your child paint each of her fingers a different color. |
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DOVES OF PEACE
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Set out some paints or watercolors and have children paint a 9” x 12” piece of paper with bright colors. |
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When the paint is dry, set out a shallow pan of thick white paint. |
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Have children take turns dipping a hand in the paint and then making an impression on top of their painted papers. (Their hand should be held with thumb out and other fingers together, with hand tilted to the side. |
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The impressions should resemble white doves. |
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When dry, take a thin black pen and draw a beak, an eye for each dove.
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HAND PRINT GHOSTS
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Set out a thin layer of white paint in a shallow pan. |
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Set out some black paper. |
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Have your toddler place her hand in the paint and then lift it out and make a print on the black paper. |
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Try to get her to keep her middle fingers together while spreading out the two outside fingers. |
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When dry, make a mouth and eyes on the handprint ghost using a black marking pen. |
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ICE CREAM CONE
- Set out three paper plates.
- Place pink paint on one, brown on another and white on the last plate.
- Have children take turns making hand prints.
- First the child chooses a color of paint and then places his hand onto the paint.
- Then he places his hand onto a piece of white paper and makes a print.
- When dry, cut out the child’s hand print.
- Give the hand print cutout along with a tan cone shape (up-side-down triangle works well).
- Have the child place glue on the top of the triangle and then place his hand print (up-side-down) on the triangle to create an ice cream cone.
- Use the ice cream cone cut outs as a boarder around a bulletin board or other location.
Variation: Let your children make double decker ice cream cones, by making two colors of hand prints.
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FLAGS
- Set out red, white and blue tempera paint along with some paint brushes.
- One at a time, have your children come up and paint one of their hands, red, white and blue, in any way they wish.
- Then have them press their painted hand sideways onto a sheet of plain paper, keeping their fingers closed, to make a hand print.
- Have a dishpan of soapy water available for hand washing.
- To complete their pictures, have the children paint a blue flag pole down from the palm end of their handprint.
Extension: Cut out paper frames for your children to glue onto their flag pictures. |
TREE WITH BRANCHES
- One at a time have your children, put on a paint shirt with short sleeves.
- Have each child hold up his arm and paint the underside of his arm and hand with brown paint. (You may need to help some children with this step.)
- Then have each child place his painted arm and hand (fingers spread out) onto a clean piece of paper, pressing down hard to leave a print.
- The print of the arm should resemble a tree trunk and the finger prints should resemble branches.
- When dry, have each child decorate his tree however he wishes.
SUGGESTIONS FOR TREES
LEAFY TREE (1) – Have children use small sponge squares to sponge paint fall colors all over the branches to resemble fall leaves.
LEAFY TREE (2) – Cut out small paper leaves of various fall colors for your children to use to glue Fall leaves all over their tree branches.
LEAFY TREE (3) - Let your child place fall leave stickers all over his tree branches.
APPLE TREE – Have your children use small sponge squares to sponge green paint all over the branches of their trees, to resemble green leaves. When dry, have your children glue small red circles on their trees to resemble apples.
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