Handprint crafts

Fingerprints, Footprints art projects for kindergarten

Handprint crafts are favorite projects of preschool activities. Kids can create lots of fun pages just by using their hands, thumbs, finger tips and even foot.

Children's fingerprint art provides lots of colors and fun for kids as they explore the world of colors. Without any teaching lessons on how to mix primary colors and what secondary colors one can get, preschool kids would just discover it and know it by their experiences when the paints overlap each other to create a new color.

MATERIALS REQUIRED

Sheets of craft papers
Pencil / Markers (optional)
Scissors (optional)
Table Mat

OBJECTIVES

To use parts of the body for art creation
To enhance creativity
To improve eye-hand coordination
To work on fine motor skills
To experience with colors
To have fun

AGE

3 yrs onwards

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Ensure the children washes their hands
Put on an art apron
Cover art table or floor with disposable plastic sheets or newspaper to protect the table / floor
Have sufficient paints – quantity and variety of colors
Instruct the kids to use just their finger tips, hands / foot without messing up
Wipe their fingers, hands or foot on tissues or rags before changing the colors
You may want to draw attention to your kids on how secondary colors are made when they happen to overlap the colors.
Paper size depends on your preschool art projects - a wall paper would be huge, but a Birthday card would be small.
If it is a big project like wallpaper strip- Keep at it till the paper strip is fully covered with colors. Its OK to continue the process on another art class.
Encourage kids to help with the putting away of art material after the activity. No kids are too small to learn this.
Note that kids should not be given a spot each to fingerprint or handprint, etc otherwise you'll not have a homogeneous smooth mix of paints across the page - you will get patches of different styles which is OK but not as pleasant.

Let's look at the Advantages and Benefits of handprint crafts or Children's Fingerprint art.

Handprint crafts is an activity that provides fine motor skills useful for handwriting in later years. As kids use their thumbs, fingers or hands, they are exploring the movement and coordination of reaching out for the paints and printing them at the spot that they anticipate. Don't assume kids automatically know how eye-hand coordination works. They need lots of practices and experiences.

The best part of handprint crafts is: no two pieces are the same. There is originality in the product. This is such a great opportunity for kids to exercise their creativity. Do you realise that adults are not as creative as kids? Could it be because we've been so stifled by the routines of the day and have missed out the opportunities to just sit back and create? Just think about it.

When the finished artwork is part of the classroom decoration, children would feel a sense of accomplishment and good pride. Such feelings bring comfort and most importantly increases the child's self confidence. What joy it is each time the child looks up at his masterpiece on the wall and spots his part of the work amongst the other children's.

This handprint crafts is one of the best kids' activities that will provide hours of fun and flexibility of ideas. So be sure to include this in your preschool curriculum.

Note to Teachers and parents:
Please bear in mind that creative arts is not one of many preschool activities to kill time, keep the kids occupied so you can go about your daily chores - though you will surely achieve that. No, this is one of many kids' activities that is part of preschool curriculum that enhances preschool learning.

Here's a suggestion for Group Projects / games in handprint crafts

– Make a Wall Paper Strip to decorate your class or room

Get the children to line up in 2 lines on opposite ends of the classroom
Place a strip of paper in the centre (the size of a regular wall paper strip) - size varies with the no. of children or wall space.
You should have prepared 2 sets of paints of various bright colors.
Get children (two by two - one on each side of the room) to dab the colors onto their little fingers, hands, or foot, run / hop to the paper and transfer the paint onto it, spreading it across the runner / strip.
Go back, join the line from behind and wait for their turns while they clean up and be ready for another color.
Encourage and guide them to spread out the printing so you’ll have a good mix
Repeat the process till the paper is completely covered.
Leave the handprint crafts out in the sun or in a quiet corner to dry.
When its fully dried, pin the handprint crafts on the wall as a wall border to brighten your room.

See some funny pictures made with the thumbs

Try another easy to do activity for your art class - Spot Painting with more paints

Try this old time favorites - Vegetable Paintings

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