Get ready for some tickles, giggles, and memory making!  Creating hand print art  is like capturing a moment in time of a child.  It can be a treasured keepsake for family - and a lot of FUN!

These are some samples of hand prints that can be done throughout the year. For some prints, the entire hand needs to be painted. However, for other prints, just the palm and the tip of a finger or thumb should be painted. Additions to some prints are done with markers and small pom poms.

Hand print paintings can be used when making calendars or cards, may be combined and turned into a monthly booklet, used to form a keepsake ornament, etc.

 

While teaching, I chose to display the children's hand print pictures each month on our outside bulletin board. I laminated 1 piece of construction paper for each child in my class and punched holes around each edge. On each piece, I attached a small photo and the child's name using contact paper.  I then 'sewed' each child's piece together to make a quilt. The quilt stayed up all year on our bulletin board. One or two days each month, I had helpers call back students during opening activities to paint each child's hand on a piece of white tagboard. When dry, each child's hand print was stapled above their name and photo.

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Additional Resources:

These ideas came from the great teachers who have shared through Teachers.Net and Kinderkorner and from Hand-Shaped Art by Diane Bonica (Good Apple, 1989) ISBN 0-86653-474-1.