Your child is an original just like each fingerprint! Help your young leaner to express her artistic side while discovering how each person’s fingerprint is unique and different. Create a fingerprint tree with leaves from the entire family. Work together to design a ‘family tree’ that teaches children about the artistic concepts such as the print making process, texture, line and shape.
What You Need:
- Tempera paint
- Washable art/paint tray
- White construction paper
- Paint brush
What You Do:
- Set up your paint. Pour thin puddles of tempera out onto the tray. Choose colors based on the season. A spring or summer tree will need green paint, while you can use yellow, orange, brown, and red for a fall tree. Add an extra puddle of brown paint to use for the trunk.
- Have your child paint a tree trunk. Younger children can turn this into a shape recognition exercise by asking your little one to paint a rectangle.
- Gather the family members and ask each person to dip a finger into the paint and press onto the paper around the trunk as leaves. Compare the different fingerprints for size, shape, and pattern of lines. If you are struggling to see the lines on the fingerprints, gently wipe a small amount of the paint off to thin.
Bring out science tools such as a magnifying glass to get a better look at the prints. Get close up with the lines, swirls and patterns and compare and contrast the similarities and differences. Older kids may find this project easier if you use an ink pad.
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