Activity:
Paint Thumbprint Bugs in a Jar
Squirmy, colorful, icky and cute; create a world of critters with your kid! This is a fantastic project to practice counting body parts, antennae, spots and eyes on all kinds of creepy crawlers. This is a great project to create after a trip to the zoo or while learning about science. This variation on finger painting will be a colorful addition to any wall in your home.
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What You Need:
- 1 sheet of colored construction paper, 11" x 17"
- 1 sheet of watercolor paper, 11" x 17"
- Thin paint brush
- Colored paints, (Tempera, finger paint, or poster color)
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Glue stick
- Paint Palette
- Old newspaper for blotting painted fingers
- Moist rag
What You Do:
- Talk to your child about different types of bugs. Look at images in books or on the Internet and talk about the body parts that make up a bug.
- Help your child draw a jar on the white paper, include the lid.
- Cut the jar shape out of the white paper
- Help place a variety of colors on a palette. Lay out black paint separately to be used later.
- Have your child dip his fingers into whichever paint color he chooses and blot them on newspaper to find the perfect paint consistency for a good fingerprint without turning into a blob.
- Have him stamp his fingerprint inside the jar to make a bug. It's a good idea to clean off painted fingers on a damp rag between colors. Continue creating new bugs until the jar is full.
- When the bugs are all in place and the paint is dry, have him use the small brush and black paint to paint in legs and antennae.
- Using the black paint, help to paint a line at the bottom of the jar to create the illusion of depth. Then, paint a line up one side of the jar, to give the appearance of glass. Also, paint a line for the jar lid.
- Allow the paint to dry and help your child use a glue stick to glue the jar onto the colored piece of construction paper.
- Hang up your creepy-crawlers on a wall to brighten any room.
