Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Handprint Rainbows

Here in STL, we are not even close to Spring weather and I cannot take another minute of 20 degree temperatures, so we are bringing Spring into the building with flowers, bees, and RAINBOWS!  What says 'elementary art' other than a rainbow painting?  Nothing.  I did this project with my 2nd graders and they did a great job.  I wouldn't go any lower than that unless you have some really great Kg. & 1st graders who have self-control, can handle a mess, and have exceptional listening skills.

First, we drew some clouds and colored the 'negative space' with the blue crayon for sky.  Next, I went around and lightly drew a big arc on their paper so they had a guideline to follow for the handprints.  I demonstrated how to press (not slam, slap or tap) their hand into the puddle of paint and carefully stamp their hand on the arc, wipe off the paint with a paper towel, and stamp the next color.  Of course, we had to discuss ROYGBIV and the color spectrum so they knew what order to print their colors.  The results were great, but I have to say...I probably won't be doing this again until NEXT Spring.  It was a lot of prep work and a LOT of clean-up!  Hahaha.


2 comments:

  1. I am a Pre-school teacher and i love handprint projects. This one is very cool. i will definately try this one!

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  2. When I do any handprint paint project, I have the kids paint their hands with paint brushes before stamping them on the paper. This keeps them from slamming or slapping their hands into the paint. (Or should haha) I use 1 to 1&1/2 inch wide sponges, which usually gets enough paint onto their palms to make a nice stamp. This also makes it easier to wipe the paint off their palms, to be able to do the next stamp. You can find the sponge paibt brushes at craft stores for sometimes 10/$1.00. Hope thus us helpful!

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