Christmas Handprint Craft

What You Need:

• Newspaper
• Poster board
• Paint in assorted colors
• Paper plates
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Construction paper in assorted colors
• Scissors
• White glue

What You Do:

1. Begin by covering your workspace with newspaper, for easy clean-up.
2. Help your child draw a large triangle with pencil and ruler on a light-colored poster board. Rotate board so that the point is facing down. It's easier to paint the Christmas tree upside down.
3. Help him pour a big puddle of green paint on a paper plate. You can also fill a few other plates with different festive colors, like red and yellow.
4. Have him dip his hand in green paint and carefully press it onto the poster board at the tip of the triangle, with his fingers pointing up.
5. He will be making 5 rows of handprints. The first row will have one handprint, the second two, the third three, and so on. Can he count how many handprints will be on the tree, total? This is a great time to practise counting!
6. After creating every row on the Christmas tree, wash your hands. Now let him decorate the tree by dipping his fingertips in the other colors and dotting them throughout the branches. He can also add other embellishments to the tree, like a rectangle for the trunk and yellow star at the top.
7. Let the tree dry completely. Then cut it out and glue on red poster board.

Now you can have a Christmas tree for every room of the house!