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HANDPRINT FISH, Grades TK–1st


Colorful handprint fish make a great subject for the Square1 Art Fundraiser for Grades TK – 1st. This project should take 1 to 1.5 hours of classroom time. 

SUPPLIES
  • Fingerpaints in Red, Orange or other colors (Art Closet)
  • Paper plates to put the fingerpaints on for handprints (Art Closet)
  • Square1 Art paper, 1 per child (Art Closet)
  • Light blue, light green, or yellow construction paper cut to fit the size of the Square1 paper (cut into an 8.5" x 8.5" square) - 1 per child (Art Closet)
  • Tempera paint in white (bubbles), red (coral), purple (coral), green (seaweed), and black (eyes, mouth) (Art Closet)
  • Q-tips for painting details like bubbles, coral, eyes, and seaweed (Art Closet)
  • Plastic cups to put the white, red, purple, black and green paint in (Art Closet)
  • Wet wipes to clean hands and paper towels to clean up (Art Closet and/or bring from home if you can)
  • Storybook about fish: Rainbow Fish or Flash the Fish (Art Closet)
  • Examples of handprint fish to show the class (Art Closet)

INTRODUCE the project to the class: "Good Morning Friends (or afternoon)! Today we are going to read a wonderful storybook about fish and then we'll create our own fish using our handprints! (Art Rep: show examples from the Art Closet on the ELMO/Overhead or you can pass them around the class). After we're finished making handprints and washing off, we'll add details to the background like bubbles and seaweed. When you're painting, make sure to not get too messy because your beautiful artwork will be turned into fun things like totes and coffee mugs that your parents can buy during the Square1 Art fundraiser"

READ Rainbow Fish or Flash the Fish to the class (both books are in the Art Closet). If you like you can lead a brief discussion with the kids about whichever book you read.

CREATE the handprint fish. Set out paper plates with enough red, orange (or other colored) paint to dip several children's hands in. Important: make sure each child covers his/her hand entirely with paint and the paint is distributed evenly on his/her hand. Carefully press the hand SIDEWAYS onto the pre-cut colored construction paper. See image below for reference. Make sure to bring lots of extra paper in case the kids mess up or something spills. You can also bring containers of paint to the class to replenish throughout the lesson. 



Another option is do a handprint crab: cover both hands in red paint and press them down with the palms back-to-back and the fingers and thumbs out. See image for reference: 


Handprint jellyfish:


Rainbow fish: use a paint brush to paint colors on the child's hand (more time-consuming and better if you have a lot of Art Reps helping out).



WASH HANDS Once the children have created a handprint fish (or crab or jellyfish), send them to the sink to wash up or use wet-wipes.

ADD BACKGROUND DETAIL Fill small plastic cups with various colors of paint and set out q-tips. At least 2—3 kids can share paint. When the children's hands are clean and dry, they can use q-tips (easier to grip for little hands) instead of paint brushes to add details like bubbles, seaweed, eyes, mouth, and coral. 

SIGN NAME Each child should sign their first name only, at least 1" away from the edges of the paper. Square1 sometimes cuts off the edges of the paper in processing. The kids can sign in crayon or marker. If some students in TK can't sign their names yet, that's ok. 

GLUE the colored construction paper to the Square1 Art paper AFTER the handprints have dried. Art Reps, you'll probably need to do this after the class is over, possibly at home. There are glue sticks in the Art Closet. Just make sure all the edges are glued down. We would like the colored background paper glued to the Square1 paper after the art project is completed (not before), in case the kids make any mistakes and need do-overs. We have a very limited amount of Square1 Paper and want to conserve it as much as possible. 

 PLACE all the artwork in alphabetical order in the Square1 Art folder given to you, and place the folder in the Square1 Art box in the Art Closet. Thank you!


NOTE TO ART REPS ABOUT CENTERS: Using the "centers" will probably be the easiest and most efficient way to do this project, as long as it's ok with your teacher. Each center can accommodate 4-6 kids at a time. You can set up the first "center" (round table) for the handprint, send the kids to the sink to wash their hands, and then direct them to the second "center" to paint the background details, and so on with the rest of the class. This way you will be handling small groups of 4-6 at a time. 



MUSIC NOTES The kids always enjoy listening to music in the background while they create art. Classical is a great choice. For this project, you might also consider reggae or even Hawaiian slack key guitar! Just vet the music beforehand and double check with your teacher that it's ok. The easiest way to play music in class is to bring a bluetooth speaker from home and play the music via your smart phone. Some classrooms have CD players (check with your teacher).


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