Our neighbors have two kids very similar in age to my own two kids. Our kids and their kids are always going back and forth between our two homes.
The daughter from our neighbor’s family loves art, and just can’t get enough of it. And she knows we have a big cabinet of art supplies in our homeschool room.
So when she came over to our house asking to do an art project, I quickly pulled together this idea to make a Handprint Dot Tree and let my daughter and our neighbor create to their hearts’ content.
Note: For more creative painting projects, see my Arts and Crafts for Kids page.
To make a handprint dot tree, you will need to gather the following materials:
- brown construction paper
- white construction paper
- pencil
- child-friendly scissors
- glue stick
- q-tips (aka, cotton swabs)
- an assortment of paint colors (we used tempera paints)
- Optional: Plastic paint palette
Once you’ve gathered the supplies and called the kids in, the first step is to have your child trace their hand and part of their forearm on the brown construction paper. Depending on your child’s age and fine motor skills, they may do this task independently or they may require assistance.
Next, have your child cut their handprint out and glue it onto a sheet of white construction paper.
At this point, offer your child some q-tips and paint, and encourage them to start adding leaves, flowers, and/or fruit to their tree.
At this point, their imagination is the only limit to what they create.
This was my daughter’s finished piece of art.
And this is the artwork our neighbor made.
More resources for kid-friendly arts and crafts
More arts and crafts from Gift of Curiosity:
- Watercolor painting on paper towels
- Tape resist watercolor painting
- Blow art monsters
- Cut up art
- Painting with strings
- Upcycled crayons
- Leaf collages
- Flower bouquet made with wet chalk on sandpaper
Note: For more kid-friendly craft projects, see my Arts and Crafts for Kids page and my Arts and Crafts Pinterest board.
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