Every teacher knows that students love getting their hands dirty during craft time. In fact, some students subscribe to the motto "the messier, the better"! A great way to satisfy this urge is to use hand prints as the base for art projects. Jennifer, mother, teacher, and creator of the blog Ramblings of a Crazy Woman, suggests hand print chickens.

Supplies You'll Need
- Recycled paper bag or brown package wrap
- Craft paint
- Kids paint brushes
- Tiny hands!

Provide each of your students with a piece of recycled bag, a paint brush, and a shallow container of white craft paint. Instruct them to 'paint' their hand then make a print on the bag by pressing their painted hand firmly to the paper, holding for a few seconds, and carefully removing it to avoid smudging. Send them to the sink or clean-up station to wash their hands and prepare for the second phase. After each child has finished phase one, set out the materials for stage two. You'll need paint brushes, shallow containers of assorted paints (enough sets to share between four or five students), and a plastic cup of water for washing brushes between objects. As the hand print dries, encourage your students to carefully paint a farm scene (e.g. a red barn, nest, grass, sun, clouds, etc.). Lastly, invite them to add details to the chicken including legs, waddle, comb, etc. Allows your students a taste of 'controlled messy'!

Ramblings of a Crazy Woman: Handprint Chicken

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