Let's face it: kids love stamps. So why not let kids use their bodies to create their own? In this activity, get your kindergartener to create life-sized, body stamps using his own hands and feet. Your child will be amazed at what his own body looks like when it is used to make a stamp on a giant piece of paper. Explore with your child why some parts of his body like his hands and feet look almost exactly as they are when they are pressed to paper, but others like his nose and knees don’t.
This is a great activity to do with more than one child.
What You Do:
- This activity can be messy, so first line your painting area with newspapers to make cleaning up easier. If you’re really gung-ho, feel free to line the floor of the hallway of your house from your art area to the bathroom as well.
- Roll out a large sheet of butcher paper or craft paper. This will be your child's canvas.
- Have your child sit on the floor at the bottom of the craft paper, and let him paint his feet either by using the paintbrush if he can reach or by dipping his feet into the paint dish.
- Invite your child to get up and walk across the paper, taking slow, small steps so he doesn't slip and fall. Ask him to observe what happens to the paint as he walks to the other side.
- If you have another child there, he can repeat the same process, placing his feet next to the other child’s footprints. If you like, compare the children's hands and feet. You can talk about whose prints are bigger or whose have more lines on them or talk about why people have differing features. Talking about our differences with our children helps them understand how we all fit into the world.
- The children can repeat the process to make more "body stamps" by painting hands, elbows, knees, or even noses! Have them guess which print is going to be the most clear.
- When the paint dries, have the children write their names or initials next to their prints.
When finished, not only will you have an amazing collage of life-sized prints of your child, but hopefully your child will also have learned a little more about himself in the process!
Lisa M. Cope is a freelance writer who focuses on parenting and child development issues, among many others. She is the mother of two boys, ages five and two.