This twist on the traditional fall handprint art tree is a fun addition to fall activities for preschoolers and kindergarten kids.
Your students will have a blast exploring a new art technique with this negative space handprint painting. In addition to the art side of things, the fall handprint activity touches on a few other early learning concepts. You’ll see math and motor skills in there, too.
I love that you can easily tweak the negative space fall tree for different seasons and interests. Plus, there’s not a lot of prep work or materials needed for the art projects. This makes it oh so easy to set up for the kids.
Related: Art Projects for Kids
In the past, I’ve had fun making fall hand print trees with my preschool students. This year I wanted to try something a little different. When I came across No Time for Flashcards’ “Fall Art Project”, I had an idea about how to change it up. I was inspired to explore negative space with the kiddos in this fall hand print art project!
A twist on fall hand print art with preschoolers
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Materials
Construction paper (brown and white)
Poster putty
Sponge Paint Wands (I used yellow, red, and orange)
Sponge Paint Wands
Directions
1. Trace child’s hand and forearm on brown construction paper, then cut it out.
2. Use poster putty to secure the “tree” to white construction paper.
3. Once the hand print is in place, allow the child to sponge paint all around it with fall colors. (Be sure to encourage the child to leave little or no white around the edges of the “tree”.
4. Gently remove the brown hand print, and be sure to remove any vestiges of poster putty.
5. Allow to dry, then display!
Fun with Art
This was an incredibly simple art project for the preschool kids, but they had a blast with it! Most of the children LOVED using the sponge paint brushes — they dabbed with them, splattered paint with them, and moved them all over the paper. One of my students used the brushes to paint almost the entire center time!
It was fun to chat with the children during this project, too. We talked about fall weather, the leaves changing colors, and how we all enjoy jumping in piles of leaves. It’s nice to connect with the students one-on-one when we’re painting together!
Learning with Art
In addition to the fun that was had painting, the children also explored some important concepts. Many of the children noticed they didn’t need the orange paint “because you know red and yellow make orange, Ms. Mary Catherine!” The concept of negative space in art was also discussed. Obviously, we talked about it in an age-appropriate way, focusing on how the brown hand prints blocked the paint from the white construction paper. It was almost like a magic trick to some of the children, based on their response — “Wow! You can see my hand tree even though it’s not there anymore!”
This little art experiment turned out really well! The kiddos had fun, I got to spend time chatting with each students, and we explored a new art concept. 🙂
Have you ever done an art project like this with your children/students?
Done-for-You Preschool Resources
Planning meaningful lessons for students week after week while balancing other teaching responsibilities and a personal life can be a daunting task. That’s where Preschool Teacher 101 comes in to save you time!
Preschool Teacher 101 has created some amazing lesson plans, activity packs, and other resources made especially for preschool teachers. Click on the image below to learn more about our fall lesson plans!
Join The Pack from Preschool Teacher 101 today for exclusive access to our amazing products. And we even have three different membership options to suit your needs! Click on the images below for some other themed resources perfect for fall.
Laura M says
This is so lovely! My daughter loves tracing her hands right now, I love the surprise reveal at the end too! Pinned!
Mary Catherine says
Thank you! 🙂
Mirela says
Yes it’s true. This was an incredibly simple art project for the preschool kids 🙂 Please tell me you did these sponge alone or bought? In the other hand this play show children how we can mix the colors to the two created another that is just as you wrote yellow and red give us orange 🙂
Mary Catherine says
Thanks, Mirela! I used a sponge we’d purchased, yes. 🙂
Sue says
There is absolutely nothing not to love about this project! From its simplicity and granting opportunity for meaningful conversations to the art concept and lovely end result ~ this will definitely be included in the children’s ‘end-of-the-year’ books! Thank you for the inspiration! ~ Sue A.
Mary Catherine says
Well you just made my day! Thanks, Sue! 🙂
Mrs. Sue says
I am so excited to do this with my three year olds! Thank you so much for sharing and providing inspiration for this terrific process art!
Mary Catherine says
Thanks for the sweet words! 🙂
V says
Thank you for the ideas of using the foam bottle washer to paint with.
Mary Catherine says
You’re welcome! Let me know if you give it a try. 🙂