Fall Handprint Tree to Make with Kids

This fall handprint tree is a fun addition to your fall activities for preschoolers and kindergartners! I think it’s just right for a fall leaves unit, or even when you’re teaching the kids about the changing seasons.

Kids who love painting with their hands are sure to have a blast. After all, it’s a classic fall handprint art activity for a reason.

You don’t need much to get the autumn handprint tree ready, either. The most important thing is kids interested in transforming their hands into trees!

In addition to the fun of creation, the handprint fall tree lets children practice a variety of early learning concepts. They explore sensory art, practice fine motor skills, and there’s even some math skills involved!

Related: Art Projects for Kids

Materials for the Autumn Tree Art

This cute little art project is super simple and only requires a few simple materials. I would venture to guess, that as preschool teachers, you might already have everything you need right in your supply closet! Here’s what we used (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):

• Tempera paint
• Paint brushes
• White construction paper
• Baby wipes

Creating the Fall Hand Print Tree Art

Of course, seeing the paint, many of the children came over and wanted to know what I was doing.  Can you tell they love art?!  I called children over one at a time to paint their hands and talk about fall trees.  For the first few, I experimented with painting their forearms for the trunks — that didn’t come out so well, so I stuck with just painting the trunks with a brush.

Once the “trees” had dried, the children came back to paint the leaves.  I set out yellow, red, brown, and orange tempura paint for the children to use.  Going along with the hand print trees, I had the children paint fingerprint leaves.  It was really entertaining to see how each child approached the leaf-painting!  Some went a little wild, painting leaves over every inch of the paper, while others were much more precise and kept the leaves on the tree.

Once everything dried, Mary Poppins and I used the trees to create a “forest” on our bulletin board.  So cute!!

If you’re looking for more hand print art, please check out:

• Duck on a Bike Story Retelling and Hand Print Art
• Easter Egg Hand Prints
• Hand Prints in Preschool {Beginning of the Year}
• Hand Print Art for Thanksgiving
• Child-Made Fingerprint Flowerpot for Mother’s Day
• End of the Year Portfolios 

Done-for-You Preschool Resources

Planning meaningful lessons for students week after week while balancing other teaching responsibilities and your 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 preschool lesson and activity plans that will be perfect for your classroom. Click on the image below to learn more about some great fall-themed resources.

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