Help preschoolers make a memorable gift for Mother's, Father's or Grandparents Day by pressing hands into salt dough to make a permanent impression. Mix a batch of salt dough by kneading a mixture of 1-1/2 cups salt with 4 cups of flour and slowly adding water until dough is soft and pliable. Preschoolers each receive a portion of the dough to knead and then flatten with a rolling pin until it is approximately 1 inch thick. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Students press their hands into the dough and create a border with a dull knife or fork pressed into the dough to make designs. Use a sharp pencil to write students' names in the dough below the hand print and bake on a wax paper-covered cookie sheet for 30 minutes until the dough is hard. Paint hand prints with non-toxic paint after the baked dough has completely cooled.
Let preschoolers make their mark on a book that reminds them of colors and helps them practice writing and reading skills. Press students' hands into one color of paint and make two hand prints on a sheet of plain white paper. Continue making hand prints in different colors on approximately 10 sheets of paper. Label each sheet with the color word written in the appropriate color. Let preschoolers decorate two sheets of construction paper to make the front and back covers, and staple pages together after hand prints are dry. Write students' names clearly on each book and use as a reference when talking about colors in class.
Create a feeling of classroom unity along with a bright and colorful display at the beginning of the year with a rainbow of hand prints labeled with students' names. Have each child trace a hand onto a piece of paper, making sure that the different colors are evenly distributed amongst the children. Help students cut out their hand prints and arrange on a large bulletin board in arched rows of same colors to create a rainbow. Write each student's name on his hand print to demonstrate how the whole class together can create something beautiful.
When the holidays roll around, create personalized projects out of your preschooler's hand print to add a special touch to decorations or gifts. Start by tracing hand prints onto colored paper and cutting out. Glue hand prints in spring colors to a paper plate to make a beautiful flower for Easter or the Equinox. Glue green hand prints together to form an inverted triangle Christmas tree topped with a star and decorations at Christmas time, or stay simple with red and green hand prints on a paper plate to form a poinsettia. Hand prints can also become wreaths, leaves on a Thanksgiving tree, or the tail feathers on a paper turkey.
Preschool crafted animals can be used in dramatic play or as decorations for the classroom, but animals crafted out of cut-out hand prints will amaze and delight children every time they see them. Trace hand prints onto colored construction paper and cut out. Fold a paper plate in half and add yellow hand prints to one end for a tail, gluing on a circle head and eyes and a triangle beak and feet for a shapes lesson come alive. Glue multi-colored hand prints to each side of a brown paper towel roll or construction paper cut out to form a beautiful butterfly during science insect units.