Painter's Tape Finger Painting

I tell parents this project is akin to chopping up the vegetables really small that the children's don't realize that what they are eating is good for them.


To the kids, they are just fingerpainting. But they're also learning their letters -- as well as the beginning of phonics.


All you need for this project is canvas (or, in this case, paper), and painter's tape. I can't stress enough: use painter's tape. Any other tape will rip.


Write out in tape the first letter of each kid's name. Just my luck: I had kids with letters like G, B, and D -- some of the more intricate letters! In a perfect world, every one of my kids' names would start with the letters T or I.


Then -- let them finger paint over it! I made sure to point out the letter on each paper as I handed them out to the students and explain why they were getting that letter. This is honestly as simple as, "John gets the letter J, because that's the first letter in his name! J for John!"


I suggest removing the tape about 15 minutes after the child is done. Just long enough that the paint is not completely wet, but short enough that the tape doesn't have time to super-adhere to the paper.

For emphasis, I outlined the letters and wrote, "... if for _____" in the white area of the letters. I know you're technically not supposed to do that -- you're supposed to never write on a students' artwork! -- but I figured my kids wouldn't mind. Plus, my parents got a huge kick out of the project. One parent even took a picture with their smartphone to send to their family. And nothing is more rewarding than knowing the parents appreciate the projects you are doing!