April Showers....

I have had this activity for a little while, but have been procrastinating. Now, May is only 2 days away. Plus ABC and 123 is having a handprint art category and I thought this was cute.

We all know the wonderful saying, "April showers bring May flowers," so of course an umbrella is a very appropriate April craft.

For the craft you will need:

construction paper

pipe cleaner

glue/tacky

watercolor paint

blue paint or ink pad

Take a piece of white construction paper and trace the child's hand. After tracing, run lines down to separate it into different sections. I used watercolors to decorate my umbrella as I thought it appropriate with the "water" theme. I thought one could use many types of decorations for this--the sky is the limit.

After the umbrella is dry, cut it out, and glue it diagonally on another piece of construction paper. Pick a pipe cleaner and cut a small piece for the top of the umbrella, and a piece for the bottom handle. I used tacky here to help hold the pipe cleaner in place. I thought one could use yarn for this part too.

Finally it's time for rain. Again, different ways to do this, but I opted for the fingerprint method. I figured if we're using the hand for one part, let's finish up with the hand. I dipped my finger in blue ink and made raindrops all over. You could also use blue paint. If you didn't want to use you finger, you could use a Q-tip, or small sponge.

Now, we're ready for the rain.