Kids Fall Keepsake Craft

I just did these darling fall trees with my kids and my son's 3rd grade class. They make a great fall keepsake for years to come!  

You will need:

*4 different colors of paint (I used brown, gold, burnt orange, mocha, and black to deepen the brown)

*14x17 sheets of drawing paper (Strathmore's medium Drawing Paper is what I used)

*5 Foam paint brushes

*5 plastic bowls for the paint

*Water & rags

STEP 1:  Paint the forearm of your child in brown and have them make the tree trunk.  I did not do this with the class, as it was too messy, but at home it was doable.  In class, I just had them paint the tree trunks (narrower at the top, thicker at the bottom)

 Step 2:  Rinse the brown paint off of the arm, and paint a hand in a color.  Direct them to pull straight up off of the paper so it doesn't smear.  Have them do 2-3 handprints per color.  

 Step 3:  While the child still has that color paint on their hands, have him make fingerprint leaves at the bottom of the paper around the trunk, or falling off of the tree.  

 Step 4:  Repeat with the other colors of paint.

 Each one turned out unique and different, and that is what makes them special!  

Happy fall crafting!