Transforming our fingers into people was actually my daughter’s idea. She’d seen something similar on Playschool. From my experience, you can NEVER go wrong when you follow your child’s lead.What you need:
Face paints (Any face paints will do, but Texta have a special range of body paint sticks, which are perfect for this project and easy for young children to use.)-Small paint brushes or cotton buds for finer detail (or when using with face paint palettes)-Optional (Small puppet theatre, soccer field template, hopscotch template, small ball, die, alphabet cards, a range of small items from around the home) 
Start by painting your child’s fingers first. On one hand of Cam’s fingers I painted a girl wearing shoes, shorts, a t-shirt, a face and hair. One her other hand I painted a white cat.Then it is great for your child’s fine motor and creative skills to have a go at painting your fingers too. Once you have painted people on your fingers you can start playing a whole array of games: A Finger Puppet Show/ Storytelling: (Follow this link to see how we made this finger puppet theatre) 
Children use their painted finger puppet characters to create and tell a story.Finger Puppet Soccer: 
Play with your child. Attempt to kick a small ball/marble through your goals and stop your opponent from scoring.Finger Puppet Hopscotch: 
Ask your child to roll a die to determine how many jumps to take on the hopscotch grid. Keep rolling the die until your child has returned to the start.Finger Puppet Obstacle Course:
Together with your child, set up an obstacle course using items from around the home. Decide what the fingers must do when they reach each item (e.g. jump over the stick, walk across the string etc.)Finger Puppet Alphabet Disco:
Lay out some alphabet cards. Ask your child to sing the alphabet while physically hopping on each letter with their finger as they sing. Some other ideas: - Finger Puppet Rock Show: Play a musical instrument with your painted finger people puppets (e.g. keyboard)
- Finger Aerobics: Play some music and let the fingers dance freestyle
- Musical Statues: The fingers must stop dancing when the music stops
- Expressing creativity when developing finger characters
- Developing fine motor skills by isolating finger movement (kick, hop, dance, move etc.)
- Using imagination to develop stories
- Practising counting and subitising
- Reciting and recognising letters of the alphabet
Jackie Small is an experienced classroom teacher, having taught in Victorian primary and secondary schools. She is currently on family leave caring for her children. Jackie also manages My Little Bookcase an online resource that aims to model and provide parents with fun, warm, friendly and positive ways to engage their children in reading.
How wonderful…what a lovely activity for the kids to be so involved in…and proud of the finished product!!
Sooo cute! So many actvities for two little fingers!