There are multiple experiences contained within this one art project: the concept of tracing, fine motor skill development from using glue, and of course the tactile fun of cotton balls! It’s a simple art project for a lazy morning at home.

To start, trace your child’s hand on construction paper with a pencil. In retrospect, I wish I’d used a better background than plain white – perhaps green for a sheep’s meadow? Your child’s fingers are now the sheep’s four “legs” and his or her thumb is the “head.” Travis really enjoyed having his hand traced. He removed it from the paper a few times before I could finish, but put it right back in the same spot when I asked him to.

Since a child’s hand is so small, I decided to make a “mommy sheep” next to his baby sheep, and traced my own hand.

Have your child dab glue all over the bodies of the sheep (the palms of your handprints), then press down fluffy cotton balls for the wool. Needless to say, Travis loved this part!

Once the glue dried, we finished our creation with crayons. I can’t say that Travis really understood we were coloring in a sheep’s head and legs, but in his defense, I’m not sure our woolly little creatures look much like sheep either! They’re cute and fun though, so can’t beat that.

The craft also lends itself nicely to a few ways to continue your playtime; Travis wanted to trace other objects with the pencil after we finished, and of course extra cotton balls had to take a turn in our pom pom chute.