Inspired by Jojoebi – The Life Hacks Mom, the superpower behind Lockdown Festival challenge!
Our challenge for the day was “A family portrait”
My little one was listening to the song Five Little Fingers, and suddenly this idea popped into my head.
Use a marker to draw little faces on your fingers and give each one a name. As you draw, review body and facial features vocabulary together. You can easily add a learning element by using a minority or heritage language.
Create stories and let your finger characters talk, sing, and interact with one another. Use funny voices and exaggerated facial expressions to make it even more engaging.
Alternatively, draw a different emotion on each finger. Call out a feeling and have your child show you the finger with the matching emotion. You can also stay quiet and use only your facial expressions to act out an emotion. Then, invite your child to name the feeling and show the corresponding finger expression.
Bonus tip: When playtime is over, wash off the marker with lots of foam and turn it into another playful activity. Add some warm, soapy water and sing a funny handwashing song together while the little finger characters take a bubbly bath!
Most importantly, have fun! Anything goes. Come up with your own creative twists on this activity and enjoy some quality time together while connecting, playing, and laughing.
If you enjoyed this activity, you may also like our free printable, My Hands – Mindful Learning: Likes and Dislikes, where we use our hands as a physical reminder to talk about our preferences, bring more awareness to our thoughts and feelings, and build emotional awareness and self-expression.