Shape Stamps

What you need:

• picture book about circles 
• paper plates or construction paper 
• tempera paint 
• paint tray 
• round objects 
• newspapers 
• old shirt or smock 

What to do:

1. Share a picture book about circles with your child, such as Round and Round and Round by Tana Hoban. Use your fingers to trace the round objects in the photos.
2. Go exploring! See what kinds of round things you can find in the house to make paint prints with — spray-can tops, container lids, corks, paper or plastic cups, bottle tops, straws, and so on. (Make sure all the objects you pick are too large for your child to swallow.) Take turns tracing your fingers around the edges of the objects.
3. Put out the supplies you'll need to make round prints: paper plates or construction paper cut in large circles, tempera paint poured into trays, the round print makers, and a smock or old shirt. Then cover the table with newspaper. 
4. Invite your child to press the round print makers into the paint and then on the plates or paper. Talk about the round shapes that appear on the paper.
5. When the paint is dry, trace your fingers around the circles your child created.