Fingerprinting

Three of my friends and I decided to do a rotating preschool for our kids. We live in the same apartment complex so it works really well. We just started this week and it was my turn to teach. Today we talked about how each of us is "unique" meaning there is only one. We talked about how each person is special and there is no one else like us. We then talked about fingerprints and how no two people have the same fingerprints.

We did the following activity:

In the "Ink Pad" box I had each child color in the box with a pencil. I traced their hands and then they rubbed their fingers over the "Ink Pad." I took a piece of scotch tape and lifted the prints off their fingers one by one and taped it onto their paper. We took magnifying glasses to see the different patterns of the prints. We compared each others' prints too. Surely enough, no one had the same fingerprints.

The kids loved getting their fingers all black in the pencil and then seeing their prints. (A baby wipe works well to clean off their fingers.)

I created a worksheet that you can print HERE if you are interested.

*I like the pencil and tape idea better than the ink pad or paint. I couldn't find a good ink pad that would show the prints well enough for little fingers and paint was tricky- can't be too thick or too thin and it's a mess.