'Use Your Right Hand' Art Activity

Assalamu aliakum,

This is an activity that I put together to help children learn (and apply) these ahadith (a simplified version):

Narrated 'Umar bin Abi Salama: I was a boy under the care of Allah's Apostle and my hand used to go around the dish while I was eating. So Allah's Apostle said to me, 'O boy! Mention the Name of Allah and eat with your right hand, and eat of the dish what is nearer to you." Since then I have applied those instructions when eating. {Bukhari}

Narrated by Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) liked to start with the right when putting on his shoes, dismounting (from his camel), when cleaning himself and in all things." (Agreed upon).

Alhamdulillah, as I wanted/intended (and modeled), the toddler intentionally tried to get the blue hands to fit inside of/match the outline of the hands on the poster board subhana'Allah! It was perfectly okay that the blue hands didn't make it (they had soo much fun!). The goal was to work on hand-eye coordination so I'll set this activity out again to allow for more practice insha'Allah.

Can you see in the bottom left corner where the toddler is holding the paint tray?..hehe...refueling!

To make this you will need:

- Small wooden hands from a craft store

(the hands I got can be turned over to be either left or right hands)

- Glue gun

- Sponge (preferably without the coarse part on

the back for scrubbing - it's not easy to cut off!..lol)

- Wooden knob

- White poster board

- Non-toxic paint and paint tray

- Newspaper (to avoid a mess on the floor)

- Fine tip marker

Here is what you do:

1). On the white poster board, trace the hands before you start assembling the hand sponge painter.

2). Take one of the right hands and trace it backward (i.e. as if it were a left hand) onto the sponge.

3). Cut out the sponge hand. Set aside.

4). Take both of the wooden hands and, using a glue gun, glue them together back to back. When they are dry, screw on the wooden knob.

5). Take the sponge hand outline and, using the glue gun, glue it to the back of the right hand (the two you glued together).

You're done and ready to paint insha'Allah! And this little hand is easy to clean. Just gently rub with warm water and soap until the paint comes out...it takes less than a minute alhamdulillah.

Enjoy insha'Allah!