Ed Emberley's Fingerprint Thumbprint Drawing Book

Fingerprint Drawing Book - Practice precision with a writing tool.

I love Ed Emberley's drawing books and use several in my practice. The Fingerprint Drawing Book is different than the others in that you will use a fingerprint for the first shape, not a drawing. With a fingerprint or thumbprint, and a few simple lines, kids can create something whimsical and recognizable. For kids who have difficulty drawing or writing, seeing this kind of success can be huge. I have also used these books with kids who cannot write small or need to develop more precise control.

Characters are the size of the child's fingerprints, so kids will be inspired to make the small lines and curves such as you find on rounded lowercase alphabet. This is especially good if you want to stick with one oval or circle shape while you work on other types of lines for the features. Ed Emberley books have been very popular with the kids.

My biggest problem has been finding a reliable colored stamp pad that doesn't dry out right away. I have also used these books without the stamp pad, drawing the fingerprint shapes. 

Other books by Ed Emberley books that I love and have blogged about:

Drawing Book of Faces by Ed Emberley  My favorite drawing book. You can also talk about emotions as you draw.

Goody Gumdrops by Ed Emberley My favorite for beginners. Each animal starts out with the exact same shape, a gumdrop.

Ed Emberley's Christmas Drawing Book -  It's all about winter and Christmas.

Try this:

• Work on diagonal lines for letters such as K, Y, X, W by choosing pictures that incorporate diagonal lines (whiskers, sharp teeth, legs, bird toes). Work on distal rotation by choosing pictures that incorporate small, colored-in circles (eyes, freckles, tassels, chicken pox). Work on rounded lines, such as needed for many lower case letters, by choosing pictures with rounded and wavy lines (ears, water, noses, hair). Sounds pretty basic, doesn't it? One big reason I like the Ed Emberley books is because I can quickly scan each picture looking for the feature(s) that I want to practice without having to make up drawing after drawing in my head. I'm not that fast or that good.Start by practicing some basic symbols on a white board - circles, rectangles, triangles. Then move to the fingerprint characters.
• Plan and make a cohesive picture, or just make random fingerprints on a page and let the child choose the characters to draw in.
• Use different fingers to practice finger isolation and get different sized prints.
• Make all the prints first and then wash your hands before adding details, for those who do not like getting things on their hands. 
   
  Work on distal rotation, sensory awareness, fine motor precision, efficient grasp, finger isolation, manual dexterity, visual discrimination, spatial relations, pencil control, drawing basic lines and symbols, visual closure, leisure and play exploration and participation

If you are interested in purchasing these books or just want more information, click on one of the images below to go to Amazon.com.

 

No Thumbs Challenge

No Thumbs Challenge - What can you do with only 8 fingers?

No Thumbs Challenge is basically what the name implies - Do everyday activities without the aid of your thumbs. There are 112 challenges and none of the items required to complete them are included in the game. More on that below.

The game comes with eight thumb straps and while individuals play they will be wearing two, one on each hand. The plastic straps have a fake thumb that sticks out the side. You will not be putting your thumbs in the fake thumbs. Your thumbs will be tucked across your palms and under the strap, so that you can't use them. The fake thumb is just for looks, not usable.

Back of box showing thumb strap and challenge cards.

There are 56 challenge cards with a challenge on each side, 112 challenges total. You will have to assemble the items you need from around your house. Two players will be competing on each challenge, so you will actually need two of each item. Here are a few examples of the challenges:

• Open a jar
• Drop 10 cards on the floor and pick them up
• Open a bag of chips
• Put on lipstick
• Open a doorknob
• Crack an egg
• Write the alphabet
• Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
• Take four equal pieces of tape and make a square on a piece of paper

Some of the items might not be available in every home, but I would guess most are. After going through the deck, I had all but three items already in the house. You will not need all 112 challenges to play a game, so just flip through the cards beforehand and remove any that you don't have the supplies for. Or, you could take a trip to the dollar store and pick up a few items you don't have like lipstick (for sanitary purposes), safety pins, screwdrivers, wrapping paper, etc. Several of the challenges have to do with paper and pencil and coins, and I think you will find those in most every home.  There are also two cards that say make up your own challenge.

There are several "no thumbs" games on the market and I have also blogged about Get A Grip.

Objective:

Be the first to successfully complete all six challenges in a relay race.

Set up:

Give each player two thumb straps. Shuffle the cards and deal five to each player or team. Each player (team) will choose three of those five cards. Discard the remaining cards, shuffle the chosen cards together, face-down. Deal six cards, face-up, in a row where everyone can see them. Those are the final challenges that will be used in the game. Gather any items that will be needed for the challenges if you haven't already done so.

Play:

The first two players will put on the thumb straps. On go, both players will try to complete the first challenge. The first one to complete the challenge wins the card. Keep playing, one challenge at a time, until the last card is claimed and that person wins the game. You can also play in teams with one team member competing at a time. 

Try this:

• Start easy by using a thumb strap on your dominant hand only, allowing free use of your other hand to help. Work your way up to both thumbs strapped.
• Choose the six challenge cards ahead of time, don't let the players choose them. Then you can have the exact supplies that you will need available from the start.
• Consider the players before choosing the cards you will use. If someone already has trouble doing something with both thumbs, discard that challenge to make the game more fair. For instance, can everyone button a shirt quickly, write the alphabet or have the hand skills to apply fingernail polish?
• Skip the game, just have fun presenting a challenge card and doing it.
• Use a timer and time one player completing the challenge and then time the other player completing the challenge. Best time wins the card. This way you will not need two of each item.

In the box: 4 thumb wraps, 56 challenge cards.

If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below.