4 Fun Art and Craft Activities for Preschoolers

Art and craft activities allow preschoolers to apply creativity to the learning process. Art projects can incorporate math, science, shapes, numbers and colors, and many students enjoy the hands-on application of learning. Arts and crafts also allow students something tangible to bring home at the end of the day.

Here are four fun art and craft activities for preschoolers.

Spoon people

Spoon people are a timeless craft that just about any preschool student can enjoy. The supplies that are needed include wooden spoons, glue, yarn and googly eyes. Some teachers may also include paint, allowing students to paint the spoons a special color. Students can then use the other supplies to create a doll out of their wooden spoon. Teachers can ask students to create a doll that looks like them, a favorite family member or a character out of a book. It is an interesting way to look at how students see and interpret other people, while also monitoring their fine motor skills at the same time.

Marble painting

This is a craft project that allows every student to make a different work of art while at the same time burning a bit of energy. Teachers should prepare a flat box with a piece of paper, and then allow the students to choose a couple of paint colors. The paint is then squirted onto the paper, and the student is given a set of marbles to place in the box. They can then tilt the box from side to side, allowing the marbles to do the painting for them. Every student will choose different color combinations and each student will turn the box in different ways. This means that every project will be completely unique, and students will have a blast twisting and turning the box into their very own work of art.

Tissue flowers

When it comes time for special holidays, tissue flowers are often a great craft project to include in the preschool classroom. These flowers can be quickly and easily made by the students simply by using colored tissue paper, popsicle sticks and glue. Some assistance might be needed in order to adhere the tissue to the popsicle sticks, but otherwise the students can create these special projects entirely on their own. Many preschool teachers choose to offer this craft project just before Mother’s Day, so the students have a special gift to give their moms, grandmas, aunts or another special woman in their life. The tissue paper is easily crumpled up into the petals of a flower, and is then adhered to the popsicle stick to complete the craft.

Picture stories

In this project, teachers help develop artistic skills as well as language arts skills. Students are asked to draw a series of two or three pictures. Then, they will explain what is happening in the pictures to a teacher or an assistant teacher. The person helping the child will write down the story that the child tells them. This can serve as a special memento — the very first story that a child wrote and illustrated.

These art projects are easy to create and the supplies are not too expensive, allowing them to be implemented in almost any preschool classroom. It’s important that any preschool teacher considers the size of their classroom and the capacity of their students before choosing a particular art project. It is also important to remember that each art project allows a student to express his or her own creativity and imagination while at the same time teaching them about a particular topic. Art projects are a great way to introduce students to the general concept of art while complementing other curriculum goals.

Other ideas

There are plenty of other fun activity ideas for kids, such as:

• Make a fluffy non-sticky slime or playdough

• Create windsocks using a tin can

• Grow an egg using materials found at home

• Build a train using toilet paper rolls

• Use paper plates to make a sunflower

• Make a snake or mouse from rocks

To learn more about implementing these activities, and discover more ideas, read this blog post from Craftspal.