art activities in preschool

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50 Easy Preschool Art Projects

Preschool art is much more than making a mess and is also more rewarding than the normal preschool craft activities. Just like our science activities for preschoolers , our preschool art projects are totally do-able and use simple supplies! Check out the fun and easy art activities for preschoolers you will want to try!

Art For Preschoolers

Young kiddos benefit greatly from the free use of materials in a less restrictive environment. See them create their own personal masterpieces and experience a sense of wonder and accomplishment all at the same time!

Preschoolers are naturally curious. 4 year olds love to observe, explore, and imitate, trying to figure out how things work and also how to control themselves and their environments. The opportunity to explore helps them form connections in their brain, helps them learn, and it’s also fun!

Art is a natural activity to support this essential interaction with the world. Preschoolers need the freedom to explore and experiment. Art allows children to practice a wide range of skills that are useful not only for life but also for learning. These include the aesthetic, scientific, interpersonal, and practical interactions that can be discovered through the senses, intellect, and emotions.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Sensory Play Ideas For Preschoolers

Making and appreciating art involves emotional and mental faculties. Art, whether making it, learning about it, or simply looking at it – offers a wide range of important experiences for 4 year olds.

In other words, preschool art is good for them! Yes, prepare for it to get messy sometimes but also prepare for an incredible sensory-rich art experience led by kids!

Art encourages…

• Fine motor skills through grasping pencils, crayons, chalk, and paintbrushes.
• Cognitive development from cause and effect and problem-solving.
• Math skills such as understanding concepts like shape, size, counting, and spatial reasoning.
• Language skills as children share their artwork and process with each other and with adults.

Tips For Preschool Art Lessons

How do you teach art to preschoolers and beyond?  Here are a few ideas to support learning through art activities.

• Provide a diverse range of supplies . Firstly, gather a wide range of materials for your child to use like paint, colored pencils, chalk, play dough, markers, crayons, oil pastels, scissors, and stamps. See our helpful supply list below.
• Encourage, but don’t lead . Secondly, let them decide what materials they want to use and how and when to use them (make an accessible art cart or cupboard). Let them take the lead.
• Be flexible . Then, instead of sitting down with a plan or expected outcome in mind, let your child explore, experiment, and use their imagination. Secondly, they might make a huge mess or change direction several times—this is all part of the creative process.
• Let it go ! Next, let them explore. However, they may only want to run their hands through the shaving cream instead of painting with it. That’s OK too! Children learn through playing, exploring, and trial and error. If you give them the freedom to discover, they will learn to create and experiment innovatively.

Quick List of Preschool Art Supplies

Preschool art is all about exploring art techniques with a variety of simple materials! I find having a specific cupboard, bin, or cart handy with easily accessed art supplies is helpful. While young children will need help getting out what they need, older kids will love the freedom to create.

The supplies listed below are all inexpensive and readily available at hobby or art supply stores. Grab a storage caddy and create your own art cart to make setting up art projects in your classroom or home super easy.

Homemade Paint Recipes

Note: Check out how to make DIY Paint Recipes including watercolors, traditional paint, puffy paint, finger paint, and edible paint!

• Flour Paint
• Finger Paint
• Edible Paint
• Puffy Paint
• Watercolors
• Fizzy Paint
• Washable Paint : Choose a set of assorted colors in bottles or jars. Tempera paint is safe for young kids and easy to clean up.
• Watercolors : Watercolor paints come in trays or tubes and can be diluted with water for a more translucent effect.
• Paint Brushes : Provide a variety of paintbrushes in different sizes and shapes, including flat, round, and foam brushes.
• Sponges and Foam Brushes are great for creating texture and experimenting with different painting techniques.
• Finger Paints : Use washable finger paints in vibrant colors for a tactile painting experience.
• Drawing Paper : Have large sheets of white drawing paper or rolls of paper for kids to use as a canvas.
• Construction Paper : Assorted colors of construction paper for collages and other cut-and-paste activities.
• Markers : Washable markers in various colors for drawing and doodling.
• Crayons : Non-toxic crayons for drawing and coloring.
• Chalk : Sidewalk chalk or chalk pastels for outdoor or indoor drawing on different surfaces.
• Playdough : Store-bought or homemade playdough in various colors.
• Clay : Air-dry or oven-bake clay for sculpting and modeling.
• Glue : Non-toxic, washable white glue or glue sticks for collage and sticking different materials together.
• Scissors : Child-safe scissors for cutting paper and other materials.
• Collage Materials : Provide various materials for collage making, such as colored papers, old magazines, tissue paper, fabric scraps, buttons, feathers, and yarn.
• Nature Materials : For nature printing and other outdoor-inspired art , collect leaves, flowers, twigs, and other natural objects.
• Stamps and Stamp Pads : Rubber stamps and stamp pads in different colors for printing and pattern making (my favorite and great for older kids too)
• Bubble Wrap : For bubble wrap printing .
• Cardboard Rolls : Use them for stamping, decorating, and making sculptures.
• Washi Tape or Craft Tape : Use patterned tapes to create pictures, borders, patterns, and shapes or to attach collage materials in an artistic way

TIPS: Remember that safety is important when choosing art supplies for kids. Always opt for non-toxic and child-safe materials if you have young kids! In addition, include some thrift store button-down shirts as smocks!

Helpful Art Resources To Get You Started

Here are a few resources to help you introduce process art more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident when presenting materials. You’ll find helpful free printables throughout.

• Free Color Mixing Mini Pack
• Process Art Projects
• How to Make Paint
• Easy Painting Ideas For Kids
• Free Art Challenges
• The 7 Elements Of Art
• Outdoor Art Activities
• STEAM Activities (Science + Art)

Get your FREE printable Preschool Art Calendar!

50 Easy Preschool Art Activities To Try

Check out these creative activities you can do with preschoolers.  Click on the image to be taken to the full instructions and supply list.

All About Me Collage

This simple art activity encourages kids to explore themselves as well as things they enjoy. Includes free printable body outline template to use.

Baking Soda Painting

Making art with baking soda paint is a fun and easy art activity for young kids. What makes the art fizz?

Blow Painting

Have you ever tried blowing into a straw to paint a masterpiece? Now’s the chance to explore awesome process art with easy materials.

Bubble Painting

Mix up your own bubble paint and grab a bubble wand. Talk about budget-friendly preschool art!

Bubble Wrap Painting

Who doesn’t love playing with and popping bubble wrap! Make sure to set aside your next bubble wrap packaging to create colorful stamped designs inspired by famous artist, Alma Thomas.

Coffee Filter Flowers

Learn how to make coffee filter flowers for a fun and easy preschool art activity. You could also make coffee filter rainbows .

Corn Painting

Forget the paint brushes, and try this fun corn on the cob art project instead! Corn painting makes for awesome process art to explore the colors and textures of Fall.

Drip Painting

Similar, to our marble painting except this fun process art technique involves flicking or dripping paint onto canvas.

Fly Swatter Painting

You only need a few simple materials for this easy process art activity. Therefore, fly swatter painting is great for toddlers still learning to use a paintbrush.

Ice Cube Painting

Make these really easy ice paints, grab some large sheets of paper and let the kids have fun with this outdoor art activity!

LEGO Sun Prints

Make these construction paper sun prints. Quick and easy to set up, this is a fun science activity with an added art bonus!

Magnet Painting

Painting with magnets is a fantastic way to explore magnetism and create a unique piece of art. This magnet art project is a hands-on way to learn using simple materials.

Marbled Paper

Mix up your own shaving cream paint from kitchen supplies and make this colorful DIY marbled paper. You could also try marbled paper with vegetable oil .

Marble Painting

Can you paint with marbles? Absolutely! Get ready for art that’s a bit active, a bit silly, and a little messy. Roll ’em around, mix up a few colors, and create a Jackson Pollock inspired masterpiece!

ALSO CHECK OUT: Leaf Marble Painting

Nature Weaving

Explore the natural world around you or add in some everyday objects or found art. For example, a nature weaving project also doubles as found art!

Nature Paint Brushes

Make your own paint brushes out of natural materials and test them out!

Pinecone Painting

Nature’s bounty makes a cool paintbrush in this super simple to set up a process art activity for fall! Grab a handful of pinecones for a fantastic pinecone painting activity.

Paper Sculptures

Make these easy paper sculptures from simple shapes and explore abstract art for kids.

Paper Towel Art

This fun paper towel art is very easy to make with just a few simple materials. Combine art with science, and learn about water solubility.

Rainbow Coloring Page

Use as a coloring page that is perfect for preschoolers or older kids too! Mix up some puffy paint and paint the colors of the rainbow.

Rainbow Tape Resist Art

This tape resist rainbow art is easy to set up and fun to do with kids at home or in the classroom. Plus, they will have the opportunity to learn about the tape resist art process.

Rainbow In A Bag

If you love the colors of the rainbow, here’s a simple and mess free sensory bag painting for kids.  Make your own rainbow painting in a bag.

Reverse Coloring

Combine painting and coloring for a fun art project for kids of all ages. Download our free printable art project and create your own colorful art.

Salad Spinner Art

Combine a popular kitchen tool and a bit of physics for cool art and science that everyone is sure to love! Take this STEAM activity outside on a nice day!

Salt Painting

A simple to set up salt painting activity for kids. Any theme, any season, all you need is a little imagination, glue, and salt.

In addition, try these fun variations…

• Snowflake Salt Painting
• Ocean Salt Painting
• Leaf Salt Painting
• Watercolor Galaxy Painting with salt!

Shape Stamping

Painting or stamping with shapes is a fun art activity to do with young kids! Use everyday items to learn, for an easy way to teach kindergarteners and preschoolers basic shapes.

Skittles Painting

Learn how to make skittles paint and explore a simple color wheel activity for easy preschool art any day.

Snowflake Tape Resist

A super simple snowflake art project that is perfect for winter art! Our tape resist snowflake painting is easy to set up and fun to do with preschoolers this season.

Snow Paint Spraying

Can you paint snow? You betcha! Just a few simple supplies to make your own homemade paint and your have a fun winter process art activity for the kids.

Splatter Painting

Kind of messy but a totally fun process art technique, kids will have a blast trying paint splatter! Jackson Pollock is one of our favorite process artists! Give paint splatter a try, but maybe take it outside!

We also have these fun variations for you to try…

• Crazy Hair Painting
• Shamrock Splatter Art
• Halloween Bat Art
• Snowflake Splatter Painting

String Painting

String painting or pulled string art is a great way to develop kids’ fine motor skills, and strengthen grasp and manual control. Plus, it’s fun!

Tie Dye Art

No t-shirt for tie-dye? No problem! Plus, this tie-dyed paper towel is a whole lot less mess! Find out how to make tie dye paper as a cool way to explore colorful process art with minimal supplies.

Water Drop Painting

Try this simple to set up water droplet painting activity for kids. Any theme, any season, all you need is a little imagination, water, and paint.

Water Gun Painting

Squirt guns or water guns instead of paintbrushes? Absolutely! Who says you can only paint with a brush and your hand! A fun preschool art activity for the summer months!

Fun Art & Craft Activities With A Holiday Theme

Additionally, you’ll find a variety of art projects for kids grouped by season or holiday!

• Valentine’s Day
• St Patrick’s Day
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas Ornaments

Printable Famous Artist Pack

You’ll find each of our famous artists featured in our Famous Artists Project Pack 👇   including a bonus Andy Warhol Coloring Book!

22+ artists and growing with unique projects not available on the website!

~ Projects to Try Now! ~

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17 Amazing Art Activities For Preschoolers

January 16, 2023 //  by  Randi Smith

Break out the tissue paper, glue, scissors, and if you’re brave enough…glitter! It’s time to get crafting. This time of year is perfect for starting up fun art projects in the preschool classroom. Your preschoolers will love these art projects, and you’ll love seeing them build color recognition, fine motor skills, and more! Check out these 17 unique preschool art activities for inspiration.

1. Primary Colors Handprint Art

Preschoolers are all about color- the brighter the better! Get them going with a fun, and messy, primary colors handprint activity. Grab some tempera paint and cardstock and let your students experience a hands-on lesson on primary colors.

Learn More: Pinterest

2. Romero Britto-inspired Art 

Romero Britto is known for his bold lines and bright colors. Build early writing skills with a lesson on the different types of lines. Put them all together and make a funky art project for an upcoming holiday.

Learn More: Teach Starter

3. Crayon Resist Process Art

Dig out the seldom-used white crayons and engage your students in crayon-resist art. Have students draw pictures or designs on white paper, then paint over them with watercolor in their favorite colors. What a fun texture!

Learn More: Amsler Art Room

4. Straw Painting for Preschoolers

If you’ve got a holiday coming up that is known for fireworks, try straw painting with your preschoolers. To create this effect, drop a small dollop of washable paint on the student’s paper, then have them spread the paint into fireworks by blowing on it through a straw. What fun fireworks!

5. Art With Natural Materials

Take your preschoolers outside and go on an art supply scavenger hunt. Collect twigs, leaves, pebbles, and other natural materials. Use your newfound supplies to make fun animal art!

Learn More: Lakeshore School

6. Classic Art Projects Using Paper Plates

Grab a stack of cheap paper plates and make all sorts of fun things! Hats, monsters, fruits, and vegetables…you name it! There’s a paper plate project to match every theme!

Learn More: Mary Tardito

7. Turn Bubble Wrap into a Piece of Art

Introduce your preschoolers to color and texture with a bubble wrap art project. Have them paint a base coat on their surface, then dip small pieces of bubble wrap into contrasting paint and dab them around. The outcome is a bright, three-dimensional work of art!

Learn More: Little Steam Learners

8. DIY Scratch Art Using Wax Crayons and Tempera Paint

Make your own DIY scratch art using simple wax crayons and black tempera. Color designs heavily on cardstock, then paint over the entire drawing using black tempera paint. When dry, students can use a craft stick to scratch fun designs into the paint, allowing their drawing to shine through.

Learn More: The Craft at Home Family

9. Craft a Pack of Paper Bag Puppets

Everyone loves paper bag puppets, and they’re so much fun to play with in the classroom. Grab a stack of brown lunch bags, some construction paper, and glue. Have students cut out shapes and pieces to make animals, monsters, and more! They could even use their puppets in a skit!

Learn More: Alpha Mom

10. Watercolor Salt Painting

White glue, table salt, and liquid watercolors are all the materials you need to make these beautiful salt paintings. To make, have students draw a design in liquid glue and sprinkle table salt to cover. Add a rainbow of colors using your watercolor paints. 

Learn More: I Heart Arts n Crafts

11. Pencil Shaving Art Flowers

Most teachers HATE pencil shavings, especially when they’re all over the floor. Instead of tossing them out, gather them up and let your students use their imaginations to turn them into artistic masterpieces. Just look at these pencil-shaving flowers!

12. Creative Keepsake Rock Art

Smooth stones and some paint are all you need to create lovely rock art with your students. You could use acrylic paint or paint pens to have your preschoolers make their own adorable pet rocks.

Learn More: Four Cheeky Monkeys

13. Recycled Cardboard Tube Crafts

Teach your students about protecting the Earth by recycling materials normally thrown away. A bit of paint and some cardboard toilet paper tubes are all you need to make a mountain of fun creations.

Learn More: The Spruce Crafts

14. Fine Motor Torn Paper Collage

Torn paper collage is a must with your preschool students. You can provide them with an image to reference, or have them create their own designs using scrap paper. Collages almost always turn out beautifully, and they become easy homemade gifts with just a bit of lamination.

Learn More: Instagram

15. Rainbow Collage Ideas for Kids

Your preschoolers will love learning their colors while creating their own rainbow collage projects. Recycled cardboard templates, paints, paper, and pom-poms are just a few things you can use to craft these beautiful rainbows.

Learn More: Art Bar Blog

16. Tree Crafts using Pom-Poms

Pom-poms and clothespins make the perfect paintbrushes with this fun tree painting project. Give your learners a bit of paint to use, and they can craft the perfect fall tree. Or you can tie all four seasons together, and have them craft a tree for each season!

Learn More: Kids Activity Zone

17. Aluminum Foil Art

Simply switching your standard paper for a section of aluminum foil is a fun and easy way to create unique paintings with your four-year-olds. The different texture creates a new experience and provides young students with yet another way to work on those fine motor skills.

Learn More: Pickle Bums

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Hands On As We Grow®

Hands on kids activities for hands on moms. Focusing on kids activities perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

10 Creative Art Activities for Preschoolers

Art Projects Preschoolers Resources 22 Comments

Art activities get much more intricate and focused when toddlers become preschoolers. Check out these 10 fun creative art activities for preschoolers!

Its amazing what a year means in these young ages!

Since Henry has been a preschooler, he has become a little more focused (believe it or not…). Which means the art projects, as well as other creative activities, we do can also be a little more focused.

And George is right behind him. Almost in the preschoolers category himself, he’ll be doing these art activities in no time!

Note: Big Art creative activities are great for toddlers and preschoolers that can’t or don’t want to sit still to create.

How is art different with a preschooler?

When they get a tad older, (think older preschooler age) everything changes. Fine motor skills improve, along with attention span and the ability to focus on the project at hand.

Of course, the age in which a child can do this will vary. So take a look at your toddler or preschooler and see where their own skills are at.

These are 10 activities that we’ve done that take just that tad bit more focus and understanding to do. I think they are perfect art activities for preschoolers.

Of course, there is usually a way to incorporate a toddler into the mix. I had both a preschooler (soon a kindergartner!) and a toddler myself.

Here’s some of our art activities that are perfect for preschoolers:

• Learn about mixing colors. Perfect for a hot day. Freeze some cubes of paint (in 2 or 3 of the primary colors) and take it outside in the sun to melt as they paint. When they run together see what colors it makes!
• Copy a masterpiece. Print out a masterpiece (such as Starry Night) and set it beside them to try to draw themselves. It’s quite impressive what they’ll find in the piece of art as they study it themselves to draw.
• Amp up tape resist art. Instead of just chunks of tape around on a piece of paper, or you doing it, have them tear a piece of tape to create a picture! Add details to the finished tape resist art.
• Add sensory to art.  We used sand, but really anything can be used in its place. Flour, salt, sugar, dirt, rice, tissue paper.
• Try pulling string to create art.  This one takes a little patience, understanding and coordination. But nothing preschoolers can’t handle in art activities. Its kind of magical to see what designs will happen!
• Rainbow sponge art.  Yes, toddlers can do this. But preschoolers can take the care it needs to actually make this a rainbow!
• Add special touches around the house.  Preschoolers are just getting into drawing. So design or draw a wrapping for everyday items such as a tissue box. What else can your little preschoolers spruce up with these art activities?
• Shave crayons and melt them!  It’s great for fine motor skills to make the crayon shavings. And the designs they make can be so cool (ahem, learn a little about color mixing in the process)!
• Use multiple painting techniques together  to create a piece of art. Preschoolers will have to follow directions to make it right. Along with having the patience to put it all together. But it’s really simple!
• Tie dye something together!  A t-shirt, a pillowcase, a sheet! They’ll love a special touch to wear or use that they can say they made! Try different tie-dye effects too. It’s all about the rubber-bands !

What’s your favorite art activity to do with your preschooler?

About Jamie Reimer

Jamie learned to be a hands on mom by creating activities, crafts and art projects for her three boys to do. Jamie needed the creative outlet that activities provided to get through the early years of parenting with a smile! Follow Jamie on Pinterest and Instagram !

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Reader Interactions

22 comments.

September 20, 2019 at 1:59 pm

Thank you sooooooo very much for your ideas that I hope I can soon say they are mine. This is my first year as a Pre-K Teacher and I’m so nerveous about what I’m doing. I know that it’s the process and not the product,, but having help really goes a long way. Thank you, Teacher Cherry

Morris says

September 14, 2018 at 12:17 am

Hi Jamie! such an amazing work was done by you! It’s not about art activity but also helps to develop a child’s mind.

Diana Morgan says

May 15, 2018 at 11:11 pm

I take the crayon shavings and sprinkle them on a sheet of wax paper, then lay a second sheet of wax paper on top. Then with a medium warm iron I run the iron over the wax paper long enough to melt the crayons, blending them together. After the wax paper is cooled I have the children cut a shape out of the center of 2 pieces of construction paper (such as a heart or butterfly) to form a window. Place the wax paper between the 2 pieces of construction paper showing the blended colors and glue together. You can put a magnet on the back or hang them in the window like a suncatcher.

Rachel says

May 17, 2018 at 4:44 am

What a creative idea! It sounds so pretty too! Thank you for sharing

Esther says

March 21, 2017 at 10:58 am

Hello Jamie, How are you and family doing? Thank you for all the activities you have been sending to us. God bless you and give you more wisdom and understanding. I have done some of the activities you sent to us. My child loves it. Will send you some of the pictures. Loves, Esther Thank you.

October 13, 2016 at 1:44 am

The interactive collage isn’t working for me. All I can do is pin it to Pinterest. Am I doing something wrong??

February 8, 2016 at 3:22 pm

I apcrapiete you taking to time to contribute That’s very helpful.

August 1, 2013 at 8:47 am

The interactive collage is great. There are some really fun activities included here. I would like to try the Painted String activity with our playgroup of nearly four year olds, Looks like creative, messy fun!

Jamie Reimer says

August 11, 2013 at 9:36 am

Thanks Amie! :) I’d love to see how it goes with a group.

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Creative Art Activities for Preschoolers

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12 Creative Art Activities for Preschoolers

Stuck in an arts and crafts rut with your preschooler? Add a little excitement back to craft time with these creative art ideas for preschoolers!

1. Make Your Own Paint

Making your own paint is surprisingly easy and just might be the fun your preschooler needs to get interested in theri art table again! We like this simple recipe for homemade paint with flour .

2. DIY Puzzles

Once your preschooler has finished a drawing or painting, extend the fun by asking them if they want to turn it into a puzzle! Let them draw lines throughout the picture and then use safety scissors to cut it into pieces. Then, they can mix it up and work on solving their brand new puzzle!

3. Rain Splatter Painting

This creative painting idea doubles as a way to make the most of rainy days! Let your child drop food coloring onto a large piece of thick paper placed on a baking sheet. Take it outside when it’s raining ( a light drizzle or sprinkle works best) and let the rain mix the colors together! The result will always be unique.

4. Art with Natural Materials

Your backyard just might have plenty of creative art opportunities! Let your child use garden tools and stones to make their very own “zen garden” in the sandbox. Gather flowers (and yes, weeds count!) to glue to a drawing. Find and paint pinecones. Or if you’re up for a little mess, let your child create a muddy mixture to “paint” with (outside of course!)

5. Kids Camera

Let your kids explore a whole new artistic medium: photography! There are plenty of affordable cameras created just for kids (or you can let them use your phone if you’re brave). If they need some inspiration, provide a scavenger-hunt-style list of objects to photograph.

6. Copy a Famous Painting

Whether it’s something as classic as Starry Night , or as funky as Andy Warhol’s Soup Cans , most kids will love the chance to recreate something from a “real” artist. Show them a few pieces, let them choose, and provide the colors and materials they’ll need to give it their best shot! (If you have a little perfectionist, remind them that it’s just for fun, and it does NOT need to look exactly like the original to be a success!)

7. Respond to a Piece of Art

Instead of copying a piece of art, your child can create something in response to a book, song, or piece of visual art. Maybe they imagine the homes of their favorite characters in a book or make a painting that reminds them of a song. There are no rules!

8. Create a Mosaic

You can use anything from pieces of construction paper to extra buttons and coins, to large sequins, Just hand your preschooler a glue stick (or help them with a hot glue gun if needed) and let them get to work!

9. Use Found Items

If your preschooler always seems to find random objects on the ground, this project gives them an excuse to collect their little treasures! Let your kids start a “found items” box, and when they have enough, they can use the pieces to create a sculpture or glue onto a picture. For example, they can glue on buttons to create a bunch of balloons, decorate a bird sculpture with real feathers they’ve found, or just combine their pieces into fun, abstract art.

10. Sculpt with Modeling Clay

If your child loved (or still loves!) play dough as a toddler, they’re sure to love the slightly more “big kid” challenge of making modeling clay sculptures. If they need some inspiration, we love these original modeling clay ideas .

11. Faux Stain Glass

For this project , you’ll need a solution of dish soap, paintbrushes, and different colored cellophane. You or your child can cut the cellophane into any shapes you want to create your stained glass art. You can go for a random mosaic of shapes, or something more intricate. Then, let them paint the dish solution on the window and stick the cellophane to it. It should stick well but come peel right off when you’re ready to clean up!

12. Color Mixing Bottles

Fill some used plastic water bottles with water and food coloring in the primary colors (red, yellow, blue). Then, use a funnel to let them combine colors into other empty water bottles, replace the cap, and shake them up. It’s a great way to teach them about color mixing, and they’ll love learning the different combinations they can use to create their favorite colors!

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Happy Hooligans

Crafts and Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers to Tweens

25+ Awesome Art Projects for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Last updated on October 28, 2019

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Tired of doing the same old preschool art activities with your kids and students? Here are 25+ AWESOME art projects for Toddlers and Preschoolers  to do at home, daycare or preschool.

It’s no secret that the toddlers and preschoolers in my daycare love creating art!  Naturally, they enjoy regular, everyday art like painting, and colouring with markers, crayons and chalk, but we always have the most fun when we’re doing a cool art project , exploring unusual substances and materials like (shaving cream, melted wax, food colouring), and using creative techniques (resist art, print making and, smoosh painting) to make our art.

Thankfully, there are countless materials and tools right in your own home to create really cool art with your children.  These unusual materials, tools and techniques will allow your kids to explore, create and learn in ways that they can’t with just a box of crayons or markers.  Don’t worry though.  They’re all easy!

Today, I’m sharing over 25 of my favourite easy art techniques for kids!  I think you and your kids will love them all.  My toddlers and preschoolers have really enjoyed each one, but older kids will love the techniques and the projects in this post as well.

Put away those paintbrushes and pallets.  These are not your ordinary art projects.

From resist art to sensory art, to dripping and ripping, you’ll find plenty of unusual ways for your kids to create art in ways they’ve never dreamed of.

Each of the activities described here contains a click-able link which will take you to the step-by-step instructions.  Just click on the coloured, underlined text.

25 Easy, Awesome Art Projects for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Make a gorgeous “tie-dyed” bookmark with Sharpies and rubbing alcohol !  Great fine-motor exercise and a super homemade gift for kids to give a parent, grandparent or teacher!

Toddlers and Preschoolers will love “shaking up” a colourful masterpiece with this fun and energetic  golf ball painting process !

Sharpies are the star again in this simple “stained-glass” art project .  You’ll never guess what we coloured on to get such glossy, vibrant results.

Take your sidewalk chalk art to a new level with a little dipping pot of water!

The hooligans spent ages exploring water absorption and strengthening their fine-motor skills with this drip-art technique .

Older kids can use the same process to make these City Skyline Silhouette s,

and these Tie-Dyed Heart Sun Catchers.

Here’s a great warm-weather art project!  Little ones will love  painting with coloured ice outdoors on a sunny summer day.

One of our absolute favourites!  To make homemade puffy paint , all you need are 3 kitchen ingredients and a microwave!

Dyeing coffee filters is always popular with the hooligans.  See how we used ours to make a pretty paper plate wreath.

Your child can stamp up a one-of-a-kind piece of art for his or her bedroom using a thrift shop canvas and some cardboard rolls.  And for Valentines, you can tweak the process a little and stamp a canvas full of hearts. 

Scratch Art is one of those classic art projects that every kid loves.  Remember doing scratch art when YOU were a kid?  Here, we’ve made a family portrait to give to a parent or grandparent.

Spin painting is a very cool process for kids to do at home or in the classroom.  All you need is a salad spinner!

Turn your toilet roll tubes into stamps for some print-making.  Your child can frame this stamped heart art project or hang it on a bedroom wall.

If you’ve never tried  colouring on tin foil with Sharpies before, you must!  It’s such a slick feeling, and the iridescent colours that result are beautiful.  We the process to decorate personalized name plaques.

Without a doubt, melting crayons to make Van Gogh’s Starry Night art is one of my all-time favourite art processes for kids.

See how we turned an old thrift shop painting into a custom piece of art for our playroom using this mess-free smoosh painting technique!

Make your own gift wrap in a matter of seconds using this awesome hair-dryer painting process !

These cork-stamped flowers were my very favourite spring art project this year.  Not only because they’re so pretty, but because they’re so versatile!  You can use this technique to make homemade cards and wrapping paper or to embellish a wreath or a  tote-bag!

Cotton-pad art teaches kids about water absorption and colour blending, and the process helps develop fine motor skills.

This “big art” post  is chock-full of ways for a little one to explore a variety of painting tools on a large art surface on the floor.

Tape resist art is so much fun!  It’s simple enough for toddlers to enjoy, and older kids will appreciate the cool results.

Scrape painting is another one of my all-time favourite art techniques for kids.  The process is easy yet fascinating, and the results are always just beautiful!

Kids who enjoy messy play will love this sensory art process !  It’s fun for one, and also a great group activity for the backyard.

This salt, glue and watercolour process was a really neat (and gorgeous) way to work on letter and name recognition.

Crayon resist art is always a hit with kids of all ages!  Even I can’t resist a good resist-art project!

Transform your driveway art with this simple chalk and water technique !

Paint a perfect rainbow every time with this nifty art technique!

And lastly, here are three of my all-time favourite art techniques for kids:

Creating stained glass art with bottle lids and washable paint.

Making marbleized prints with shaving cream and food colouring .

Creating beautiful Monet-like art with markers and paper towels .

Pour painting is a TON of fun.  We’ve made Christmas ornaments this way, and most recently, these stunning paper weights for Father’s Day.

Painting with frozen, coloured paint pops is always fun on a summer day too!

Make marbled paper with shaving cream and food colouring !  It’s SUCH a cool process!

And if you’re looking for another collection of terrific art projects for kids, check out these 30 Art Techniques from Buggy and Buddy !

More Cool and Creative Activities for Kids:

Easy science Experiments for Toddlers

Homemade Paint Recipes for Kids

Disney’s “Frozen” Crafts, Activities and Recipes

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Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.

Reader Interactions

Cynthia Le Bourlegat

August 4, 2014 at 11:38 am

Hi Jackie, I love you blog! I’ll be glad if you wish know my brazilian blog of kids activities and crafts http://www.falamae.com .

September 9, 2014 at 7:56 am

Thank you for putting this all together in one post! Will be passing on to other parents. (Might try some myself!) 🙂

happyhooligans

September 9, 2014 at 11:52 am

You’re so welcome, Karen! Thanks for passing it along! Keep your eye on my blog. I plan to do a big round up of actual art projects for preschoolers too. 🙂

preschool projects

September 10, 2014 at 7:45 am

Wow what a beautiful collection. Thanks for sharing will try to do some of them with my daughter.

Marianne Botting

September 27, 2014 at 3:06 pm

As a mum of a toddler who is not a fan of paintbrushes, I am very grateful for this round-up. Thanks! I will definitely be sharing with my readers

September 27, 2014 at 10:37 pm

So glad you enjoyed it, Marianne! Thanks for passing it along. 🙂

August 25, 2015 at 3:07 pm

A brilliant list, and I picked up a few new ideas to try at the nursery next term 🙂 We also found the children love painting dots with blocks wrapped in bubble wrap! Great fun which can also lead to colour mixing, and the language of size if you have bubbles of different sizes like we did!

October 26, 2015 at 10:50 pm

I love commas too, but you’re completely over-using them.

October 27, 2015 at 6:33 am

Oh my. You are absolutely right! How has no-one pointed that out before? Not sure what I was thinking when I wrote that post. Haha. I’ve just gone back and removed about a dozen of them. Thanks!

Rosa Marrio

November 6, 2017 at 1:35 pm

Wow! amazing idea. This kind of creative art project encourages kids creativity and helps kids mental growth.

Glenn Mathis

April 6, 2018 at 3:27 am

Fantastic activity. I really wonder indoor activity for my kids. Then I choose the Daycare center. I really like your blog. Keep sharing.

Lyla Morris

September 14, 2018 at 1:41 am

Thanks for providing us such an informational post. personally, I’m a Big fan of art activity and It’s always a fun with my son.

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Art Activities for Preschoolers

Find the best art activity ideas for your art and thematic units and lesson plans from Early Learning Ideas.  From process art activities for your preschool or pre-k lesson plans to open-ended art projects at home, your kids will love these fun art activities for preschoolers. Check out the ideas below for your preschool and pre-k kids.

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Looking for more creative ideas for your preschoolers? Check out these fun and creative craft activity ideas .

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50 Engaging and Creative Painting Activities for Preschoolers

By ProjectswithKids

These painting activities for preschoolers will have kids exploring different art materials, new techniques, and having fun! There are process art ideas and holiday and seasonal painting ideas, you are sure to find some art projects that your preschoolers will love to make.

We love exploring different painting techniques. Take a look at my collection of painting ideas for kids for more fun and creative art projects for kids of all ages to try!

We love creating and exploring with different art supplies and techniques. If you are looking for more art projects to try, take a look at our ultimate collection of amazing art projects for kids of all ages!

Engaging and Creative Painting Activities for Preschoolers

Take a look below for awesome painting ideas that preschoolers will love to explore and create! I have organized the project ideas by season to make things easier to find. The first section includes ideas you can use any time of the year.

Painting Ideas for Anytime

Try one of the ideas below for a painting activity you can do any time of the year.

5 Easy Watercolor Techniques for Kids That Produce Fantastic Results

These easy watercolor techniques for kids are perfect for all ages and offer endless possibilities for creativity and fun. Kids will love exploring these watercolor painting ideas that produce magical and unexpected results!

Easy Galaxy Spin Painting Art Project for Kids

This galaxy spin painting art project is out of this world! Spin art is such a fun process art technique that kids of all ages love.

ALPHABET CRAYON RESIST - hello, Wonderful

Combine letter practice and painting with this colorful alphabet art project.

Mess Free Painting: Kid's Initial Wall Art

These kid’s initial wall art pieces are easy enough for all ages, mess-free, and make beautiful kid’s room decorations or gifts for family!

How to Make Name Art with Pointillism

Sneak in a little name recognition, letter formation and fine motor skills with this Pointillism-inspired name art!

Shake Painted Rock Snail Craft

This rock painting idea gets kids active and is virtually mess free!

Van Gogh Sunflower Painting with Spices

Paint a picture that smells as good as it looks by using spice paints to make a Van Gogh inspired sunflower painting.

Sponge Shape Paintbrushes DIY Painting Ideas

Shape sponge paintbrushes lend themselves to fun ideas for preschoolers.

Mixing Paint Colors Preschool Activity

Discover the results of mixing paint colors in an art activity that blends with science.

Bubble Wrap Print Painting

Printing with bubble wrap is a great way to explore texture and patterns with young kids.

Easy Balloon Painting Ideas for Kids

Try a fun twist on regular painting with this balloon painting activity for kids. This is a great sensory project and easy to set up.

Painting on Foil – Easy Art Activity for Kids

Try painting on foil for a fun sensory twist!

How to Upcycle and Reuse Old Books to Make Beautiful Bookmarks

Children can easily turn pages from old books into brightly colored bookmarks.

Bounce Paint Process Art for Kids

Take this art project outside for a fun and unique painting experience!

Yarn Painting for Kids

A fun yarn painting activity for even really young kids with stuff you probably already have around the house!

Mess-free Art for Kids, Improved!

Try this mess-free painting idea for an art project that is easy to clean up!

Finger Painting Prints

Engage your child in a sensory activity as you try this engaging spin on finger painting.

Fire Truck Craft With Flame Painting for Kids

Use a mixed media approach to make this fun fire truck craft!

Fall painting projects

Take a look below for fall and Halloween painting ideas kids will love.

Cookie Cutter Process Art Made into Fall Placemats

Turn cookie-cutter process art into beautiful fall placemats for your holiday table. This fall craft is a perfect project for preschoolers that older kids will also enjoy creating. A great handmade gift idea!

Autumn Tree Painting with Cotton Balls

Create this gorgeous autumn tree painting using cotton balls. Kids will love creating this fall craft with all of the beautiful colors of autumn! Includes a branch template to make it easier for preschoolers.

Apple Tree Painting with Cotton Balls

Kids will love painting with cotton balls to create this fun apple tree painting! The perfect fall craft for kids of all ages. Free branch printable included.

Beautiful Watercolor Poppy Art Kids can Make

This watercolor poppy art is such a fun and easy art project for kids. Preschoolers will use easy watercolor techniques and practice their cutting skills! A great Remembrance Day craft or fall flower art project. Printable template included.

Pumpkin Spin Painting Halloween Art Project for Kids

This pumpkin spin painting is such a fun activity for kids! Super easy and a great Halloween art project for kids of all ages. Free printable templates included.

Watercolor Resist Surprise Ghost Painting

Kids will love watching their ghost pictures appear when they use this easy watercolor resist technique. A fun and simple non-scary Halloween craft.

Painted Rainbow Leaf Craft

A colorful take on a classic preschool craft, painted leaves!

Painting Leaves

Use bright bold colors to paint real leaves for a fun nature art project idea.

Pom Pom Fall Leaf Painting Craft

Kids can use pom poms held by clothespins to make fun painted trees with colorful leaves in this Pom Pom Fall Leaf Painting Craft.

Winter Art Project Ideas

Take a look below for creative winter, New Year's, and Valentine's Day art ideas.

Winter Scrape Painting with Narwhal Printable

This winter scrape painting activity is a fun and super easy process art project that kids in preschool and beyond will love! Free narwhal printable template included.

Winter Tree Painting with Cotton Balls

Kids will love creating this cute & easy winter tree painting using cotton balls. Add in a fingerprint red bird for an extra fun winter touch. Free printable branch template included.

Colorful Kid Made Christmas Cards with Coffee Filters

Use coffee filters and watercolors to make these colorful Christmas cards. Printable template included.

Christmas Ornament that Toddlers Can Help Make

Turn finger painting into a giftable ornament with this simple Christmas craft.

Star Spin Painting Easy New Year's Art Project

This star spin painting is a super easy and fun New Year's art project that kids will love! Make spin art stars and turn them into a unique New Year's Eve banner as part of your holiday decor.

Easy Heart Spin Painting for Valentine's Day

Spin painting hearts make the perfect Valentine's Day art project for kids. Kids will have a blast spinning their hearts and making cool patterns. An easy project for preschool kids to make on their own and an awesome process art project for kids of all ages!

Easy Q-Tip Painted Heart Art for Kids to Make

This q-tip painted heart art is so easy and fun for preschoolers to make! A great Valentine's Day craft that is also great for working on fine motor skills.

Mixed Media Heart Art Project for Kids

Kids will love using watercolors and paper to create this beautiful heart art project that is perfect for Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. Easy watercolor techniques make this a perfect art project for preschoolers!

Heart Art Salt Painting Project

Use salt, glue, and watercolors to make gorgeous heart art.

Easy Heart Art Painting for Preschoolers

Try out a fun new painting technique to make this heart art project.

Spring Painting Ideas

There are so many fun and colorful painting ideas for spring and Easter! Take a look below for some project inspiration.

Easy Watercolor Flowers for Kids to Make

These easy watercolor flowers are an excellent beginner watercolor project for preschool-aged children. It's also a great project to practice scissor skills! Free printable template included.

Cherry Blossom Painting with Cotton Balls

Kids will love using cotton balls to create this gorgeous cherry blossom painting! A wonderful spring art project for preschoolers and beyond. Free printable branch template included.

Create Simple Watercolor Easter Egg Art with Stickers

Use a simple watercolor resist method to create this gorgeous watercolor easter egg art with kids. So simple and fun for kids of all ages! Free printable easter egg template included.

Process Art Scrape Painting with Bunny Silhouettes

Scrape painting is a super fun process art activity that kids will love! Use beautiful spring colors to make these bunny silhouettes that are the perfect art project for spring or Easter. A great painting activity for preschool-aged kids and beyond. Free printable bunny template included.

Colorful Q-tip Easter Egg Painting

A fun q-tip Easter egg painting activity that will keep preschoolers engaged and having fun creating colorful patterns! Printable Easter egg template included.

HANDPRINT RAINBOW PAINTING

Handprint rainbow painting is a fun sensory art for kids. Get hands-on with paints and explore colour mixing and blending!

Paint a rainbow sponge painting art

Create a perfect rainbow by adding rainbow coloured paint to a sponge.

Easter Egg Potato Stamping w/ Printable Template

Easter Egg Potato Stamping is a classic kids’ activity and the perfect way to use up potatoes that are past their prime!

Summer Art Activities

Take a look below for some summer painting inspiration!

Colorful Q-tip Painted Dragonfly Craft

This q-tip painted dragonfly craft is a fun and easy summer activity perfect for preschool-aged kids! This is a wonderful and relaxing painting project that is also great for working on fine motor skills. Free printable dragonfly template included!

Orange Tree Cotton Ball Painting

Kids will love creating this orange tree cotton ball painting with gorgeous shades of green and then stamping on oranges using a cork. Free printable template included!

Spin Painting Canada Day Craft

Kids of all ages will have tons of fun spin painting and making cool patterns with this Canada Day craft. An easy project for preschool kids to make on their own and an awesome process art project for kids of all ages! Click through to get your free maple leaf template.

Rose Art Watercolor Painting Project

Invite children to paint a rose, with watercolors and a black resist medium, to create gorgeous faux stained glass rose art.

Everything You Need to Know About Squirt Painting

Use spray bottles to make beautiful, crazy pieces of art!

Fireworks Salt Painting Craft

Celebrate New Year or the 4th of July with this fun fireworks salt painting.

I hope you enjoyed looking through all of the amazing painting activities for preschoolers and are inspired and excited to give some a try!

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Ideas for Pre-K & Preschool Teachers

Art activities and ideas for Preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten. These activities are all about process art -- this is art that children create themselves. These art activities are age appropriate, hands-on, and fun!

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Babble Dabble Do

20+ Preschool Art Projects

February 9, 2017 by Ana Dziengel Leave a Comment

If there is one age that I patiently waited for my kids to reach, it was 3-4 years old, the preschool years. If you are a creative type, you probably are also excited about these years because it’s the age kids can really start trying projects, particularly ART.  Engaging art at this age sets the stage for a lifetime love of creativity, in fact I believe the best preschool art projects are the foundation for creative thinking, exploration and problem solving.

I urge anyone working with kids this age whether they are your own or those you teach or care for to make sure that when choosing art projects for 3-4 year olds you select ideas that are open-ended with plenty of opportunities to explore.   What you really want to foster at this age is a love of play and creating, avoid projects with complicated steps or things that are too crafty, instead try process art, and art projects with a science twist to make them even more magical.

Top Tips for Art with Preschoolers

• Embrace the mess. The best way to be able to embrace messes is to plan for it. Cover work surfaces in butcher paper or take really messy ideas outside. No one will enjoy a project if you are stressed about the mess which at this age is inevitable and should be a welcome part of the exploration.
• Step Back. Adults should set up the projects and facilitate them as needed but please take step back and let the children explore on their own. Let them take chances and play with the materials at hand. In fact doing this often yields off-shoot projects that are just as fun!
• Keep it short! Preschool aged children are like whirlwinds of energy and interests. Don’t expect them to sit still for long so choose projects that can be accomplished quickly.

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Some of these projects are best suited for older preschoolers because they involve more advanced fine motor skill development; I have noted them Pre-K.

1.  Cosmic Suncatchers

(Pre-K) These suncatchers have a magical outcome for a minimum of effort! All you need are glue, food coloring and a little patience…

2.  Stencil Process Art

A great introduction to process art, gather up an old sheet, paint and rollers plus some textured items and stencils and have fun!

3.  Dip Dyed Craft Sticks

This super simple project doubles as a lesson in color mixing and absorption.

4.  Bike Spin Art

I cannot tell you how worth the prep and mess this is! My whole family had a blast with it!

5.  Pasta Suncatchers

(Pre-K) A fun use for dyed pasta- turn them into colorful suncatchers.

6.  Rainbow Tree

The next time a large branch falls in your yard, save it! This is a wonderful group art project and lasts for years if you use acrylic paint (just be sure to wear smocks or messy clothes as acrylic permanently stains clothes). You can substitute washable paint for a non-permanent version.

7.  Watercolor on Tile

Paint your patio! Or the driveway! This will work on concrete as well and washes off in a few good rains.

8.  Yogurt Spin Art

(Pre-K) Totally irresistible… Adults will need to prep the tops, but kids can help mix the paint and spin the tops for some crazy spin art fun!

9.  Salty Rainbows

(Pre-K) My daughter invented this project! You can do this in groups by spreading a thin layer of salt on the bottom of a tray.

10. Shaving Cream Marbling

A classic art project for a reason! This process makes lovely marbled paper.

11.  Muffin Tin Prints

This produces a massive amount of art very quickly! I love how it encourages children to think about creative ways to make art.

12. Pulled String Art

Pulled string art is one of the coolest classic art projects you’ll ever try! And it doubles as a wonderful math art project for kids.

13. Edible Mosaics

This doubles as a snack idea! First use your fine motor skills to cut and create mosaic piece of art, then eat it!

14. Resist Art

A classic art project that is always a hit with kids!

15. Blow Painting

Everyone LOVES this project! Kids can create art without even touching the paper! See the picture above.

16.  Instant Scratch Art

(Pre-K) Using oil pastels makes this easier to apply the two layers of color. This is fun for all ages!

17. Diffusion Art

A simple color mixing experiment featuring science!

18. Ice Chalk Painting

Get the recipe for ice chalk here

You will also need squeeze bottles filled with a mixture of vinegar and water. SAFTEY NOTE: Vinegar can sting the skin so be sure to let your children know to only squeeze the vinegar/water onto the chalk.

We placed an old white sheet on a table and the kids dissolved the ice chalk using a mixture of water and vinegar. Bonus : When everything is melted the chalk turns into oobleck!

19.  Easy Wire Sculptures

(Pre-K) To make this easier to prep, substitute inexpensive air dry clay for the wood blocks.

20.  Styrofoam Patterns

(Pre-K) A great way to develop fine motor skills. WARNING: You’ll probably start hoarding styrofoam trays just for their awesome textures after this….

21.  DIY Paints

Not only are these three paints taste safe, kids can help make them. The pudding paint makes a wonderful homemade finger paint!

22.  Homemade Paint Brushes

A great STEAM project for preschoolers that asks them to problem solve. Set out some clothespins and assorted materials and ask them to make and paint with homemade brushes. Check out some of the fun materials we tried here.

23.  Washable Graffiti

Sidewalk chalk on black canvas. A wonderful alternative to the typical blank white canvas.

24.  Burlap Embroidery

(Pre-K) A simple introduction to sewing using shoelaces and burlap.

25.  Rainbow Spin Mixing

One of our favorite ways to explore color mixing! Squeeze the primary colors onto a coffee filter, spin them in an old salad spinner and BAM you have new colors!

I hope this list of preschool art projects gets your children interested in creative exploration.

You have been waiting for this age, time to start making! And don’t be dismayed if  your kids aren’t interested in a particular project, it doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy art.

In fact join the Babble Dabble Do community and I’ll send you 5 secrets to connecting with kids through creative projects.

Join over 14,890 parents and educators who want connect with kids and nurture their creative process through magical, easy projects you can do TOGETHER.

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Teaching Preschool Art Lessons

Home » Teaching Preschool Art Lessons

More Learning Levels

Kindergarten to Grade 2

Grades 6-8 (Middle School)

Grades 9-12 (High School and Adults)

Teaching art to Preschoolers

Preschool aged children (aged 2, 3, 4 & 5 yrs) need opportunities to develop their growing abilities through books, games, songs, science, math and art activities.

What to Expect: 2-3 years:

Between their second and third birthdays, children begin to pay attention to print, such as the letters in their names. They also begin to distinguish between drawing and writing and start to scribble on paper, making some marks that are like letters. Two and three year olds require activities to help them develop hand coordination (for example, by holding crayons and pencils, putting together puzzles or stringing large beads).

What to Expect: 3-4 years:

By their 3rd and 4th birthdays, children have greater small-muscle control than toddlers, which is reflected in their drawings and scribbles. They can match and sort things that are alike and unalike, recognize and print  and can “write,” or scribble messages.

What to Expect: 4-5 years:

Between their 4th and 5th birthdays, children are active, enjoy more group activities and have better muscle control. They can recognize and write the numerals 1-10, recognize shapes such as circles, squares, rectangles and triangles and can write some letters.

Keep the following things in mind when working with your preschool aged child:

• Never tell your child what to draw or paint.
• Don’t “fix up” your child’s drawings. It might take practice before you can recognize what she has drawn, but let her be creative.
• Invite your child to talk to you about what she is drawing and to identify by name each object in the picture.
• Give your child lots of different materials to work with. Show her how to use new types of materials.
• Find an art activity that’s at the right level for your child and let him do as much of the project as possible.
• Display your child’s art prominently in your home. Point it out to visitors when your child is near to hear the praise.

Ideal Arts Activities for Preschoolers:

Young children love to play with dough . They can squish and pound it and form it into fascinating shapes. Helping to make play dough lets children learn about measuring and learn and use new words.

Music is a way to communicate that all children understand. It’s not necessary for them to follow the words to a song; it makes them happy just to hear the comfort in your voice or on the recording or to dance to a peppy tune.

Young children are natural artists and art projects can spark young imaginations and help children to express themselves. Scribbling also prepares them to use writing to express their ideas.

>>Click HERE for our list of PreK Art Lessons<<

Favourite preschool (early childhood education) art lessons.

Color the Snow Corn Syrup Color Mixing Cornmeal and Powdered Paint Crayon Crackle Painting Crayon Resist Fish Drawing on Wet Glue with Chalk Pastels Dripping Paint Action Painting Egg Carton Caterpillar Frozen Paint Pops Fruit and Vegetable Prints Handprint Canadian Flags Handprint Rainbows Handprint Turkey with Texture

Holiday Fingerprint / Finger Painting Crafts for Kids Little Green Make a Sticker Shekere Maracas (Recycled Objects) Milk Bubbles Monoprinting: Three Ways Muffin Liner Flowers Craft Mouse Painting (Color Mixing) Nature Art Activities for Kids Paint Blots Painting with Flowers Pointillism Corn Primary Colors Snails Pulled String Paintings

Raindrop Painting Sand Painting Sponge Painting Spray Bottle Mural Spreading Paint with a Popsicle Stick Tasty Color Mixing Tennis Ball Prints Tips for Working with Play Dough Two Layer Painting Winter Picture with Foam Shapes and Stickers

>>>MORE

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The Top 10 Educational Art Activities for Preschoolers

Art is one of the best ways for your preschooler to express themselves. While it may look like they are just making a mess they can actually be learning important motor skills or even something as simple as just letting things go if they make a mistake. Art will also teach your preschooler how to make a decision when they are picking out colors or what supplies to use.

In order to make the following crafts on this list your children will have to use their listening skills to follow along step by step. This is a skill your children will use throughout their life so why not let them learn it in a fun way?

The following craft ideas are pretty simple and fun to make. Most of the items used can be found around the house or they are very inexpensive if you have to buy them.  Don’t be afraid to let your kids use their own imaginations and make these ideas their own and most importantly have fun!

10. Paper Plate Instruments

  Make tambourines and other musical instruments from paper plates and simple decorative items! This perfect noise maker is made from basic materials and provides your preschooler with their very own musical instrument crafted from their own artistic hands!

Materials:​

• Paper plates
• Beads or dried beans
• Markers, glitter, glue, stickers, other embellishments

9. Painting with ice

Create paintings and other works of art with ice! This opportunity enables kids to swirl paints over assorted papers to create beautifully unique designs.​

Materials: ​

• Craft sticks or popsicle sticks
• Assorted papers
• Ice cube trays
• Liquid child-friendly paints

8. Hanging CD Ornament

Use old CDs and clean up unwanted clutter by saving this item from the trash bin and letting young children make their own sparkly works of art from it!

This fun recycling project helps kids to learn the value of recycling and provides them with a fun and entertaining experience at little to no cost.​

Materials: 

• Sparkly craft items like beads and sequins
• Fishing line or beading wire
• Child-safe scissors
• Craft-style glue
• Newspaper and other papers

7. Sparkle Bottles

This activity lets children make their own glittery water bottle full of sparkles and fun! Within the bottle are alphabet letters jumbled up to provide immense  fun for toddlers  who are trying to learn their letters.

• Alphabet beads or shapes
• Empty water or soda bottle
• Assorted glitter colors
• Sequins and other decorations
• Water and corn syrup
• Paper sheets
• Highlighter marker

6. Blown art

This activity provides an innovative and fun new way for your toddler to perfect their artistic and painting skills. Blow painting will have your toddler giggling as he creates unique splotches and shapes in an array of vivid hues.​

• Watered-down paint for a sheer effect
• Plain paper
• Bending straws
• Container with sides to hold liquid in

5. Sensory Dough

Much like homemade play-dough, this recipe makes use of common household items like baby oil or cooking oils. For the ultimate in cheap and entertaining play opportunities, sensory dough will have your toddler safely entertained while they pull and squish joyfully through this non-toxic and all natural dough.

• Baby oil – 1 cup
• Flour – 8 cups
• Plastic container
• Food colorings (assorted)

4. Colorful Rainsticks

Rainsticks are instruments that feature a hollow core and that are filled with small objects like rocks or beads to produce a variety of interesting noises and effects. Rainsticks make special noises when they are turned side to side and upside down and will have your child engrossed with the different effects they can produce with their changing hand motions.

• Colored markers
• Cardboard tube (from empty paper towel roll)
• Aluminum foil
• Small objects like dried beans or rocks
• Masking tape

3. Waxed paper art

All children love to color, whether it be on paper, books, or even on walls! Rarely are kids presented with opportunities to draw on alternative sources such as wax paper that offers impressively different results from coloring on regular paper.

Have your toddler-aged children cut out shapes and give them markers and crayons to decorate the shapes to their heart’s content. As they watch nearby, you or another adult can carefully iron the art to create a seamless melding of bright cheery colors that you can hang up in your child’s room or elsewhere.

• Iron (for adults)
• Pencil sharpener

2. Clothespin Caterpillars

This arts and crafts project enables your child to create their very own vibrantly hued caterpillar bug. Complete with small accessory eyes and pipe cleaner antennae, this lovable and whimsical caterpillar toy will be your young one’s favorite toy as he lovingly carries from room to room.

Assisting in promoting color recognition, and strengthening fine motor skills, this art project is both entertaining and educational.

• Elmers-style white glue
• Colored pom-poms in a variety of sizes and colors
• Pipe cleaners for antennae
• Googly eye decorations
• Clothespins

1. Melted Crayons  

This art project lets your kids pick out their favorite colors of crayons and lay them out in a way that looks good to them. Then they will learn about heat and how it melts the wax crayons. This project will strenthen their decision making ability as well as their fine motor skills. This is a fun craft that also looks good and is very simple to make.

Additional ideas for awesome arts and crafts activities for your toddler-aged child!

• Tape-resistant art  – Place pieces of tape on paper while children color over the paper and tape. Peel off the tape to expose uncolored areas that create a cool collage effect
• Color mixing activities  – Free paint into paint-cubes within ice tray compartments and bring them outside on a hot day to see the paint streak and run and create drippy works of art that will have children enthralled
• Sponge art  – Simply cut sponges into familiar shapes like circles, hearts, stars, and squares and have children dip sponges into their favorite colors and dab away to create their own sponge paint masterpiece
• Add sensory touches  to any arts and crafts projects to provide a multi-sensory experience that ups the educational ante. Anything with texture (such as grains of salt and sugar, tissue paper, and flour) are great sensory additions to art work
• Shave crayons  and melt them with your hairdryer as your little ones look on at awe while your crayons melt into a seamless rainbow of hues
• Try very simple cooking  or preparation idea with your little ones, by letting them do simple tasks like stirring batters and carrying utensils to the sink

There are so many fun art projects for preschoolers to create and they will have so much fun that they won’t even notice that they are learning. Through the use of color,  imagination, blocks, shapes, and ample opportunities for self-expression preschool is a time where a child’s brain is exposed to many of the important components of the world around them. Children can learn so much through art, self-expression, and creativity. ​

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30+ Art Activities for Preschoolers

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We’ve put together a list of the BEST easy art activities for preschoolers! These preschool art projects are simple and creative, and can be made with items you already have around the house!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preschool Art Projects

The preschool years are such a fun time to explore art with children! Their fine motor skills have improved since toddlerhood, and they have an improved attention span that may be able to focus a little longer on craft projects. These fun art activities for preschoolers are perfect for diving into process art with your kids! Most of these craft activities make for simple projects that can be done in a few minutes, but pretty soon you’ll be having so much fun – you’ll want to make everything on this list!

Use these awesome preschool art projects to instill a lifetime love of art and creativity into your little one! Not only are they fun to make and create, but they help children develop creative thinking and problem-solving skills, which will help them in many subjects as children get older.

Get started on one of these way-too-cool art lessons with your preschooler today!

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30 Fun Art Activities for Preschoolers

These preschool art projects are perfect for engaging young children by using a wide range of materials and mediums!

Pom-Pom Painting

Pom-Pom Painting from Happiness is Homemade: For an easy project, use pom-poms to paint instead of paintbrushes! It results in a totally different look than using a brush. You may need to clip the pom-pom with a clothespin to make it easier for toddlers to use the pom-pom without making a big mess. Try using washable paint for an even easier cleanup!

Recycled Plantable Seed Paper

Make Recycled Plantable Seed Paper from Happiness is Homemade: My boys love shredding paper, so this project was a MUST for us! It’s a great lesson on how to reduce, reuse, and recycle for kids of all ages. The perfect project for Spring or celebrating Earth Day! This is a fun idea for 3-year-olds and up.

Shaving Cream Art

Shaving Cream Art from Natural Beach Living: Incorporate all the bright colors of the rainbow into this fun activity making shaving cream marbled paper. The end result is stunning, and you can use the technique to make some fun art for the kids’ playroom.

Q-Tip Painted Dragonflies

Q-Tip Painted Dragonfly Craft from Projects with Kids: Using Q-tips to paint makes for such fun fine motor development! Plus, most of us have these on hand! This dragonfly craft is an excellent choice for summer when you so often see colorful dragonflies skimming over the water.

Scrap Paper Design Composition

Scrap Paper Design Composition from Barley & Birch: Make good use of your leftover paper scraps with this easy composition craft! Kids layer the colors and shapes and then use a white viewfinder to see how different the composition looks depending on how it’s framed.

Marble Painting

Marble Painting from Happiness is Homemade: Kids really enjoy this hands-on activity! Add a white piece of paper or watercolor paper to a tray, squeeze acrylic paint or tempera paint over the page, add some marbles, and start tilting the tray. The marbles do all the work of moving the paint around. Experiment with different color combinations. This project is a great introduction to color mixing – use primary colors and make a rainbow!

Tape Resist Mess-Free Painting

Tape Resist Mess-Free Painting from The Soccer Mom Blog: Use this mess-free paint technique to make a beautiful piece of decor for your child’s room with his or her initial. The final product looks great hanging up!

Fizzy Sidewalk Chalk

Fizzy Sidewalk Chalk from Messy Little Monster: Combine sidewalk chalk art with a science experiment! This fizzy paint will get lots of giggles from the kids as their drawings bubble up and wash away. Older kids and younger children can both enjoy this activity!

Leaf Prints

Leaf Prints from Growing Family: When fall comes around, gather leaves of various shapes and sizes to make leaf prints with paint in fall colors. You can also do this in the spring with freshly picked leaves and flowers! It’s such a fantastic way to incorporate a nature lesson into your art!

Color Collage Art

Color Collage Art from Happiness is Homemade: This color collage activity is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers to reinforce color recognition. Best of all, it requires no prep! Simply encourage the kids to find small objects around the house (or from a provided assortment of craft supplies) that match the color of the paper and glue them to the page.

Mosaic Heart Chalk Activity

Mosaic Heart Chalk Activity from Bilingual Beginnings: Grab your sidewalk chalk and painter’s tape to work with your preschooler on this fantastic outdoor art activity. The geometric heart is outlined in painters tape, and once that is done, the kids can get to work with their chalk. When you peel the tape away, the final result is a lovely mosaic that looks almost like stained glass!

Stomping Bubble Wrap Painting

Stomping Bubble Wrap Painting from The Soccer Mom Blog:  Bubble wrap is fantastic for using with paint to create interesting texture on your artwork, but have you ever thought of wrapping your kids’ feet in bubble wrap? Try it! If you don’t have any bubble wrap on hand, try substituting plastic bags! They’ll love stomp painting to create artwork for their bedrooms!

Water Pistol Painting

Water Pistol Painting from Messy Little Monster: Grab the kids’ squirt guns for this fantastic fun painting activity. How fun is it to put paint in a water gun and squirt it all over a canvas? Preschoolers will totally dig this outdoor activity!

Monster Truck Splatter Painting

Monster Truck Splatter Painting from Happiness is Homemade: Boys are going to love this true process art technique using the wheels of their toy cars and trucks to spread paint all over the canvas! Of course, girls who love cars will enjoy this activity, too!

Hammered Nature Art

Hammered Nature Art from Barley & Birch: This art project is a hands-on way to experiment with natural pigments. Hammer out flowers, leaves, stems, and loose petals to see which colors result. Not only is it a great way to use sight and touch, but young kids will discover all sorts of new fragrances as they squish out the plant pieces!

Warhol Art for Kids

Warhol Art for Kids from Still Playing School: Kids can create Andy Warhol-style paintings using their self-portraits repeated in rows. This technique encourages kids to think outside the box with colors!

Mixed Up Chameleon Rainbow Art

Mixed Up Chameleon Rainbow Art from Fun-a-Day: For extra fun, pair this art activity with the book   The Mixed-Up Chameleon ! Make rainbow scales by stamping paint on the canvas or paper with a wine cork.

Pour-Painted Pots

Pour-Painted Pots from Happiness is Homemade: Not only are these pour painted pots fun to make, but they make lovely gifts for Mother’s Day or anytime during spring when people are planting flowers, herbs, and other goodies.

Sunflower Art for Kids

Sunflower Art for Kids from Natural Beach Living: Sunflowers are so cheerful, aren’t they? Make one with the kids using paint and real sunflower seeds! Making uniform petals is super easy when you use a slightly squished toilet roll to stamp out the outlines of each one first.

Toilet Roll Stamp Flowers

Toilet Roll Stamp Flowers from Taming Little Monsters: After making the sunflower above, check out some other types of stamped flowers! (Toilet rolls are so useful for arts and crafts, so I hope you’re saving them!) In this case, you’ll cut the ends of the toilet paper tubes into petals to stamp out beautiful flowers. Think how lovely it would be if you did this on a big piece of craft paper or parchment paper to use as wrapping paper!

Mosaic Animal Collage

Mosaic Animal Collage from Happiness is Homemade: Tear and cut pieces of construction paper or tissue paper to make your favorite animal! This lion turned out pretty cute! Tearing and cutting are both excellent fine motor activities for little ones!

Crayon Resist Snowflake Art

Crayon Resist Snowflake Art from Messy Little Monster: Learning how to do crayon resist art is a great way to introduce kids to a new art technique. In this project, use white crayons to draw snowflakes on white paper. When you paint over them with watercolor paint, the snowflake designs will magically appear! This technique can be adapted for any season or theme.

Paintless Watercolor Process Art

Paintless Watercolor Process Art from Team Cartwright: Did you know that you could do watercolor art without watercolor paints? This art activity is so clever! Use markers and water to create gorgeous pastel watercolor art.

Paper Plate Fish Aquarium

Paper Plate Fish Aquarium from Director Jewels: Create an adorable aquarium using paper plates, paint, and construction paper. This project is perfect for teaching young children about different sea creatures and their habitats.

Bubble Wrap Rain Art

Bubble Wrap Rain Art from 1-2-3 Homeschool 4 Me: Combine bubble wrap and paint to create a rainy day scene with your preschooler! This project is perfect for discussing the weather and practicing fine motor skills.

Melted Crayon Butterflies

Melted Crayon Butterflies from Barley & Birch: Recycle an old white t-shirt or use muslin scraps to make these gorgeous melted crayon butterflies. This is such a fun way to use broken crayon pieces. Kids will need help with the ironing portion, and some may need help with cutting the fabric into butterfly shapes.

Fork-Painted Truffula Trees

Fork-Painted Truffula Trees from School Time Snippets: Fork painting can be used to create interesting textures in otherwise ordinary pictures. Take these Truffula trees inspired by the book The Lorax —don’t they have lots of texture and visual interest?

Splat Preschool Art

Splat Preschool Art from Fun-a-Day: Take this activity outdoors. It’s messy, but fun. Large pom-poms are dipped in paint and then splattered onto craft paper. Big kids will enjoy this activity just as much as your preschooler. Have them drop or throw the pom-poms from various distances from the paper to see how that changes the size and direction of the “splat.”

Oil and Water Droplet Painting

Oil and Water Droplet Painting from Stay at Home Educator: This oil and water painting combines art and science to create a beautiful piece of frame-worth art. However, we love that the art was used to make homemade gift tags. What a fun personal touch!

Rainbow Tape-Resist Art

Rainbow Tape-Resist Art from Little Bins for Little Hands: Here’s another tape-resist project that looks a little more abstract and geometric. It’s definitely a wall-worthy piece of art!

With process art activities, the focus is less on the final outcome and more on the creative ways that the children approach the creative process and their problem solving – both major benefits of art creation!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this amazing list of preschool crafts and creative activities! Don’t forget to save this list of fun art projects for later – there are so many fun ideas here for preschool and toddler art projects!

Check Out These Other Fun Kids’ Crafts!

Pin These Art Activities For Preschoolers For Later

Art Activities for Preschoolers Links

Pin this list of art activities for preschoolers to have projects ready to go anytime your kids are feeling crafty.

• Pom-Pom Painting from Happiness is Homemade
• Make Recycled Plantable Seed Paper from Happiness is Homemade
• Shaving Cream Art from Natural Beach Living
• Q-Tip Painted Dragonfly Craft from Projects with Kids
• Scrap Paper Design Composition from Barley & Birch
• Marble Painting from Happiness is Homemade
• Tape Resist Mess-Free Painting from The Soccer Mom Blog
• Fizzy Sidewalk Chalk from Messy Little Monster
• Leaf Prints from Growing Family
• Color Collage Art from Happiness is Homemade
• Mosaic Heart Chalk Activity from Bilingual Beginnings
• Stomping Bubble Wrap Painting from The Soccer Mom Blog
• Water Pistol Painting from Messy Little Monster
• Monster Truck Splatter Painting from Happiness is Homemade
• Hammered Nature Art from Barley & Birch
• Warhol Art for Kids from Still Playing School
• Mixed Up Chameleon Rainbow Art from Fun-a-Day
• Pour Painted Pots from Happiness is Homemade
• Sunflower Art for Kids from Natural Beach Living
• Toilet Roll Stamp Flowers from Taming Little Monsters
• Mosaic Animal Collage from Happiness is Homemade
• Crayon Resist Snowflake Art from Messy Little Monster
• Paintless Watercolor Process Art from Team Cartwright
• Melted Crayon Butterflies from Barley & Birch
• Fork-Painted Truffula Trees from School Time Snippets
• Splat Preschool Art from Fun-a-Day
• Oil and Water Droplet Painting from Stay at Home Educator
• Rainbow Tape-Resist Art from Little Bins for Little Hands

Heidi Kundin has captivated the hearts of millions with her colorful and inspiring approach to crafting, celebrations, and family fun. With over 15 years of experience, Heidi’s website has become a must-visit destination for those seeking quick and easy creative ideas and last-minute solutions. Her warm personality shines through her posts, inviting readers to join her on a creative journey that’s fun, rewarding, and achievable.

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37 of Our Favorite Easy Art Projects for Kids

Get their creative juices flowing.

The stress of tests and social dynamics can prove challenging for students, and for this reason, they need an opportunity to express themselves freely. Art provides a powerful outlet for creative expression while also proving therapeutic. Plus, a good art project can be particularly effective at getting kids to unplug from their devices. A simple art project can even fill some of downtime during the day for early finishers. Regardless of whether you teach preschool or high school, there is an art project for everyone. So gather some art supplies and try one of these easy art projects for kids!

Easy Art Projects for Pre-K Students

1. paper bag jelly fish.

As far as easy art projects for kids go, this one is perfect for preschoolers since it works on their hand-eye coordination and their cutting skills in particular. In addition to paper bags and scissors or pinking shears, you will need some paints, paintbrushes, googly eyes, and glue. If you’re really feeling ambitious, you can grab some sparkles too!

Learn more: Paper Bag Jelly Fish at No Time for Flash Cards

2. Tissue Paper Apple

Since everyone associates apples with fall and the start of school, this will be the perfect craft to start the school year off on the right foot. Simply draw an apple outline on a piece of paper and have small red and green tissue paper squares ready to be crumpled and glued by tiny hands.

Learn more: Tissue Paper Apple at Burlap + Blue

3. Fork Print Tulips

This project is both cute and simple, requiring only a fork, some heavyweight paper, and some paints. This project would be especially perfect for a Mother’s Day gift.

Learn more: Fork Tulip at Toddler at Play

4. Paper Bag Monster

First, paint the bag any color you want. Once dry, cut out shapes from card stock and assemble your monster!

Learn more: Paper Bag Monster Puppets at I Heart Crafty Things

5. Paper Plate Lion

All you need to re-create this adorable lion is orange and black paint, paintbrushes, paper plates, and scissors. Grab some Popsicle sticks to glue to the back and you’ll have a ferocious puppet show on your hands in no time!

Learn more: Paper Plate Lion at My Bored Toddler

6. Popsicle Stick Rainbow

Grab some blue card stock, cotton circles, and Popsicle sticks and have your students work on their gluing skills. This craft will prove effective at teaching little ones their colors. Choose either colored Popsicle sticks or have kids color them themselves.

Learn more: Popsicle Stick Rainbow at My Bored Toddler

7. Paper Plate Octopus

Kids love octopuses, especially adorable ones like these! This craft would be perfect for little ones still learning to count since they have a whopping eight legs to make.

Learn more: Paper Plate Octopus at Simple Every Day Mom

8. Macaroni Necklace

A staple of many of our childhoods, macaroni necklaces work on the dexterity of little fingers while also making perfect gifts. Add in some large beads as well for variety.

Learn more: DIY Macaroni Necklaces at Made To Be a Mama

Easy Art Projects for Elementary School Students

9. paper plate snake.

Have your students paint a paper plate with watercolors and then once dry, help them cut it in a swirl shape. Finally, add some googly eyes.

Learn more: Colorful Paper Plate Snakes at Pink Stripey Socks

10. Paper Roll Koala

This super-cute koala would make an adorable desk buddy since it stands up on its own. Kids will enjoy personalizing their koala’s face!

Learn more: Paper Roll Koala at Arty Crafty Kids

11. Leaf Pattern Drawing

We just love art projects that fill the entire page, and this one certainly fits the bill. The combination of crayon and watercolor paint create this multi-dimensional leaf print.

Learn more: Leaf Pattern at Art Projects for Kids

12. Woven Rainbow Fish

This project is perfect for working on students’ hand-eye coordination while being a cursory introduction to sewing. It’s challenging enough for even upper elementary school students while still being relatively simple.

Learn more: Rainbow Fish at Crafty Morning

13. Thumbprint Bugs

These thumbprint doodles are just so sweet and would perfectly complement a science lesson all about bugs. After having students try their hand at some of the thumbprint examples, let them use their imagination to see what other ideas they can cook up. You can even have them create bug jars out of card stock to put their new friends in!

Learn more: Thumbprint Bugs via Toot’s Mom Is Tired

14. Umbrella With Rain

Another fun art project that is really affordable to create since you only need paper plates, some paints, a roll of string, and some blue beads. We just love this clever approach to creating raindrops!

Learn more: Umbrella With Rain at Easy Peasy and Fun

15. Popsicle Stick Pencil

Nothing says back to school more than a cute pencil-themed craft. Have students add their names to them and then use them to decorate a September bulletin board in your classroom.

Learn more: Popsicle Stick Pencil at Crafty Morning

16. Craft Stick Airplane

Kids will unquestionably go crazy over these clothespin-and-Popsicle-stick airplanes. Regardless of whether they choose paint or permanent markers, students will enjoy personalizing their tiny flying machines.

Learn more: Craft Stick Airplane at Making Life Blissful

17. Pom-Pom Caterpillars

Since kids love pom-poms and caterpillars, this will be the perfect craft to grab their attention. Make sure to supply them with a fun variety of pom-poms and googly eyes.

Learn more: Pom-Pom Caterpillar at Easy Peasy and Fun

Easy Art Projects for Middle School Students

18. chalk christmas lights.

This is the perfect easy art project to do around the holiday season. You’ll need to create a stencil from card stock so you can create your light shapes. Once that is done, you can begin creating “light” with some chalk pastels. A silver Sharpie can be used to create your light string since it will show up nicely against the black paper.

Learn more: Christmas Light Chalk Stencil Art at Buggy and Buddy

19. Gratitude Journal

This project doubles as an art and writing activity since students can use their finished journals for writing prompts. These personalized journals beat store-bought ones any day!

Learn more: Handmade Gratitude Journal at Kids Activities Blog

20. Textured Hot-Air Balloon

This project is the perfect excuse to use up all your crafty odds and ends like feathers, glitter, and sequins. We love how unique each creation will be once they’re done.

Learn more: Textured Hot-Air Balloon at Artsy Momma

21. Layer Cakes

Regardless of students’ experience with oil pastels, this project will be a good introduction to the medium. Have students follow a step-by-step tutorial for drawing the outline of the layer cake, then let them use the pastels to bring their drawings to life.

Learn more: Cakes at Little Yeti

22. Chalk Planets

This is an inexpensive way to enhance a science unit on space while still getting creative. It’s inexpensive too since all you will need is some black paper and chalk.

Learn more: 18 Awesome Art Projects for Your Classroom at Teach Junkie

23. Back-to-School Rocks

Kids love painting rocks so why not make it school-themed? Show students some of these examples to copy or let them come up with some of their own, then spread them around the school’s grounds.

Learn more: Painted Rock Ideas at Color Made Happy

24. Dictionary Page Drawing

Easy art projects for kids that also double as vocabulary lessons? Yes, please! This project will prove especially educational as students are tasked with illustrating a word on an old dictionary page.

Learn more: Illustrated Dictionary Pages at Art Teacher Creature

25. Paper Collage Painting

Students will enjoy creating their collages from a variety of materials. Even better—this project is a great way to encourage recycling since old cereal boxes and other food labels can be ripped into strips and repurposed.

Learn more: Painting With Paper at Megan Coyle Artist & Illustrator

26. Crayon Resist Art

This simple project can be done without a lot of instruction and will work for students of any age. This project runs on the same idea as some Easter egg–decorating kits in that the paint or dye sticks to the areas not covered in wax, or in this case, crayon.

Learn more: Fun Watercolor Resist Art at Kids Activities Blog

27. Number Art

If you have some math whizzes in your class, they will likely enjoy this number-themed art project. Grab some large number stencils and paints and you’ll be ready for this low-setup project.

Learn more: 5th Grade Number Project at Art Room Blog

28. Woven Baby Turtle

Select three mini Popsicle sticks, paint them, and then glue them together to form your turtle’s body. Finally, select your yarn and weave it around your turtle. Be sure to have a lot of fun colors to choose from!

Learn more: Weaving Cute Baby Turtles at Pink Stripey Socks

Easy Art Projects for High School Students

29. yarn-wrapped letter.

All you will need to create this craft is some leftover cardboard, a bunch of different yarns, and some scissors. Teens especially will enjoy this project as the end result can be used as decoration in their bedrooms and eventually their dorm rooms!

Learn more: 14 Crafts for Teens and Tweens at Art Bar Blog

30. Elevated Macaroni Necklace

Some easy art projects for kids and teens can even double as fashion! Despite their association with preschool, these are definitely not your little brother’s or sister’s macaroni necklaces. Swapping out twine with an actual chain makes these necklaces look surprisingly high-end.

Learn more: 12 Pasta Necklaces We Need Right Now at Mum’s Grapevine

31. Neuro Doodle Design

This is a simple and mindful art project that can be enjoyed by students regardless of their art experience. This art process was invented by Russian psychologist and architect Pavel Piskarev in 2014.

Learn more: Simple Mindful Art Project at Inside Out Art Teacher

32. Crepe Paper Flowers

This is the perfect project for early finishers to do since each flower only takes 5 minutes to create. In addition to being a fun project, these flowers would also make for beautiful classroom decor.

Learn more: Easy Crepe Paper Flowers at DIY Candy

33. CD Fish

Easy art projects for kids that utilize outdated technology? Why not? Although this project could work for any age group, older kids will be able to personalize their fish using a variety of add-on materials. Be prepared to explain to your students what CDs are since they were born long after their demise!

Learn more: Make Your Own Fish Aquarium at Super Simple

34. Pencil Sculpture

While this project can get complicated, simpler structures can be completed using fewer pencils. The preparation is minimal, requiring just a bunch of pencils and elastics, but the reward will be big when you see what your students create!

Learn more: Geometric Sculpture From 72 Pencils at Instructables

35. Ribbon Garland

This project is another good time-filler since it can be worked on and then picked up again later and continued. It’s also a good lesson in recycling since you can ask students to bring in any fabric or ribbons that may be sitting around their houses unused.

Learn more: Easy DIY Fabric Garland at Project Nursery

36. Origami

Origami paper is inexpensive and can be bought in bulk, making this an affordable and low-preparation art project. Additionally, it is perfect for high school students who are better equipped to follow along with an instructional video.

Learn more: 12 Origami Projects for Kids at Mom Loves Best

37. Layered Landscape

Keep those cereal boxes and old magazines since they’re perfect for ripping up to create layered art! We especially love how much room there is in this project for individual creativity.

Learn more: Layered Landscape at Art Camp Studio

What are your favorite easy art projects to do in the classroom? Come and share your ideas in our  We Are Teachers HELPLINE group  on Facebook.

Plus,  get ideas for great auction art projects .

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12 Most Fun Art Activities for Preschoolers

• By MontessoriAcademy
• June 17, 2022
• No Comments

This is a fun way to stimulate the interest of a preschooler. Make their finger paintings lovely by using various hues of paint. Give them a drawing pad and let them draw any object they come up with. It can be messy work, but it is a great hands-on activity.

The idea is to make it fun for the kids and keep them interested in the activity. During this process, the preschoolers learn how to use their fingers and hands creatively and enjoy the process of making art.

• Supplies: Paint of all colors, two pieces of paper, and one drawing pad.
• Give the child a clean paper and a piece of paper with paint.
• Ask the child to place his hand on the paper and make a print of it on the form. Let the children play with different colors of paints.
• Let them mix colors in their paints to make new shades or use all one color for painting their fingerprints. 
• Give them a drawing pad and ask them to draw anything they like with their prints.

3. Painting with Coffee Filters

Coffee filters  are accessible and inexpensive. And since they are reusable indefinitely, they are ideal for a preschool art project. You can use them to create beautiful crafts. You can even give the children a template and let them trace the design on their cups. They’ll have a blast making decorations out of coffee filters!

• Supplies: coffee filters and paint.
• Procedure: Let your child take cups, paint, and glue to make their design. Encourage the kids to use different colors.

4. Tissue Paper Collage

Tissue paper  is an excellent art medium. It is inexpensive and easy to use. Use pieces of tissue paper to create pictures with the help of an adult. This may also be a fun craft activity for preschoolers.

This activity uses small pieces of tissue paper with which to make a collage. The preschooler can determine how large their picture will be and how much they’ll use to create it. They may need your assistance in gluing the tissue to a piece of paper.

• Supplies: Glue stick, tissue paper, paintbrush, and an old book or a piece of paper.
• Procedure: 
• Collect the materials and help your child cut out all the pieces of tissue paper.
• Give them a template, and let them trace the shapes on the tissue paper.
• Let them decorate their book with tissue paper pictures.
• Use a glue stick to attach the images to the book’s pages. 
• Cut out all the pages and connect them using a glue stick on a piece of paper. 

5. Paper Plate Weaving

This is another interesting art project you want to try with the preschoolers.  Using paper plates , you can create a cute weaving pattern. Let them be creative and add as many stripes and colors to their paper plate weaving as they like. This can be an excellent craft idea for toddlers too.

• Supplies: Paper plates, paint, glue stick, and colorful yarns.
• Procedure:  
• Let your child paint paper plates with different colors of paint.
• Let them make a weaving by interweaving the yarns on the plate. Let them be creative and use as many colors and patterns as they like. 
• Let them draw designs on the plate while they are weaving.

6. Color Collage

A  color collage  is another fun art project for preschoolers. This activity involves using different colors and shapes of paper to create a beautiful picture. You can use this activity to provide hands-on opportunities for the children to develop their fine motor skills while engaging in an exciting project.

• Supplies: Glue stick, colored paper, and scissors.
• Collect the materials and cut out different shapes from colored papers.
• Let them glue the forms on the other sides of a piece of paper.
• Help them cut and paste various shapes using brilliant colors and patterns.

7. Balloon Prints

Balloon prints are made with balloons and paint. Warm-up your shoes and help the children make balloon prints on a piece of paper. This is an exciting way to use balloons in creating art. It’s also fun to use your child’s imagination and creativity.

• Supplies: Balloons, paint, paper, and a glue stick.
• Use a glue stick to attach the balloons to a paper.
• Let them paint the balloon with different colors and patterns.
• Let them use their imagination and create a unique design on their balloon print.

8. Watercolor Resist Art

Watercolor resists art and is an excellent medium for preschoolers. The children can  explore their artistic development and expression  through this craft. It’s a fun way to create murals with watercolor painting resist sheets.

Watercolor resist sheets are available in the market in different colors and sizes. You can even make your watercolor resists from tissue paper or cardboard sheets. This is an excellent activity for children who like to paint and draw, as they become creative in creating their artworks using this medium.

• Supplies: Watercolor paint, watercolor resist sheets and a tray. 
• Help the children paint their artwork on a piece of paper.
• Let them use the watercolor resist sheet and make a mural.
• Encourage them to be innovative and imaginative while making their mural by adding several shapes of whatever they like.
• Attach it to the wall or any place you want it to be permanent.

9. Ice Paint

Making ice paint is a fantastic and creative art activity perfect for preschoolers. Children can try this activity to explore their creativity and learn about the different colors. You can have an ice-great cold face painting session with the kids. Children will love playing with it and creating their first painting.

• Supplies: Watercolor paint, a tray, paintbrush, and paper.
• Get an ice cube tray and fill it with watercolor paint.
• With a paintbrush, apply the paint to the paper.
• Put plastic wrap over the form and freeze until you have solid paint sheets.
• For an extra sparkly effect, add glitter or glue!

10. Make Your Musical Instrument

Doing an instrument project is a great way to play with musical instruments and learn how they work. This can also be a fun art activity for preschoolers. Using various materials, they can make their drum, guitar, and even piano.

• Supplies: Plastic material, cardboard scissors, tape, paper, and a glue stick.
• Procedures:
• Collect the materials needed and help the children cut out a square from a plastic material.
• Let them decorate it by adding shapes and paint. 
• Cut out a long tape and secure the plastic material to cardboard. 
• Assist the children in binding their instruments to the cardboard.
• Let them use their imagination and create their very own instrument!

11. Recycled Art

Art made out of  recycled items  is a unique way to preserve waste materials. While this activity is not traditional art, it helps children learn the importance of conservation and the environment. They can practice their creative skills by using fewer resources and making something useful from plastic bags, old newspapers, and CDs.

• Supplies: Glue stick, cutout template, coloring books or magazines, paper or construction paper, and felt-tip pens or paintbrushes.
• Collect the materials needed for making recycled art. 
• Follow the suggested steps in making the cutout and decorate it with a glue stick.
• Cut art from a coloring book or newspaper and paste it on the template. 
• Encourage children to be creative and imaginative while doing this craft.

12. Drawing Games

Drawing games are a great way to encourage kids to draw, which is an integral part of a child’s development. Drawing activities can also help kids  develop their fine motor skills  and creativity. The following are some ideas for drawing games that you can try with your preschooler!

• Picture This! – Give each child a piece of paper, and have them draw something on it with crayons or markers. When they’re done, have them show it off to the class by lining up their drawings along one wall or across the floor. You may even want to invite other adults in the neighborhood who don’t have children at home to check out all the different pictures!
• Let’s Color – Divide your students into pairs or small groups (depending on how many kids are in your classroom). Give each team an assortment of colored pencils; then tell them they need to color all over their partner’s body using only those colors—no white allowed!

Final Thoughts

Doing art with preschoolers is an incredible experience for both teachers and students. It opens up a whole new world of opportunities for children to improve their art skills. And the best part is, it can be done right in your classroom!

Do you have some ideas for what to do with your preschoolers? Have you decided to start an art activity program in your school, or would you like to incorporate art into other classroom-based activities?  Montessori Academy  is the perfect place to begin your search!

We offer a wide selection of art and music products and teaching resources to take your preschool art program to the next level. Aiming to incorporate art into your daily classroom activities can be tricky. Still, it’s a great way to jumpstart the process and introduce art as an integrated part of your daily curriculum.

Read more about our art and music products and teaching resources.  Contact us today  to get started!

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20 Easy Open Ended Preschool Art Activities

Open-ended art activities are a gateway to unlocking a child’s imagination, encouraging them to think outside the box, and embracing their unique ideas.

They provide a canvas for little ones to freely express themselves, explore various materials, and develop their fine motor skills.

We shall now explore fun & easy Open Ended Preschool Art Activities that are sure to captivate your child’s attention and spark their artistic flair.

Nature Collage:

Take your preschoolers on an outdoor adventure to collect a variety of natural materials such as leaves, flowers, twigs, and pebbles. Provide them with a large sheet of paper and some glue. Encourage the children to arrange and stick the natural materials onto the paper, creating their own unique nature collage. Watch as their imagination takes flight, as they explore different colors, shapes, and textures. This activity not only promotes creativity but also connects children with the natural world, fostering an appreciation for the beauty that surrounds them.

Sensory Painting:

Prepare a sensory painting experience by setting up a variety of textured materials such as bubble wrap, sponges, and fabric squares. Pour different colors of paint onto shallow containers. Let the children dip the textured materials into the paint and explore the different sensations as they press them onto a large sheet of paper. This activity stimulates their sense of touch, encourages experimentation, and allows for a multi-sensory art experience. The resulting artwork will be a vibrant and textured masterpiece.

Related: 20 Incredible Games Like Hopscotch

Playdough Sculptures:

Playdough is a versatile and beloved medium for preschoolers. Set up a playdough station with different colors of playdough and various tools such as rolling pins, cookie cutters, and plastic knives. Let the children unleash their creativity by sculpting their own unique creations. They might make animals, food, or even imaginary creatures. This activity not only enhances fine motor skills but also encourages imaginative play and storytelling as children bring their playdough sculptures to life.

Shadow Tracing:

Harness the power of light and shadows in this engaging art activity. Set up a light source, such as a lamp, and position objects with interesting shapes in front of it. Place a sheet of paper on a flat surface and invite the children to trace the shadows cast by the objects using pencils or crayons. This activity encourages observational skills, hand-eye coordination, and the understanding of spatial relationships. The children will delight in capturing the intricate details of the shadows and creating their own shadow-inspired artworks.

Related: 20 Playful Fall Themed Games for Preschoolers

Recycled Art:

Encourage sustainability and creativity by engaging preschoolers in a recycled art project. Collect a variety of recyclable materials such as cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, and egg cartons. Provide child-safe scissors, glue, and a range of art supplies like markers, paint, and colored paper. Let the children transform these materials into new and exciting artworks. They can create robots from boxes, flowers from egg cartons, or use plastic bottles as paintbrushes. This activity not only nurtures creativity and resourcefulness but also teaches children the value of repurposing materials to reduce waste.

Bubble Wrap Printing:

Unleash the excitement of bubble wrap in a unique printing activity. Cut small squares of bubble wrap and place them flat on a table. Squeeze different colors of paint onto shallow plates or trays. Invite the children to dip the bubble wrap into the paint and then press it onto the paper. As they press down, they’ll witness the bubbles leave behind colorful prints. Encourage experimentation with different colors and patterns. This activity not only introduces children to printmaking techniques but also provides a sensory experience as they pop the bubbles and create their own textured masterpieces.

Related: 100 Funny Lego Jokes for Kids of All Ages

Shape Collage:

Introduce shapes in a fun and creative way with a shape collage activity. Cut out various shapes, such as circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles, from colorful paper. Provide a large sheet of paper and a glue stick. Let the children arrange and glue the shapes onto the paper to create their own unique collages. Encourage them to explore different arrangements, overlapping shapes, and creating patterns. This activity promotes shape recognition, spatial awareness, and the development of fine motor skills.

Tissue Paper Stained Glass:

Bring vibrant colors and light into the art space with a tissue paper stained glass project. Cut out various shapes from black construction paper or cardstock, creating a frame-like design. Attach a clear plastic sheet or contact paper to the back of the frame. Cut or tear small pieces of colored tissue paper. Invite the children to arrange and stick the tissue paper onto the plastic sheet, creating a beautiful stained glass effect. Hang their creations in the window, and watch as the sunlight filters through, casting a colorful glow. This activity not only explores color and transparency but also introduces children to the concept of light and shadow.

Yarn Painting:

Unleash creativity and texture with yarn painting. Set up a large sheet of paper or cardboard. Provide liquid glue and a variety of colorful yarns. Encourage the children to dip the yarn into the glue and then press it onto the paper, creating abstract designs, shapes, or even letters. They can experiment with different lengths and thicknesses of yarn, creating unique textures and patterns. This activity enhances fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination, and introduces children to the concept of different art mediums.

Playful Patterns:

Introduce patterns and designs with playful pattern activities. Provide pattern blocks, colorful paper, markers, and glue sticks. Let the children explore creating their own patterns by arranging the blocks on the paper or by drawing patterns using markers. They can also use the pattern blocks to create unique designs and pictures. Encourage them to share their patterns with others and discuss the different ways patterns can be created. This activity enhances critical thinking, mathematical concepts, and artistic exploration.

Nature Weaving:

Take advantage of the beauty of nature by engaging children in a nature weaving activity. Collect sticks or twigs of various lengths and thicknesses. Create notches at the ends of two parallel sticks, forming a rectangular or square frame. Provide children with natural materials like leaves, grass, feathers, and ribbons. Encourage them to weave these materials through the gaps between the sticks, creating a nature-inspired weaving. This activity promotes fine motor skills, introduces children to basic weaving techniques, and allows them to appreciate the textures and colors of natural materials.

Marble Painting:

Get ready for a fun and exciting painting experience with marbles. Place a sheet of paper inside a shallow box or tray. Squeeze small amounts of paint in different colors onto the paper. Drop a few marbles into the box and encourage the children to tilt and rotate the box, causing the marbles to roll through the paint and create colorful tracks on the paper. They can experiment with different movements and angles to produce unique patterns. This activity enhances hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills, and introduces children to cause and effect relationships.

Paper Bag Puppets:

Combine art and imaginative play by creating paper bag puppets. Provide paper bags, markers, colored paper, googly eyes, and craft materials. Let the children decorate the paper bags by drawing faces, adding features like ears or antennae, and gluing on different materials to create characters. Encourage them to engage in storytelling and put on puppet shows using their creations. This activity nurtures creativity, fosters storytelling skills, and provides a platform for self-expression and dramatic play.

Turn art-making into a whirlwind of excitement with spin art. Secure a paper plate or cardstock to a spinning device such as a lazy Susan or an electric fan. Drip or splatter paint onto the spinning surface, allowing the centrifugal force to spread and mix the colors, creating unique spin art designs. Children can experiment with different color combinations, control the amount of paint, and observe the patterns that emerge. This activity stimulates curiosity, introduces children to the concept of motion and forces, and produces fascinating and vibrant artworks.

Free Drawing:

Sometimes, the most open-ended art activity is simply providing children with paper and drawing materials. Set up a designated art area with a variety of drawing tools such as crayons, markers, colored pencils, and pastels. Encourage children to let their imaginations run wild and draw whatever comes to mind. Offer prompts or themes for inspiration, but ultimately allow them to explore their own ideas and create freely. This activity promotes self-expression, and fine motor skills, and encourages children to trust their own creative instincts.

Salt Dough Creations:

Engage preschoolers in a hands-on activity by making salt dough and creating unique sculptures. Mix together 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 cup of salt, and 1 cup of water to form a dough. Provide the children with the salt dough and let their imaginations guide them as they shape and mold the dough into various objects, such as animals, flowers, or their favorite characters. Once the sculptures are complete, let them air dry or bake them in the oven according to the dough recipe. After they have dried, children can paint their creations to add color and personality to their salt dough masterpieces.

Texture Rubbings:

Introduce children to the world of textures through texture rubbings. Collect objects with different textures, such as leaves, coins, or textured fabric. Place a sheet of paper over the object and encourage children to use crayons or pencils to rub over the paper, revealing the textures underneath. They can experiment with different pressures and angles to capture the details of each texture. This activity not only develops observational skills but also encourages children to explore the tactile qualities of different surfaces and materials.

Music and Movement Painting:

Combine art, music, and movement in a dynamic painting experience. Set up a large canvas or a sheet of paper on the floor. Provide children with various painting tools, such as brushes, sponges, or even their hands and feet. Play different types of music and invite children to respond to the music through their movements and painting. They can dance, jump, or twirl while applying paint to the canvas, creating expressive and vibrant artwork. This activity stimulates creativity, enhances gross motor skills, and allows children to explore the connection between art and music.

Collage Sculptures:

Encourage three-dimensional creativity with collage sculptures. Provide children with a variety of materials, such as cardboard tubes, paper scraps, fabric, buttons, and pipe cleaners. Let them explore and experiment with combining these materials to create their own unique sculptures. They can use glue or tape to secure the pieces together and transform ordinary materials into imaginative and colorful artworks. This activity promotes spatial awareness, and fine motor skills, and encourages children to think in three dimensions.

Edible Art:

Combine creativity and a tasty treat with edible art. Provide children with a selection of edible materials such as fruits, vegetables, bread, cheese, and spreads like peanut butter or cream cheese. Let them use edible materials to create their own artwork or designs on a plate. They can arrange slices of fruit to form colorful patterns or use spreads to draw pictures. This activity not only stimulates creativity and fine motor skills but also introduces children to healthy food choices and encourages them to explore different tastes and textures.

Recommended:

• 15 Easy Social and Emotional Activities for Preschoolers
• 20 Fun Disney Activities for Preschoolers
• 25 Exciting Dance Activities for Preschoolers

Syeda Faryal

Syeda Faryal is an innovative Curriculum Specialist known for her impactful educational curriculum designs. With 8+ years of experience in teaching elementary students and a B.Ed from Allama Iqbal University , she prioritizes holistic development and meaningful learning experiences.

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Kids activities, Art, Books for kids, and Preschool Activities

Written by Muneebah November 29, 2023 • Leave a Comment

Christmas Activities For Preschoolers Pack

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my  disclosure policy here.

Christmas is a magical, busy time of the year! To make it a little easier for you, I’ve put together many week’s worth of fun Christmas activities for preschoolers in the form of a Christmas Preschool Activities Pack .

With OVER 20 different activities that target math, literacy, fine motor skills, vocabulary, and creative arts – this will be your most relaxed and fun-filled holiday break yet! These activities are ideal for some learning fun at home and in the classroom. I love sending it home with the kids over winter break.

Looking for a Winter Activity Pack? Our Winter Activities Pack is toddler and preschooler-friendly. Don’t miss out!

I love using Christmas crafts to teach during the holiday season! Crafts are one of the best ways for kids to practice important early life skills like cutting, pasting, drawing, coloring, and writing.

The best part?

These hands-on DIY projects double as items you can use for decorating your classroom or home! It will add a personal touch and make your little one feel special.

Table of Contents

Check out the video for an idea of what activities you can get your hands on:

Christmas Activities for Preschoolers Pack

This pack is filled with 24 fun Christmas activities AND no prep worksheets. Use your little ones’ excitement for Christmas to keep them engaged and entertained all month long! If you ask me, a happy preschooler is one of the best gifts I could ask for…

Supplies Needed:

These activities are adaptable. Basically, you can use what you have and make it work! These activities are designed to be low prep and tons of fun. These are a few items you might prefer to have:

• Markers, color pencils, or crayons
• Clothespins

Activities Included:

Here is our selection of preschool Christmas activities included in the printable pack. Undoubtedly, they’re one of our most loved Christmas printables for a reason!

• Christmas Worksheets

Check out these awesome no-prep worksheets, which are also included in the pack:

Developing Emotional Intelligence in Children

These are a combination of fine motor, math, literacy, and art worksheets included in the activity pack. A popular one in my classroom was the Emotions Matching! The kids loved expressing the faces themselves and having the others decode their emotions. We talked about the basics of empathy and understanding feelings. Here are more ideas for Teaching Children about Emotions . Our Calm Down Cards are a free resource that my readers love! It’s ideal when covering the topic of emotions and can certainly be used as an awesome calming and emotional regulation strategy.

WHERE TO GET THIS ACTIVITY

GET THE CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES PACK

How Holiday Crafts Benefit Child Development

You may notice that holiday crafting has a calming effect on your child. While FUN is one of our main objectives, we like to ensure that our activities also have a meaningful purpose. Here are some benefits of holiday crafts:

• Enhances fine motor skills : Coloring, cutting, twisting, glue-ing, and other tasks are frequently included in crafts, which help kids develop their fine motor skills.
• Encourages visual-processing skills : Crafting helps with pattern identification, sequence detection, and spatial rotation—all of which are necessary for reading and math.
• Promotes fun and bonding : Art projects are a hit with kids of all ages, and crafting gives kids and adults a unique, creative way to connect. This one is a personal experience for me. Even if organizing a craft project looks like a lot of work initially, know that the results are well worth the effort.
• Challenges executive function skills: Executive function is critical in helping children acquire planned behavior. Crafting enhances working memory and concentration. These two qualities are vital in the classroom and daily life.
• Encourages imagination and creativity: Children can be imaginative and creative when they work on crafts. They can then use it in other recreational and academic tasks.

To learn more about How Holiday Crafts Benefit Child Development , check out this post.

More Free Christmas Activities

• How to Draw a Snowman
• Winter Coloring Pages
• How to Draw a Christmas Tree
• Fizzing Christmas Science Experiments
• Santas Beard – Christmas Cutting Activity

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PreKindergarten Program

(4-5 years old)

It’s their senior year of preschool! We get them ready for the years ahead.

We build warm, welcoming, and supportive classrooms for children of all abilities, backgrounds, and experiences.

Explore the prekindergarten classroom

Take a look at how we set up our classroom for prekindergartners. It’s organized for their age and stage of learning and development.

Writing the ABCs

In pre-K, your child will practice how to write their name—and you’ll start to see it all over their artwork! We’ll also work on our ABCs, using letters and drawings to describe things like people, places, experiences, and feelings.

Friends and feelings

Social skills are a big focus in pre-K as your child gets ready for kindergarten. Your child will work on talking through big feelings and resolving conflicts with words. They’ll also talk about themselves and their families, and learn about each other’s similarities and differences.

Inside a prekindergartner’s day

Your preschooler’s classroom will follow a daily rhythm . No matter what play and learning activities they’re engaged in, preschoolers always come together for group time, to play outside, and to enjoy healthy meals with one another.

Group time happens every day in each of our our classrooms. For prekindergartners, teachers use this time to talk about the day or read a book before they move on to child-directed math, literacy, or small-group activities!

Meals and snacks

Every day, prekindergartners sit down to a meal with healthy fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. We never serve juice or fried foods!

Outdoor playtime

Most of our classes spend 20–30 minutes outside at least twice a day, weather permitting. In addition to unstructured playtime, prekindergartners will do things like draw maps together, stretch or play games!

Prekindergarten curriculum

In pre-K, your child will deepen their knowledge in language, math, science, Spanish, and social skills. We meet every child where they are, so children of all abilities, including English-language learners, will learn at their own pace, in their own way.

Building brain power and strong bodies

Your prekindergartner’s mind is ready for simple addition, subtraction, and science predictions! That’s why we build the cognitive skills they need for math and science. They’ll also participate in at least two hours of movement each day.

Being a good friend and solving problems together

Prekindergartners practice resolving conflicts with words on their own or with a teacher’s help. We also teach kindness and respect by helping kids talk about themselves and their families, so they learn to appreciate each other’s differences and similarities.

Making up stories and writing their names

Children tell stories with a beginning, middle, and end! We practice writing as a form of expression, whether your child can write words like their full name or is still working on the first letter of their name.

Making art and playing music

Creative expression really comes alive at this age! Kids can express themselves with all the art mediums, follow multi-step directions while moving around, and play instruments while making up songs!

Prekindergarten classroom activities

U.S. States

Kids journal about states they have lived in and visited, and then discuss! We’ll also explore two- and three-dimensional shapes on state flags and the U.S. flag.

Natural Patterns

We’ll head outside and use items like leaves, rocks, pinecones, and twigs to create patterns—starting simple, then moving on to more complex patterns.

Parking Cars

Kids identify numerals written in parking spaces drawn on paper. They park the cars in the right spaces based on the number a teachers says.

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• Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Activities and Centers for Preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten

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It’s turkey time, and that means Thanksgiving activities and centers for your classroom!  In this post, learn how to engage your students in hands-on, Thanksgiving-themed learning activities they will love.  Make learning so much fun so they don’t even realize they are doing work! Don’t forget to grab your FREE Thankful placemat later in the post!

> Grab my Thanksgiving Math and Literacy Centers ,  Thanksgiving Fine Motor Mats , Thankful Social Skills Unit , and My Body & Teeth Science Unit for everything you need to bring Thanksgiving to your classroom! <<

Grab the FREEBIE by entering your email in the box at the bottom of this post . This post contains affiliate links which means I earn a tiny commission when you use my links at no cost to you.

Thanksgiving Activities and Centers

Turkey Cookies!  Make a fun Thanksgiving snack with your little learners, turkey cookies! I put everything on a plate beforehand, so all I had to do was pass out a plate to each child. Each plate had a plain sugar cookie, chocolate frosting, a popsicle stick for spreading, candy corn, and edible eyes. Once they had made their turkeys, I added the red frosting for the waddle. 

Literacy Thanksgiving Activities and Centers

Turkey Letter and Sound Match ! Check out this beginning sound and letter match-up-turkey style.  I put some corn kernels in a tub and then added the letter feathers, sound feathers, and magnet letters.  I even threw in some magnet letters that didn’t match! 

Thanksgiving Letter Puzzles ! I hid these Thanksgiving letter puzzles in my sensory bin.  Students matched the uppercase and lowercase letters to create the picture.  Hiding puzzle pieces or game pieces in a sensory bin is a calming activity that stimulates students’ senses. 

Thanksgiving Syllables Dinner ! Students clapped the number of syllables in various foods and placed them onto the corresponding plate.  Add more movement and have students JUMP the syllables.  Trust me; it is a ton of fun! 

Thanksgiving Writing Center! Add Thanksgiving-themed writing paper and vocabulary cards to your writing center.  I also added fall-colored dot markers and fall stickers to the center.

Thankful Placemat! Do you do a Thanksgiving celebration in your classroom?  Grab these thankful placemats to have something engaging for students to do while they celebrate.  Students can draw what they are thankful for in the middle and write it on the line at the top.

>>Grab the FREEBIE by entering your email in the box at the bottom of this blog post!<<

Thankful Turkey Craft ! Each student made their own thankful turkey craft.  On each feather, they wrote and drew things they were thankful for.  This is included in my I Am Thankful pack  too.

Thankful Books ! The Thanksgiving season gives us an opportunity to talk about being thankful.  Children can identify what gratefulness looks like, what it feels like, what we are thankful for, and how we can show others we are thankful.  Students colored mini I am Thankful books after we read The Thankful Book by Todd Parr. You can also put blank thank you cards for students to write thank you cards to their friends and family.

Thanksgiving Book List !  Check out my list of Thanksgiving books that are perfect for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students. They are books that I use in my classroom and are hand-picked over the years as our favorites. 

10 Fat Turkey Retelling Activity ! One of my favorite Thanksgiving books is 10 Fat Turkeys .  It is a cute story, and as a bonus, I can use it to teach rhyme and informal subtraction!  I drew a line on the board for the fence and placed the 10 turkeys on it.  Students helped me put the numbers above the turkeys in order, and now we are identifying numbers too!  As I read, the students take the turkeys off one by one.  

Math Thanksgiving Activities and Centers

Turkey Color Sort! D raw turkey faces on paper towel tubes and cut them into thirds. Then tape one feather to each one. Students will then use tweezers or tongs to pick up other feathers and place them into the matching turkey. 

Turkey Shape Match ! Students will practice sorting shapes with these fun shape turkeys! There are printable mats and then feathers that the students add to each turkey to complete his tail feathers. 

Pattern Block Turkeys!  I gave students a felt or foam circle, googly eyes, a beak, and a waddle. Then they glued it all together. Next, the little learners used pattern blocks to create the rest of the turkey. This is such a fun project to encourage spatial awareness growth and creativity. 

Feather Patterns !  Practice forming and extending patterns with pipe cleaners placed on the turkey mats. You could also use small feathers, strips of paper, or another colored manipulatives you have in your classroom.

Turkey Number Match! It’s so important to integrate sensory into different activities as the weather changes, and we have to stay inside more.  Those yucky days when students can’t go outside can be tough.  So I just had to do Thanksgiving turkey number puzzles hidden in the corn sensory bucket.

Thanksgiving Number Build It Mats ! Simply writing numbers on paper is boring.  So why not write numbers in corn? Students pick a number card, write the number in the corn, and count out the corresponding number of pom poms to fill the ten frames.  Students are developing one-to-one correspondence, identifying numbers, writing numbers, and developing fine motor skills in this activity.

Fine Motor & Art Thanksgiving Activities and Centers

Turkey Fine Motor!  Grab a foam ball and paint it black or brown. Next, glue on the eyes and beak. Students will poke feathers into the foam to create a cute turkey fine motor activity.

Thanksgiving Dinner Cutting Activity! Making a Thanksgiving dinner plate is a favorite in my class!  Grab some grocery store ads and cut them into manageable pieces (I cut mine on the folds).  Students cut yummy items from the ads and glue them to their plates.  If your students are struggling, draw a black line around the object.  Don’t forget to put an empty tub on the table for trash.

Turkey Hats!  Create these fun turkey hats by using a sentence strip and the feather pieces from the Thankful Turkey craft . I traced circles for the head, and students added in the details. They loved making these hats!

Thanksgiving Pie Play Dough Tray! When I think of Thanksgiving, I think of pie.  Create a pie-making play dough tray.  For this activity, I put out small pie pans, small pie servers, apple counters, pear counters, a rolling pin, pizza cutters, and a spice jar (with red pom poms inside) to accompany the play dough.  This play dough tray will build students’ fine motor muscles, hand-eye coordination, and imagination.  It would be a fun activity to do after you read There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie .

Turkey Play Dough Tray! Yes, two play dough trays for this theme!  For this turkey play dough tray, you will need brown play dough, feathers, eyes, beads, and orange pipe cleaners.  I had a turkey cookie cutter, so I added it to the tray too.  Students sculpt a turkey body with the play dough and add other items to create their turkey.  If you add dice, students can roll the dice and count out the corresponding number of feathers.

Pumpkin Pie Art! To keep the pie theme going, make puffy paint pies in art!  It’s easy to make puffy paint too.  It’s about equal parts, plain shaving cream (not the gel kind), white glue, and food coloring. Mix it all together to create the perfect consistency and color.  Then students spread orange puffy paint on a paper plate all the way to the edges.  Next, cut small strips of brown paper to make the crust, and since the paint has glue in it already, it will stick perfectly.  Lastly, place one cotton ball (aka whip cream) on top.

Corn Painting! Corn painting is the perfect open-end art activity for Thanksgiving.  Look at the beautiful prints the corn makes when you roll it!

Pumpkin Pie Sensory!  This is such a fun sensory bin and simple to put together! I used red lentils, mini pie plates , measuring spoons & cups, pumpkin cookie cutters, pumpkin mini erasers, and white pom poms. 

Turkey Bulletin Board Craft! Truth:  bulletin boards are not my favorite thing.  I always strive to make the bulletin boards in and outside of my classroom filled with student work.  This turkey has to be the cutest bulletin board I have ever made.  It’s festive, colorful, and made with love by my students!

  I cut long ovals for the feathers.  Students painted an AB pattern on each feather.  Students also helped me paint the circle turkey body and head.  Once everything was dry, I assembled the turkey and added the eyes, beak, and feet.

Science & STEM Thanksgiving Activities and Centers

Thanksgiving Blocks & STEM Props ! Take the Thanksgiving theme to the blocks center!  Add pumpkins, leaves, popsicle sticks, feathers, veggie counters, and cardboard pieces, and Fall STEM I Can Build Cards to get students building and engineering Thanksgiving things!

Healthy Me Science ! Thanksgiving is full of food so investigate healthy foods, their bodies, and healthy habits at the science table.  Sort pretend food and practice various exercises (and time them too).  You can find all of these printables in my My Body and Teeth Science Unit HERE .

Birds Science Unit !  Don’t want to study the body during Thanksgiving? No worries! Check out my Birds Science Unit to learn about all kinds of birds, their nests, and their habitats.

I Am Thankful Social Skills Unit ! You may also LOVE my I Am Thankful pack from the Social Skills Curriculum!  Go to my TPT store for even more activities and charts all about being thankful. 

Dramatic Play Idea

Grocery Store Dramatic Play!  My students love to play at the grocery store set-up! Check out this post to see how I set it up and all the fun ideas I use in my classroom. 

Grab the printable resources for the grocery store dramatic play here . 

I can’t wait for you to set up for classroom for Thanksgiving, and with all these resources and activities, your students will have a blast learning! Be sure to grab all the resources you need and get busy planning! Happy learning friends!

Check out this fun Turkey Letter & Color Sort for another great idea for Thanksgiving time in the classroom!

Make an adorable Thanksgiving craft with your students! Check out my post for Turkey Handprint Towels !

Love the activities?  Grab my Thanksgiving Math and Literacy Centers for tons of Thanksgiving activities & centers for little learners.

Teach little learners about being thankful with the I Am Thankful Social Skills Unit .

Get even more fine motor activities in my Thanksgiving Fine Motor Pack , which has mats for pattern blocks, pom poms, play dough, and more!

Check out this video for more Thanksgiving activities and centers.

Love it?  Pin it!

Hey, i’m jackie.

I’m Jackie, your go-to girl for early childhood inspiration and research-based curriculum. 

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