Used in a number of unexpected scenarios, creativity is essential to mental growth.
Art activities in preschool are a vital part of not only making the day exciting for young minds but also for developing motor skills and eye/hand coordination. And with just a few supplies per activity, the kids' inner artists experiment with creativity, an essential component to all future growth.
Animal Prints
Children learn the varying footprints of animals with this activity. Provide pieces of paper, squeeze some paint onto a thick paper plate and provide tools, such as spatulas or forks, whose pressed shapes resemble animals' footprints. Spatulas look like the webbed feet of a duck, and fork tines mimic chicken feet. Cut half the rim off a Styrofoam cup, and its imprint resembles horse hooves.
Multicultural Dolls
At this age, preschoolers begin to notice differences between themselves and others. "Boy versus girl" tends to be chief among them, but eventually different skin colors are noticed. Creating multicultural paper dolls out of colored construction paper helps instill a positive perspective on ethnicity. Depending on the age of your preschoolers, have them cut out traced silhouettes of the dolls. Aside from simply coloring in the dolls, provide glue for applying "wiggly" eyes, pieces of colored tissue paper or even fabric for clothing, yarn for hair, bottle caps for hats--the list is endless.
Recycled Art
Ask parents to send one grocery bag of recyclable materials with their children for a "Recycled Sculpture Day." You may wish to do this a week beforehand to ensure a variety of materials. The day of, show the children pictures of sculptures not only to give them ideas for their own creations but also to create a broader connection between their activities and the world of art beyond their four walls. If you want a sculpture theme, ideas include a family member or friend, a favorite pet, a building, a friendly monster or alien and the family car.
Making New Colors
This lesson is simple yet important, a fundamental of art class. Teach your children that red and blue make purple, yellow and blue make green and white and red make pink. Alongside a piece of paper and a brush, give each child a plate for every relational pair of colors. Ask them to mix the two and tell you which color they just made. Some students understand right away what they have just accomplished and get very excited.
Tie-Dye
A far cry from the original deep-stain technique, fill cups of water with several drops of food coloring. Get your preschoolers to fold--or wad up, as it will be--paper towels and wrap rubber bands tightly around different places. They then dip different parts of the paper towel into the colored water, squeezing out the excess after each dip. To prevent bleeding, it is best not to undo the rubber bands until the paper towel has dried to the point of dampness (versus being soaked). Tip: More rubber bands will yield a more complex design.
Tags: rubber bands, blue make, creativity essential, paper towel, your preschoolers