Coming up with great preschool craft ideas is not difficult. The most important thing to remember is your audience. Preschoolers are pretty simplistic folks. They can be quite creative when given the right tools, but they will do better with a simple project than a complex one. They also don’t need a lot of guidance. Preschoolers may need you to explain how to glue two objects together, mix paint, or add glitter, but they won’t need you to tell them what you want them to draw or paint. Give them some good examples to look at, get them started, and let them take it away.
With preschool craft ideas, sometimes more is better. The more different kinds of materials they have to play with, the more kids will get excited about a preschool craft idea. Use pipe cleaners, construction paper, glue, glitter, small beads if your kids are responsible, and anything else that might occur to you. Using brightly colored paper or even origami paper can be a lot of fun too. Crayons and colored pencils are fun, as are paints.
Sometimes, however, the opposite tack works a lot better. Sometimes giving preschoolers and narrow direction yields some of the best results. For example, you can have your preschool children react to a specific book they’re reading. They will have something to react to, and this will give them a lot more direction in their art. One of my favorite preschool craft ideas is to let my students do portraits of their best friends. The interesting thing about this project is that preschoolers don’t tend to draw their best friend, but a view of themselves in the portrait. By allowing them to make a picture of someone else, they can distance themselves from their own perceptions and really go in to some pretty sophisticated self-expression.
Of course, no preschool craft idea article would be complete without the obligatory section on noisemakers. Interactive art is a big thing with little kids in general. Two plates glued together with beans inside is a great way to allow your students to make a noise maker. Sometimes, with a little help, they can make maracas, rhythm sticks, and other more sophisticated noisemakers. Just be sure to give them all the supervision they need. Preschoolers can get into trouble with almost anything, and art supplies are no exception. If one of your kids gets hurt, even if only slightly, it will ruin everyone’s day.
