Preschool Crafts

The whole idea of preschool crafts is rather philosophical. Preschoolers are not going to make perfect crafts. Even if you try to get them to follow directions they are going to do exactly what they want to do. When you think about it, preschool crafts are perfect because they are a reflection of exactly what the child wanted to do rather than following the rules or directions that someone else came up with.

With that in mind, I think it is a lot more important to be ready at all times for your preschooler to express his or her creativity instead of trying to mold him or her into the perfect craft time. Here are some ideas for setting up your home for preschools crafts.

Preschool Craft Supplies

The main thing when working on crafts with your preschooler is to allow for maximum creativity. Kids that age have giant imaginations, and you’ll want to present them with lots of different craft materials to help them express themselves.

Get a large plastic storage tub, a toy box or even an old dresser and fill it up with potential craft supplies, including:

• white paper
• construction paper
• newsprint
• markers, crayons, colored pencils
• stickers
• glue
• glitter
• felt
• safety scissors
• washable paints
• paint brushes
• chalk
• craft sticks
• hole punches (round and decorative)
• tape
• pipe cleaners
• googly eyes
• yarn or string
• paper plates
• straws
• cotton balls

Craft Project Recycling

You can also add previously used items that would be great for craft projects, including:

• empty paper towel rolls
• scrap paper
• empty boxes (from match boxes to shoe boxes)
• old catalogs and magazines
• scraps of wrapping paper
• scraps of fabric
• old jars, cereal boxes or plastic containers
• newspaper
• egg cartons
• socks with holes in them
• old sheets and towels
• pieces of broken toys or games that have lost pieces
• things from nature like rocks, leaves, dried flowers, twigs, etc.

Just about anything, even if it seems like trash, can become part of a craft project for your preschooler.

Preschool Crafts

Your child probably doesn’t need a whole lot of guidance to come up with ways to entertain himself or herself in this box of wonder you’ve created. You might even find some fun projects in there yourself.

If you’re having trouble coming up with a craft to do with your preschooler, here are some ideas.

Handprint Crafts

Trace your child’s hand multiple times and make a wreath, Christmas tree, Thanksgiving turkey, a rainbow, a picture frame, a flower or whatever else you want.

Use paint to stamp a handprint onto paper and use it in a scrapbook that you will keep or on the cover of a photo album to send to the grandparents.

All Sorts of Animals

Kids are great at dreaming up fanciful animals or creating models of what they think animals look like. Using plastic or paper containers, paper towel rolls, paper, googly eyes, pipe cleaners and more, your kids can make fun made up animals.

Or guide them to make animals that actually look like real animals by using a paper plate and some cotton balls to make a little lamb or a plate with pipe cleaner legs to make a spider. These can be great holiday crafts.

Box City

Use a bunch of old boxes and paint to make a little town. Oatmeal boxes can be silos, while square and rectangular boxes can be businesses, homes or barns. Use a paper towel roll to add a smokestack, or cut up a flat piece of cardboard to make a roof.

You could even glue craft sticks onto the roof to make shingles. Cut out a door and let your child go wild playing with little cars and dolls in their new town.

Puppets

Probably the easiest puppets to make are made out of paper bags. Put eyes on the bottom of the bag and have your child decorate it as whatever animal they like, using markers and colored construction paper.

You can also make simple sock puppets out of those mismatched or holey socks. Use felt to add a dragon’s scales and a tongue, or decorate however your child likes. Add googly eyes and get ready for a show.

Masks

Masks can be made in several different ways, too. Paper plates are a quick and easy way to make a mask. Use one plate for the part that covers the face, and cut another plate in half to make ears if you like.

Masks of a sort can also be made out of large paper bags. Or cut out a piece of cardboard in the shape of the critter your child wants to be and decorate it with felt, fabric scraps, drawings, or whatever your child wants. These masks can be fun Halloween decorations, even if no one actually wears them.

Printables

If all else fails, hit the Internet and print out a homemade coloring book for your little one. There are many websites where you can find printables covering many different themes, from the seasons to letters and numbers, even their favorite characters. We also offer our own free printable teddy bear, paper doll and clothes.

One great source for printables is DLTK. Pick out 10 or 20 pages related to a theme you like and either staple them together or punch holes in them and put them in a folder. Your little one will love have a constant supply of new coloring pages, and you can even sneak in a little learning while they aren’t paying attention.

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