Preschool Crafts

What to do? What to do? The earlier children start with crafts, the more at home they'll be in Kindergarten. Yet the children are still so young. A lot of preschool crafts are very creative and require a little work on the part of the teacher or parent, especially if the child is as young as two years old. Children three and up are able to handle more of the crafting, of course.

Marble painting is a fun way for the very young to learn what colors can do on paper. Prepare a sturdy box lid and line it with paper, perhaps something a little heavier than regular paper, if you can find it. If safe paint supplies will be limited, you can try to use the primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. Put each color of paint in a separate dish and add two or three marbles to it. After each child spoons the marbles into the box lid, show them how to roll the marbles around to get pretty designs. Replace the marbles in the paint dishes for the next little artist and hang each paper up, so it will dry.

Another craft can be prepared ahead of time. Parents or teachers can paint faces on Popsicle® sticks or paste a face cut from a photo in a magazine. Street clothing, swimsuits, uniforms, or pajamas can all be cut out of magazines or drawn on construction paper. When they're pasted to the sticks, the figures can be used in puppet shows. The children are usually delighted if you include family pets meeting the new pets down the street. Other skits might include fetching grandparents from the airport, or Mom trying to get everyone ready for work and school in the morning.

An Assistant Will Be A Big Help

Whatever the age of the children, their finger dexterity and frustration levels have developed at slightly different rates. The teacher will need at least one assistant, even with a small group of children, to keep everyone smiling. If you're working with paints, have the parents send along an old shirt to cover the kids' good clothes. Spread out the newspapers on the floor, as well as on the child size tables.