Crafts for Preschoolers

Guidelines for Crafts for Preschoolers

Finding crafts that preschoolers are able to do with little help from an adult is challenging. Remember to keep craft ideas simple, with only two or three steps to them, for preschool-aged children. Preschoolers need supervision while working with craft supplies and do best with safety scissors, large crayons, glue sticks, and waterproof paints and markers. Use a smock or old shirt to keep clothing clean.

Keep Expectations Realistic

When you set out to complete a craft for preschoolers, you will have your own idea of what the final product will look like; a preschooler will most likely have something else in mind completely. Let the young child be in control of the craft project as much as possible. The final result is not as important as the creative process. Below are some easy preschool crafts you and your child can tackle together.

Necklace Stringing

Stringing beads, macaroni, or cereal on string is an excellent task for preschoolers as it helps to strengthen their eye-hand coordination. Buy an assortment of beads and yarn or sturdy string. Preschoolers will do better without a needle; just fold one end of the string over and wrap it with masking tape. Make the end thick enough for the child to handle it, but thin enough to slip through the beads or food. Young children enjoy stringing uncooked macaroni too. They can even color the noodles with markers or use tempera paint and a brush to decorate them. Allow noodles to dry thoroughly before stringing. If you would like the necklace to be completely edible, string O shaped cereal on lickerish string. Your preschooler will enjoy both making and eating this craft!

Ten in the Bed

Preschoolers will love to make these props and act out the rhyme "Ten in the Bed". You will need ten Popsicle sticks or tongue depressors. You can buy these at craft stores. The wider ones work better for preschoolers. You will also need a medium-sized manila envelope. Cut off the top of the envelope to make it look like a double bed. Children can glue cotton balls on the top for pillows and cover the front with a folded-down piece of fabric to look like a blanket. Show your preschoolers how to use thin markers to make faces on one end of the sticks. They can draw body and clothing details on the sticks to make them look like children, or use fabric and bric-a-brac to create ten little people. One of the sticks should be trimmed (by a parent) to be smaller than the rest. Now your preschooler can act out the rhyme as you say it together!

Felt Crown

All young children love to wear crowns! Here is a simple way to make a crown together. Measure the front of your child’s head from ear to ear. Cut a piece of brightly colored felt to the appropriate size in the shape of a crown, with a point in the very center. Punch a whole at either end of the felt and attach a piece of elastic to keep the crown on the head. Let your child decorate the crown with glitter glue, plastic jewels, and other light baubles from the craft store.

Napkin Rings

This is a fun craft for preschoolers because the final product can actually serve as a useful tool on the dinner table. Collect about five cardboard toilet paper holders. Cut empty rolls in half (parents only). Children can now decorate the cardboard using markers, crayons, or paint. They can also glue fabric over the rolls or cover them with magazine pictures. Make a tray of magazine confetti by cutting up magazine pictures. Paint a layer of glue on the tubes and let your preschooler roll the tubes in the confetti. Display the napkin rings at the dinner table when they have dried!

Veggie Man

Preschoolers can use healthy fruits and vegetables and wooden toothpicks to create their own people. Use a pear for the body and a small apple for the head. Hold the apple and pear together by pushing each piece of fruit on the end of a Popsicle stick until they meet. Attach two baby carrots with tooth picks for arms. Celery stalks make great legs. Raisins, grapes, and olives are useful for creating faces. Use a banana peel to create long hair. Preschoolers enjoy searching through the refrigerator and cupboards to come up with their own parts for building food people too. Take a picture of the final product because it won’t last for long!

Crafts for Preschoolers Summary

These are only a few craft ideas to try with your preschool child. To find more preschool crafts on-line, visit Everything Preschool. The Little Hands Art Book: Exploring Arts & Crafts with 2 to 6 Year Olds, by Judy Press and Loretta Trezzo Braren, is an excellent book for finding preschool crafts as well. Once you have completed a craft with your preschooler, offer her very specific praise about the final result. Experts agree that exaggerated praise does not benefit the young child. Commenting on specifics and asking questions about her artwork, like “I like the expression you created on your vegetable man. Is he happy?”, is more likely to motivate a young artist.