As the Peasleburg Academy explains, young children enjoy the process of creating art more than the product that is expected to come of it. Using different types of artistic media gives your small child the chance to experiment and learn, even if he ends up creating a muddy mess of paint or a piece of paper saturated with glue. Lay down protective paper or plastic whenever your toddler or preschooler dabbles in art for your peace of mind and the safety of your table and flooring.
Open-Ended Activities
Preschoolers and toddlers love to explore various art supplies, but may become frustrated if they expect their work to come out a certain way. Instead of showing your child an example of what the outcome of her project should or might look like, set out different types of supplies and let her use them in whatever way she'd like. Some ideas for what to put out include construction paper, copy paper, glue, glitter, feathers, markers, crayons, googly eyes and chalk. If she is big enough to use scissors safely, give her a child-safe pair along with tissue paper, wrapping paper and scrapbook paper to cut into pieces. An older preschooler may enjoy making snowflakes. Pre-cut circles and fold them in quarters, as this will be easier for her to cut than circles folded into sixths.
Crafty Art Ideas
Many toddlers and young preschoolers enjoy helping to make simple crafts out of paper and other items that you can find around your house. Assemble all of the items necessary and cut out any small or difficult pieces yourself to reduce the chance that your child will become frustrated and upset. Allow him to do any of the steps that he can, such as gluing eyes in place or folding paper. Enchanted Learning website shows how to make ducks and rabbits out of paper plates, a costume out of a paper grocery bag and masks made from paper and string. Choose activities that your child can decorate however he likes after the main project is put together.
Collage
After a nature walk, your preschooler may have a bag full of treasures, such as acorns, fallen leaves, flowers and interesting stones. Instead of throwing them away, show her how to make a collage. Give her a large sheet of poster board or card stock, a glue stick and a small bottle of white glue. Let her glue her items on the heavy paper, showing her to use the glue stick for light objects and the white glue for heavier items. Give her a shaker full of glitter to sprinkle on the paper when she is done.
Outdoor Art
Your toddler can enjoy messier art on a larger scale outside than he can in the house. Preschool Rainbow website suggests filing spray bottles with water that is colored with food coloring. Show your little one how to spray the water on a sheet of white paper that you have taped to a fence and talk about how the colors mix. If it is cold and snowy where you live, let him spray the snow for an icy design. Taping a large sheet of paper to a wall allows your child to use his large muscles while painting. Give him sidewalk chalk and encourage him to color on your driveway, or let him "paint" with a bucket of water and watch his pictures disappear for mess-free outdoor fun.
