Encourage your preschool students to make a turtle species collage showcasing several types of turtles such as sea turtles, Asian box turtles, alligator snapping turtles, bog turtles and desert tortoises. Find pictures of different species on stock photo sites and print out multiple copies for your students. Help the kids glue pictures of various types of turtles on the page. They can then decorate the rest of the collage with turtle stickers, drawings and turtle foods such as grass and leaves. Some types of turtles such as box turtles also eat fruits and mushrooms.
Find several flat yet rounded rocks that resemble a turtle shell. You can find these rocks in nature or buy them at home improvement stores. Help your students paint a crisscross pattern on the rocks with brown paint and then let it dry. Then help them paint inside the sections of the pattern with green paint. The kids can paint the underside of the rocks solid green and add additional features to the shell if they are able. Some kids may need guidance when making the pattern at first.
Preschool students enjoy coloring or just scribbling on a page. Introduce coloring pages to them with a turtle and the letter "T." Explain that the word turtle starts with a "T." Some kids may not grasp this yet, but it's never too early to start teaching kids letters. The kids can cut out their colored drawings and place them in a journal or add the images to a homemade alphabet book featuring other animals and letters.
Help your kids make turtles out of paper plates. Give each child a paper plate and help them paint it green. While the paint is drying, show them how to cut out arms and legs along with a head and tail out of green construction paper. Cut out dark and light green tissue paper squares that display a slightly different shade of green than the color painted on the paper plate. Help the kids glue the turtles limbs and head on and then show them how to glue the tissue paper squares on its back. Use a marker to draw the turtle's eyes, nose and mouth on its head.