From beads to cotton balls, the contents of your classroom art cabinet may offer all the textures you need. Using materials you already have on hand makes for an easy, last-minute art project. Gather craft sticks, feathers, glitter, puff balls, pipe cleaners and tissue paper and let children get to work. If you don’t mind cleaning up a mess, letting preschoolers add globs of finger paint to their collages will give them even more textures to experience.
Most kitchens contain a variety of textures and many of these items can change textures as well. For instance, sheets of foil feel smooth, but when children ball them up they’ll feel hard and rough. Set out rolls of foil, plastic wrap, waxed paper and paper towels along with foam or plastic plates and cups for children to rip up. Edible items can also add texture. Set out bowls of uncooked pasta and beans; your preschoolers’ parents can keep the collages for years without these items going bad.
One trip to a fabric store will give you all the supplies you need for fabric collages. Since you won’t need large amounts of any material, parents who sew may also be willing to contribute some scraps. Gather together a variety of textures, like cotton, denim, velvet, silk and tulle so children can experience smooth and scratchy fabrics. While swatches of these fabrics alone are enough to make interesting collages, giving children buttons and zippers to add will make the collages even more varied.
Gathering materials from your own backyard is easy and free, and taking preschoolers to collect items is an adventure in itself. Take a nature walk armed with bags for gathering twigs, leaves, bark and grasses. To teach preschoolers about respecting nature, ask children to pick up items that are already loose on the ground rather than picking leaves or bark off of trees. Once inside, ask children to draw pictures of insects and other animals to add to their collages.