Because of their developing coordination, preschoolers often indulge in tactile educational activities with little reservation. Because many cultures express artistry through hand-crafted pottery, it is an easy match to engage children in cultural art activities using modeling clay. Preschoolers examine native American culture by making vases or pots with coiled clay loops in the fashion of the earliest Americans. They can explore Chinese culture by making clay figurines akin to the terracotta soldiers of Qin's dynasty. Children may also learn about Africa's contributions to pottery by making clay vessels from a solid piece of clay.
Painting is an activity that most young children gladly embrace without hesitation. Through various painting activities, preschoolers can explore cultures from around the world. Aboriginals of Australia use stencils of hand prints as an artistic centerpiece. The Huichol people of Central America "paint" with bits of yarn applied to a canvas to tell a story or describe an event. Chinese ink paintings depict their world using monochromatic representations on rice paper. You can adapt each of these arts using off the shelf materials and little modification to engage preschoolers and teach them about the cultures that surround them.
Many cultures around the world use artistically decorated masks as a fundamental aspect of their religions, ceremonies and celebrations. The shamanic masks of Amerindian cultures represent a connection with the divine. The African N'Tomo mask is used in the ceremonial passage of a young person into adulthood. The Day of the Dead masks from Mexico are used in the celebration honoring deceased ancestors. Given some cardboard, child-safe scissors and coloring implements such as crayons and paints, you create several educational preschool art activities exploring the ways cultures use masks.
The palate of cultural art is so broad that it presents literally thousands of possible activities for the curious preschooler. Music around the world is a rich element of each culture that can be explored via dance, performance, or crafting instruments such as drums from empty containers. Iconic artistic elements of a culture, such as Japanese fans and folded paper art or Native American dream-catchers or jewelry can be easily transformed into a preschooler activity with creative use of common supplies and proper supervision.