Construction paper provides a colorful background for drawing. Children can be given a blank page and crayons and allowed to draw whatever they desire. Children who are hesitant to draw may respond well to prompts. Ideas include giving a blue page and asking the child to draw a picture of fish in the ocean, a green page and asking for a farm scene or an orange page for a desert. Bright backgrounds make drawing on construction paper especially fun and satisfying.
Cutting paper improves hand-eye coordination and strengthens muscles in the hand needed for writing. Construction paper is sturdy and cuts easily. Seeing the different colored shapes fall away is fun. Many preschoolers enjoy cutting paper with no real project in mind. In a classroom setting, you may wish to set up an empty plastic baby pool for sitting in and cutting paper. The pool will contain much of the mess. At home, cutting paper over a large bowl works well too. Save all those bright pieces of paper for making colorful mosaics.
Gluing different-colored pieces of construction paper together creates beautiful masterpieces. If you save small scraps from cutting activities, you will have a ready supply for gluing activities. Use the scraps to make mosaics or landscapes. Another favorite activity is to write the child’s name on a large piece of construction paper and allow the child to glue scraps of paper over the written letters to make a colorful nameplate.
One of the great features of construction paper artwork is how easy it is to proudly display. Construction paper crafts are colorful, lightweight and small enough to hang. A great way to hang many projects at once is to tie a piece of string across the top of a wall and use clothespins to secure artwork. Magnets are strong enough to hang the crafts on the refrigerator. After all, showing off the finished project is almost as much fun as making it.