Squeeze school glue onto a piece of cardboard. Make shapes, letters, numbers or random squiggly lines. Ask children to place dried beans on the glue. This helps them develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. LIttle ones also will enjoy pouring rice onto the paper with a spoon. Allow the glue to dry and let pour excess rice into the trash or into a bucket.
Have young children paint cardboard paper towel tubes with tempera paint. Cover one end with a piece of colored duct tape. Put a scoop of dried beans and rice into the tube and cover the open end with another piece of duct tape. Let children shake their colorfully painted noise makers.
Cut pieces of yarn into pieces of varying lengths. Pour school glue into bowls or onto plates. Let children select pieces of yarn and dredge them in school glue. They will then place them onto trays lined with parchment paper. Let them make random shapes or encourage them to make hearts, stars or letters. Place the trays in a sun and let children remove their hardened works of art when they are dry. Hang string shapes from the ceiling or make mobiles with them.
Put pieces of painter's tape or masking tape on a piece of wood or canvas board. Have children paint the surface with tempera paint. Remove the tape before the painting is completely dry to reveal the surface beneath.