Teach your preschool students about nature, color and texture by using outdoor elements for a simple artwork design. Go on a scavenger hunt and gather a small quantity of sand, twigs, pine cones, fir needles, pebbles and leaves. Take them back to the classroom and rinse off any dirt and loose debris. Give each child a sheet of poster board and some white glue. Allow children to create their own compositions using the nature items to create patterns and textures. Talk about the colors in each item. Ask each student to point out specific colors when you call them out.
Help preschool students use color to define shapes and design within a composition by creating a wax etching. Work with students to help them plan out a scene they wish to create. With crayons, ask students to color large areas. For instance, have students color a large area at the bottom of a sheet of paper with green for grass, a vertical brown area to depict a tree and a large section across the top to create blue sky. Once finished, give the students black crayons and ask them to cover the whole sheet in black. Use a knitting needle or toothpicks to scratch in a design, revealing the colors beneath.
Explore new media by creating butterflies with watercolor paints. Give each student a white paper coffee filter, a pipe cleaner, water color paints, brushes and a container of water. Let your preschool students experiment with color intensity by dipping their brush in the water and then into the water color paints. Let them create painted designs on the coffee filter. Talk about the three primary -- colors, red, blue and yellow -- and how mixing them together can create new colors. Once the filters dry, pinch them together in the center and wrap a pipe cleaner around them to secure. Curl the ends of the pipe cleaner to imitate a butterfly's "feelers."
Keep active hands engaged by exploring sculptures by imitating real life. Post several pictures of different animals on a bulletin board for the whole class to see. Ask the children to pick an animal they like and allow them to re-create their own versions with self-hardening modeling clay. Mix together a cup of cornstarch, 2 cups baking powder and 1 1/4 cups water in a saucepan. Cook over low heat, mixing until the clay has thickened. Allow to cool. Give a portion of clay to your students and let them make animals. Place each finished creation on a paper plate and allow the animal sculptures to dry for at least 24 hours before moving or decorating.