Basic art lessons for pre-K children should introduce them to the various art supplies at their disposal. Have children use crayons, coloring pencils, watercolors, pastels and acrylic paints so that they can distinguish between the different tools. Children can learn to mix colors using acrylic paint. Using different tools will result in a variety of artwork that can be related to a theme. For example, at the start school, children can paint a picture that illustrates how they spent their summer vacation.
Collages can be related to the seasons or to a theme. For example, in the autumn, children can collect objects such as leaves, acorns or dried flowers and make autumn collages. Children can create a collage of a butterfly or other insect using colored tissue paper and pipe cleaners.
Art projects can give children a sense of the traditions of society in an enjoyable, interactive way. Teach children about the different holidays by having them create objects that represent holiday themes. Additionally, such art can serve as gifts. For example, have children make cards for Mother's Day. They can create face masks for Halloween or make clay figurines with a holiday theme to give to loved ones.
Children can be taught how to use scissors but they must be supervised closely. Give the children templates in the shape of flowers, animals or objects. Have them trace the template onto paper and then cut it out. Using these templates, they can then personalize the template by coloring or adding glue and glitter. Using scissors and tracing helps children develop their fine motor skills.
Give each child a letter of the alphabet. Have them draw an object that starts with the letter and incorporate the letter in the shape. For example, for the letter "A," a child can draw an apple shape and place a large "A" in its center or draw an "A" shape with an apple drawn inside. Supervise the children so that they choose the correct word for each letter and help them come up with ideas. Children can then sing the alphabet in order and say aloud a word that starts with each letter.