When teaching a pre-k lesson about worms, make a free art project from recycled egg carton sections. Let your class members cut the individual cups from the bottom of an egg carton. Turn six egg cups over to form the head and body sections of a worm. Use a hole-puncher to make two holes in the sides of five cups. Punch only one hole in the cup you will use for the worm's head. Thread yarn through the holes--knotting the yarn at each section--to attach the head and body to form the worm. Give the children paint and brushes to decorate the worms. When the paint is dry, draw eyes on the head of the worm with a black marker.
Ask children to bring a clean, dry milk jug with a lid to make a snow person. Pour 1/2 cup of white tempera paint into each jug, replace caps and let the children shake the jugs to coat the inside with paint. Remove the caps and let the paint dry. Replace the caps. Let your pre-k students cut eyes, noses and other snow-person features from scrap paper to glue to the jugs. Give the children an assortment of yarn and fabric scraps to become the hair or scarves. Display the snow people in a row on a bookshelf for an impressive winter display.
During jungle-theme or woodland animals week, pre-k students can create a free binocular art-project from two empty toilet paper rolls. Cover the art table with newspaper and let each child paint a pair of toilet paper rolls with tempera paint. When the rolls are dry, glue them together, side-by-side. Punch a hole in each paper tube, 1-inch from the top of the binoculars. Loop a 24-inch length of yarn or string through the holes and tie a knot at each one, so the binoculars can be worn around the neck. Children can use the finished art-project to pretend to be explorers.
Collect unwanted bubble wrap, washed Styrofoam cups and cardboard for a printed art project. Cut the bubble wrap into geometric shapes of various sizes. Slice the cups into rings. Cut pieces of cardboard into animal, vehicle or people shapes. Trace cookie cutters onto the cardboard to create the shapes. Let your pre-k students dip the free, recycled items into paint, then place them on sheets of newspaper to create textured prints. Mount on construction paper to display the art.