Celebrate the birthdays of your students with a personalized piñata made especially for them. Have the children tear newspapers into strips. Blow up a balloon and cover it with the newspaper strips dipped in liquid glue. Allow the piñata to dry and have the children help you paint it in the birthday child's favorite colors. Write the name of the child on the piñata. Poke a pin through the newspaper layers to pop the balloon. Cut an three-sided opening in the top of the piñata and pour candy and toys inside. Add additional glue soaked newspaper strips over the opening to seal it shut. Once dry, paint over the new newspaper. Attach a string and hang the piñata in the classroom. Starting with the birthday child, let each child take turns hitting the piñata with a stick. Make sure the students stand far enough back to avoid injury. Do not blindfold the preschoolers as they hit the piñata. Once it breaks, tell each child to pick up only a certain number of candy pieces and toys to make sure everyone gets some.
Create a pumpkin piñata to celebrate Halloween with your preschoolers instead of taking them trick-or-treating. Start with a large brown paper grocery bag. Cover the bag with orange tissue paper or construction paper. Cut out eyes, a nose, and a mouth from black paper and glue on the side of the bag to create a jack 'o lantern face. Fill small plastic bags with treats and toys and tie them shut with different colored ribbon pieces. Place the bagged treats inside your pumpkin along with streamers and confetti. Roll the top of the bag down and staple shut. Staple the end of a string or rope to the top of the piñata. Tie a piece of colored ribbon on each child's wrist that corresponds to a ribbon inside the piñata. Allow your preschoolers to take turns hitting the bag with a stick until it breaks. Tell your children to find the treat packet with a ribbon that matches the one on their wrist. This will ensure that each child receives a fair share of the candy.
Use this activity to celebrate Cinco De Mayo, or any other holiday. Blow up a balloon for each child that is roughly 6 to 8 inches across. Have the children help tear up newspapers and dip them in glue. Help the children cover their individual balloons with the newspaper. While the balloons are drying, teach them about the holiday that you are celebrating. When the newspaper is dry, let the children paint their piñatas. Use red, green, and white paints for Cinco De Mayo, green and red paints for Christmas, pastels for Easter, etc. Once the paints have dried help the children pop the inner balloon with pins and cut out an opening. Have small candies that the children can fill their piñatas with. Staple the openings or cover with additional newspaper. Staple a string to the top of each piñata. You can have the children break the piñatas in class or send them home to break with their families.
Use this piñata activity as a reward program for the children. Decorate a large brown paper bag with fringed tissue paper. Create eyes, a nose, and a mouth out of paper to glue to the side of the bag. Staple tissue paper streamers to the bottom of the bag. Roll the top of the bag down and staple close. Cut an opening on the back side of the bag. Give your monster piñata a name if desired and introduce it to your class. Hang the monster from a string in a corner of the classroom. Every time a child is being well behaved or accomplishes something, give the child a sticker and let them place a piece of candy in the monster. When the piñata is full, let the children take turns to break it open and receive the candy.