Children love art projects that let them use as many of their skills as possible. Paper mosaics can be made by two-year-old children who tear and rip as well as four- and five-year-olds. This project uses a heavy matte board as the backing for the mosaic art. To prepare for the project, assemble many different kinds of papers for the children to use such as: textured, metallic and embossed, tissue and wrapping, wallpaper, etc. Let the younger children tear, cut and glue as they can.Ask the older children to use the paper to create a mosaic of an animal, themselves, flower etc. The final product will be a masterpiece fit to hang in a place of honor.
Preschool children love to pretend to be something they're not. Pretending is a very important developmental milestone and one that art projects can support. One way to pretend is to wear masks. Making and wearing an alien mask offers teaching opportunities related to vocabulary (what is an alien and differences between humans and aliens). Making alien masks also offers children another way to pretend play. The alien masks, in this activity, are made by using old plastic Halloween masks. Before beginning the activity, paint the masks using a nontoxic paint such as tempera. Assemble many things the children can use to make their alien masks such as: markers, paint, pipe cleaners, paper flowers, ribbon, screw, nuts, bolts and glue. When the masks are finished, have an alien parade.
Paper mache is a versatile art medium and one that children love to use as it lets them get gooey and dirty while doing what the teacher wants. To make paper mache bowls, collect plastic bowls such as butter or sour cream tubs. Line the inside of the tubs with aluminum foil so the dried paper mache bowl will release easily. Buy a paper mache glue product or make your own by adding a little flour to a lot of water. Have the children dip the torn up strips of newsprint into the bowls of watery glue and place them around the insides of the bowl. Be sure the children do not let any paper strips go over the top edge of the bowl. Have the children put several layers of paper inside the bowl. Set the bowls in a sunny or warm place dry. When dry, remove the bowls and let the children decorate them with paints and markers.