Tape three crayons together and let a child draw rainbows over the paper. After he is finished making his designs, set out a bowl of paint wash, which is liquid watercolor, or else a blend of half water and half tempera paint. The child can brush the paint mixture across the paper and watch as the crayon design becomes more pronounced. Another idea: Take a food grater and turn broken crayons into colorful shavings. Get two pieces of transparent self-stick paper. Remove the backing from the first sheet of clear paper and let your child sprinkle the crayon particles all over the sticky section. Remove the backing on the second clear sheet and place it over the first. Cut the design into shapes.
Take a 16-ounce foam cup, a sharpened pencil, six 18-inch crepe paper streamers, glue and some yarn. Poke six holes into the bottom of the cup using your pencil. Space these holes about a quarter inch from the sides of the cup. Insert one streamer into each hole and glue the ends to the bottom of the inside of the cup. Poke one hole into each side of the cup. Slide the yarn through the holes and then tie the ends together to create a handle. The last step is for the child to glue the extra crepe paper to the outside of the cup to add color. Let your toddler take her creation outdoors so she can see it function as a wind sock.
This preschool art idea teaches children a few lessons on gardening. Take a plastic scoop from a laundry detergent container, two lids from plastic milk jugs, glue, potting soil and seeds for grass or beans. You can substitute buttons for the milk container tops. Glue the milk lids or buttons onto the plastic scoop from the laundry detergent so that the scooper looks like a wheelbarrow. Pour some potting soil into the scooper and let your little one plant the seeds. Grass and bean seeds are preferable because they grow so quickly, and the toddler can check for progress each day in his handcrafted wheelbarrow.