Painting is an art activity that preschoolers can accomplish just about anywhere. Have primary colored tempera paint, red, yellow and blue, along with white and black available to use in liquid form. Tempera paint is also available as a powder that you can mix with water, but when working with preschoolers, time is of the essence, and the ability to pour paint directly into a paint dish without having to mix it is helpful.
A variety of types of paper offers a multitude of projects. You can use 9-inch-by-12-inch sheets of colorful construction paper for cut-and-paste projects, large 12-inch-by-18-inch sheets of white paper for drawing and painting projects and 18-inch-by-24-inch sheets of easel paper for large paintings.
Many preschoolers aren't ready for big kid scissors, but plastic scissors are available at many craft stores and provide youngsters with the ability to practice cutting without the fear of cutting themselves.
Large gallon jugs of glue are an economical way of having glue for projects with preschoolers. Pour small amounts of glue into containers for children to use with brushes when working on glue projects.
Preschoolers will use a variety of sized brushes for painting and with glue. Having small, medium and large brushes available for use offers preschoolers the ability to experiment with painting small brushstrokes or large, thick lines.
Along with tempera paint, finger paint and watercolor paints are useful in the preschool classroom. You can use finger paints along with finger-paint paper for lessons on color mixing, and watercolor paints encourage preschoolers to learn to use one color at a time.
Crayons, washable markers and chalk are wonderful for basic drawing, and you can take them outside for outdoor art activities.
No preschool classroom is complete without glitter, googly eyes and foam stamps. Glitter creates a sparkling addition to any art project, students add googly eyes to drawings of animals and foam stamps are ideal for printmaking artwork.