Craft Ideas for Preschoolers

Children too young to be a part of elementary school are sent to preschool. Preschools are great platforms where tiny tots meet other toddlers, under the guidance and supervision of a teacher. It's a place where toddlers take their first step of independence. Preschools are more or less playschools, with no formal education system.

At these places, toddlers learn to interact with other children and are also exposed to loads of activities, which help their overall development.

Since toddlers do not like sitting in one place, it is important to keep them busy and entertained while they are at preschool. Introducing various crafts in their daily routine will help keep them occupied throughout the day.

For this interesting activity, one needs construction paper, glue, and some old food magazines. Since toddlers love getting messy, this gluing activity is thoroughly enjoyed by them. One needs to cut out a large supermarket basket (the kind children are familiar with) from the construction paper.

Next, cut out pictures of milk cartons, fruits, chocolate bars, bread, vegetables, and other food items available at the supermarket from magazines. Provide each child with one basket cut-out.

It's advisable to tape the basket onto the table so that the child can work easily, without the basket cut-out shifting from position. Keep the pictures of the food items on a large center table. Ask the children to come and choose their favorite food item, and paste it onto their supermarket basket.

This activity involves the use of cotton balls, construction paper, and lots of glue. One should cut the construction paper in the shape of cloud cut-outs. Give each child a cloud each and tape the cloud onto the table, so that it stays firmly in place.

Provide the children with a bowl of cotton balls and a bowl of glue each. Ask them to dip the cotton ball slightly in glue and paste them onto the cloud cut-outs.

For this activity, one needs different colors of construction paper. Use skin color construction paper to make doll cut-outs. Using the other colors of construction paper, cut out the eyes, nose, lips, and ears. A pretty frock cut out would also look good. Give each child the cut-outs along with some glue.

You could take help from the nursery rhyme 'Chubby Cheeks' to help teach the children about their eyes, ears, etc. Help the children stick the parts at their right locations. Children like pasting the frock, since it enhances the doll's look.

Toddlers love to play with paints and get themselves all messy, which is why they will love the hand printing activity. For this activity, one needs lots of large construction paper sheets. Lay the sheets adjacent to each other on the floor and tape them together, so as to achieve a king-size canvas. Get poster paints and have them diluted with water.

Place the diluted paint in plastic trays. Ask the children to sit around the large canvas, and place enough number of paint-filled trays between the children. Ask the toddlers to dip their hands in the paint tray and make imprints on the canvas. Exchange the color trays after a while, so that each child has a variety of colors to dip his or her hand in.

These craft ideas are simple to conduct and are simply adored by toddlers. Such crafts not only educate the children, but also help them develop their motor skills, and enhance their overall development.