Finding easy art projects for kids is rewarding but isn’t always easy. So if you are looking for some creative crafts for preschoolers that are perfect for budding little artists, I’ll share with you eleven projects that are both fun and easy! These crafts are easy enough for your children to do on their own or with minimal help, and they don’t require a lot of supplies either. So grab your child and get ready to have some fun crafting together!
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What is an appropriate art activity for preschoolers?
First, you may be wondering what activities make great creative crafts for preschoolers. And while there are many easy art projects for kids out there, not all of them may be appropriate for your child’s age or skill level. So when looking for easy art projects for kids, be sure to consider the following:
- The project should be simple enough for your child to do with little-to-no direction from you. If you need to help them every step of the way, it’s probably too complicated.
- The project should use easy-to-find supplies that you may even already have around the house. There’s no need to go out and buy a bunch of expensive supplies for one project.
- The project shouldn’t take too long to complete. Generally, preschool-aged kids don’t have long attention spans, so it’s a great idea to find projects that are quick and easy.
Now that you know what to look for, let’s get started! Here are eleven easy art projects for preschoolers that you will enjoy creating.
11 Easy Art Projects and Creative Crafts for Preschoolers
1. Painting With Watercolors
My five-year-old son loves to paint. And call me biased, but I think he’s pretty good! He works carefully with his paints, using beautiful colors and a systematic approach, but even if he didn’t, painting with watercolor would still be a smart craft for a child his age.
Painting is a classic art activity that is always a hit with kids! Watercolors especially are perfect for little ones since they are easy to use and don’t require a lot of prep, extra supplies, or clean-up tasks.
For example, when my kids paint, the supplies are simple, consisting of paint sets, a small cup of water, cardstock paper, newspaper, and tape.
This makes for minimal prep, too. I simply lay out the newspaper (or tape the paper directly to the counter, where they do their artwork) and then set out their cup of water and paint set. Very easy and quick.
Clean-up is just as fast. I simply swirl the paintbrush in the water, shut it away in the paint set, fold up newspaper, and set the painting somewhere safe to dry. Later, it can be hung on the fridge, in my kids’ room, given as a gift, or stored in a keepsake file.
For these reasons, painting watercolors is truly one of my favorite easy creative crafts for preschoolers.
Here are a few watercolor projects that might spark your preschooler’s interest:
Watercolor Project 1
Friendly Monster Watercolor Blow Art
How ADORABLE are these monsters made from watercolor!? Created by Adventure in a Box, this project is super easy to make and only takes a few supplies. Your little blossoming artist with have so much fun!
Watercolor Project 2
Watercolor Paper Plate Butterflies
These cute watercolor butterflies from Becky James and The Crafting Chicks are simple yet colorful and fun.
2. Drawing With Crayons, Colored Pencils, or Markers
For a simple project that requires very few supplies, try letting your child draw with crayons, coloring pencils, or markers.
They can do this by coloring in a coloring book, where the activity is very contained and guided. Or they can color and draw in a freestyle format, using a blank sheet of paper. Whichever you choose will depend on your child’s interest and also skill level.
In our home, none of my kids find much enjoyment in coloring in coloring books. Which surprises me, and hurts my coloring-book-loving heart a little bit. (I joke… but seriously.)
They do, however, love to draw freehand.
Either way, it’s a project that requires very minimal supplies!
Here are a couple of my favorite kids’ coloring books right now.
Amazing Girls: Inspirational & Educational Coloring Book for Girls with 50 Careers to Explore
106 Pages; For ages 4 and Up
3. Sculpting With Clay
Sculpting with clay is another easy and fun art project for kids, not just for preschoolers but even for kids as young as toddlers. If you don’t have any clay at home, you can use Play-Doh or even make your own homemade clay.
Not only is it a fun project to do together or on their own, but also, it is a very versatile craft that doesn’t require a lot of supplies or prep. You can either purchase a bag of clay tools for your child to use, or you can simply offer your child utensils and other household items to use.
And just like with coloring and painting, your children can either create something through a guided activity, or they can freely create something entirely unique from their imaginations. Either way, sculpting with clay is a hands-on creative craft for preschoolers that really works several of their skill sets at once.
Here are two semi-guided craft projects that involve sculpting clay:
Sculpting Project 1
From Artsy Craftsy Mom, this cute clay sheep photo holder will be a hit with preschoolers. Plus, it’ll work their fine moto skills while rolling all those balls for the little sheep’s wool!
Sculpting Project 2
Rainy Day Mum came up with a super cute garden gnome that any preschooler could enjoy!
4. Forming Origami Flowers and Shapes
A really cool craft project that has the potential to be quick and easy is Origami, the art of paper folding.
You may think this sounds like a project that is technically too difficult and intricate for you or your preschooler to make. But actually, Origami flowers and shapes come in all kinds of patterns.
With a simple internet search, you can find easy Origami tutorials for simple flowers or shapes that your child can make. It may require a little guided instruction from you, or possibly a little help with the paper folding at times, but even then, many preschoolers can do a lot more than we give them credit for!
The supply list for this type of craft? Paper! That’s it.
And maybe the internet in order to watch tutorials.
To make it even more fun, purchase thin, patterned paper for the project. But if you’d rather use materials you already have at home, consider using basic colored construction paper or even printer paper that they color beforehand.
No lie, though… folding paper not made for Origami will be more difficult. Thinner paper works better, due to the folds. However, as I mentioned before, there are many easy Origami tutorials out there that make easy creative crafts for preschoolers. So in a pinch, regular paper will work just fine.
Here are a couple of Origami patterns your little one might enjoy:
Origami Project 1
Not only will preschoolers love to create these finger puppets, they will also have hours of fun imagining with them afterwards!
Origami Project 2
Also by Red Ted Art, these really cute Origami puppies would give little ones a good stretch of creative fun as they design the perfect dog with tons of personality.
5. Gluing Collages With Magazines
A great and engaging craft for young children is making collages out of magazine scraps. It’s easy to do and you likely have all the supplies already! Bonus!
To make this project, start by tearing or cutting out some colorful pages from magazines. These can be old magazines you have a subscription for, or they can even be junk advertisements you get in the mail. Tear or cut the pages into small pieces, maybe around an inch to two inches in size.
Next, help your child glue the magazine scraps onto a piece of construction paper or cardstock. The glue can be liquid or a glue stick. In my opinion and experience, a glue stick works much better with preschoolers, especially if you lean toward art projects that are low mess.
Once the glue dries, they can add some finishing touches to their collage, like drawing a border or adding extra details with markers.
For an extra fun twist, you could trace the outline of something on your little one’s paper, such as a cat or a crescent moon, or a star, and let them fill in the outline with their collage pieces. Or even decorate a picture frame mat with a collage to give the picture frame a unique and colorful edge.
There are some really creative ways to experiment with collages, and I just know your preschool-aged child will have so much fun doing it!
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6. Decorating With Embellishments
Another easy and fun art project for kids is to let them decorate a simple object with embellishments. This could be something like a picture frame, a wooden block, or a cardboard box.
Anything, really. The sky is the limit.
To do this project, start by gathering some small decorations like stickers, pompoms, googly eyes, buttons, feathers, or anything else you might already have around the house. Then, let your child glue or tape the embellishments onto their chosen surface. They can make patterns, create faces, or just go crazy with the design. It’s up to them!
Here are a couple of fun art projects that involve embellishments!
Embellishments Project 1
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Embellishments Project 2
Here is an example from Clare’s Little Tots of embellishing a cardboard box in whatever way the preschoolers desire!
7. Creating With Yarn or Trim
Using yarn or trim to create art is a great way to add some texture and dimension to your child’s project. And it’s easy to do, too, especially if you have some extra yarn or trim lying around anyway!
Not only does it add texture and dimension, but it can also expose preschoolers to new colors and materials, such as with yarn that is glittery or has sequences or other embellishments added into the strand.
Not to mention, it’s a perfect way to use up any yarn or trim scraps you might have lying around!
Here are two fun preschool craft projects that use yarn or trim:
Yarn or Trim Project 1
These yarn planets by And Next Comes L make a great craft for little ones who are interested in learning about the solar system! Plus it’s great for fine motor skills practice.
Yarn or Trim Project 2
Wind Chimes
This super cute activity gives preschoolers some scissor practice! You will probably need to help your child with tying the yarn to the heads, but otherwise, it shouldn’t require too much direction from you. Remember, when holding scissors and cutting with them, the thumb faces up to the ceiling!
8. Recycle Toilet Paper Rolls
Save those toilet paper rolls!
I know it’s tempting to toss them when you grab a new roll for the bathroom. But hear me out. Toilet paper rolls are one of the best, most versatile art materials out there. Not to mention, they are super cheap and easy to come by. If you have potty trainers in the house, you probably go through rolls of toilet paper pretty quickly! Am I right?
And let me tell you, there are SO many ways to use toilet paper rolls in arts and crafts. Whether it’s used as a tool like a stamp or a scoop, or your child uses it within the structure of the project he or she is making, toilet paper rolls can be used in countless ways.
Here are just a couple of create ways preschoolers can use toilet paper rolls in their crafts:
Toilet Paper Roll Project 1
These cute toilet paper roll owls from Curious and Geeks make a fun addition to the creative crafts for preschoolers list. Simply paint the toilet paper roll, squish the top to create the owl head shape and add googly eyes and paper embellishments.
Toilet Paper Roll Project 2
Laura Brand of The Joy Journal book made these sweet binoculars out of paper rolls. I don’t know about your kids, but mine would absolutely love these! Lots of exploring would happen for sure.
9. Making Process Art With Random Objects
Process art is so much fun and really opens up the imagination to explore. When preschoolers engage in process art, they not only thrive within their God-given creativity, but they also get to experience the world around them in the context of art.
You may be asking, “What is Process Art?”
Process art is all about the process of creating the art, not necessarily the final product. It’s a great way for kids to have fun in an uninhibited way, without worrying about making something perfect or making mistakes.
In fact, there are no mistakes in Process Art! Trying new things and following one’s whimsy is the only rule.
What supplies do you use for Process Art? Well, just about anything you’d like!
Here are a few supplies ideas to get your started:
- Tempera Paint (or other kinds)
- Pinecones
- Toothbrushes
- Glue
- Feathers
- Bubble Wrap
- Crayons
- Pom-Poms
- Clay
- Scissors
- Paintbrush Handle
- Paper
- Fabric
- and SO MUCH MORE!
Seriously, anything you can think of could be a part of a Process Art project. There are no rules except that your child can’t be creating a pre-cut, pre-planned cookie-cutter craft project that all the other kids are making, too. It must be a free-thinking exercise where your little ones get to experience flow in their personal art processes.
10. Working With Beads
Working with beads is probably one of those creative crafts for preschoolers that we forget about. But it’s a great one! Not only is it easy prep and low-mess clean up, it’s also a great way for your preschooler to work on his or her fine motor skills. It takes delicate coordination to pick up beads and either place them on a project design or thread them onto string.
Here are a couple of fun and easy art projects for kids that involve beads!
Beads Project 1
These are pretty cool bowls made out of Perler Beads, especially interesting with all the color mixed in. Kids would enjoy making a design with the beads inside a Pyrex bowl and then heating it all in the oven (with your help). This is a project that will need a little interaction from you, but it is still fun, easy, and creative!
Beads Project 2
These beaded snakes from Kids Activites are just too cute! I know my preschool aged sons would adore these, especially with the googly eyes!
11. Creating Paint Swatch Art
This project is easy, cheap, and can be done in minutes! All you need is a stack of paint swatches from your local hardware store (most stores will give them to you for free) and some tape or glue. Any colors will do.
First, start by cutting the each paint swatch into its own rectangle. Then, ask your child arrange the pieces onto a piece of cardstock or construction paper. Of course, you can help them if needed, but they also could easily do this project on their own. Once they’re happy with the design, they can glue or tape the pieces into place and enjoy their creation!
This project is great for kids who like to be precise and follow a pattern. But it’s even fun for kids who like to be spontaneous, because the paint swatches allow for so many vibrant pops of color that your child may not find in other materials, such as magazines or markers, etc.
So if your preschooler would rather cut the swatches into squares or other shapes, or otherwise mix things up, they can definitely do that! A child’s mind when it’s completely in flow is one of the coolest things I have experienced as a mom.
Frequently Asked Questions about Creative Crafts for Preschoolers
Sometimes we have a lot of questions and confusion around offering easy yet creative crafts for the preschoolers in our lives. But no need to worry! I’ve got you covered. I’ve answered a few of them here!
What should I do if my child gets bored with the project?
If your child gets bored with the project, try one of these easy tips:
- Give them a new material or supply to work with.
- Help them come up with a plan or sketch before they start.
- Let them choose a different color or pattern to use.
- Encourage them to add their own personal touches
How can I make easy DIY art projects for preschoolers that are messy and creative?
One of the easiest ways to create art projects with kids that are messy (but maybe not too messy) is to use paint.
Try one of these semi-messy craft ideas:
- Handprint Art
- Make and Use Edible Paint
- Spin Art
Is process art easy to do with preschoolers?
Yes! Since process art is all about the act of creating, it’s really not about the final product. Like I said before, there are not rules when it comes to process art. Except maybe the rule that you HAVE to have fun!
Here are a few easy process art projects for kids:
- Give them a bunch of different colors of paint and some paper, and let them go crazy!
- Set out a bunch of different craft supplies (pompoms, feathers, googly eyes, etc.) and let them create whatever they want.
- Give them a pile of different fabrics and let them cut and glue them into a collage.
Conclusion to 11 Easy Creative Crafts for Preschoolers
There you have it… Eleven easy and creative crafts for preschoolers! I hope you’ve liked these easy art projects and that you and your child will enjoy trying them out soon. They are perfect if you want to do a little crafting with your children, or if you have some budding artists at home who want to create art independently. Also, these projects don’t require a lot of supplies and most can be completed with minimal adult assistance. Not to mention, the finished products make great decorations for your home or as gifts for loved ones.
If you’re looking for more easy art projects for kids, be sure to check out my blog for more ideas!
What easy art projects have you done with your child? Or which one will you make first?
I’d love to hear about them in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
