A Guide to Fun & Creative Preschool Craft Activities: Hands-On Learning All Year Long
Crafts for All Seasons
Some of the best and easiest go-to craft ideas for preschool classrooms involve inspiration from the changing seasons. Winter,
Spring, Summer or Fall, teach your preschoolers to appreciate the nature in their own backyards by using natural materials in your craft projects. Many of these crafts can be extended to include science or math elements, as well as provide all the fine motor practice involved in creating preschool arts and crafts projects. Browse through these ideas and get inspired by the changing seasons.
- Two Winter Crafts for a Preschool Class
- Let it Snow! Preschool Crafts
- Penguin Projects: Cute Winter Preschool Crafts
- Spring Crafts for Preschoolers
- Preschool Crafts to Celebrate Spring
- Preschool Art: Plants and Flowers
- Sizzling Summer Crafts for Preschoolers
- Fun Summer Art
- Outdoor Fun in the Sun Crafts
- Fall Preschool Crafts
- Fall Fun Crafts with Leaves
- September Crafts: Beginning the School Year
Animals All Around
Maybe you are studying different regions of the globe such as deserts, mountains and rainforests. Or perhaps you are studying groups of animals such as pets, ocean dwellers or animals of the savannah. Either way, there are a plethora of animal crafts that are appropriate and fun for preschoolers to make. Give these ideas a try and bring the animal kingdom to life in your preschool classroom.
- Polar Bear Craft
- Meet The Bengal Tiger
- Foxy Crafts
- Make a Hermit Crab
- Skunks: Preschool Crafts that Don’t Stink!
- Super Simple Animal Crafts
- Farm Animal Crafts
- In The Dark: Nocturnal Animal Crafts
- My Very Own Octopus
- Fun Fish Crafts
- Raccoon Craft Activity
- 3-D Pets
- Giraffe Craft
- Pond Animal Cooperative Craft
Piggyback Crafts for Favorite Children’s Stories
Many children’s books provide wonderfully rich themes for preschool teachers to use as a classroom curriculum. Along with many other classroom ideas, these books provide teachers with plenty of arts and crafts opportunities. Enhance author studies by adding some great craft activities to your daily lesson plans. Some of children’s most beloved stories and characters can come alive in a well-planned and executed craft project. Browse through these great ideas and bring those stories to life!
- Traditional Children’s Stories Crafts
- <em>The Cat in the Hat</em> Felt Hat Craft
- Eric Carle Torn Paper Collage
- Lois Ehlert <em>Waiting for Wings</em> Butterfly Crafts
- Jan Brett Crafts
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Arts and Crafts Ideas
Recyclables and Found Materials
Do you have a recycling container in your preschool classroom? Well, you should! Not only will you be helping your area landfill, but recyclables make great craft materials! Toilet paper tubes, cardboard boxes, paper scraps and other recyclables are perfect for creating 3-D sculptures, buildings and countless other crafty projects. Let your preschoolers loose with tape and glue sticks and see what they can come up with! Here are some recyclable art ideas that are perfect for a preschool classroom.
- Craft Ideas for Packing Peanuts
- Plastic Lid Projects
- Preschool Nature Crafts
- Recycled Material Collage
Holiday Hoopla
Just as popular as thematic planning through the seasons, holidays are always a good reason to plan craft projects. Whether you are planning to create crafts to give as gifts, or simply want to help celebrate a particular holiday with a fun craft project, there are plenty of innovative ideas to choose from. In addition to helping decorate a classroom, making holiday crafts with preschoolers can help teachers explain and introduce important concepts about diversity, different cultures and customs around the world. Try some of these great projects to help celebrate the holidays in your preschool classroom.
- Valentine Mailboxes and Cards
- Groundhog Art and Activities
- St. Patrick’s Day Preschool Crafts
- Free Preschool Easter Crafts
- Preschool Bunny Ears
- Christian Mother’s Day Crafts
- Father’s Day Craft and Celebration
- Personalized Father’s Day Book Project
- Fourth of July Noisemaker Craft
- Firecracker Table Decoration
- Edible Independence Day Crafts
- Free Pumpkin Crafts
- Pumpkin Shape Crafts
- Preschool Ghost Craft
- Silly Halloween Monster
- Spider Craft Ideas
- 4 Preschool Thanksgiving Projects
- Count Your Blessings: Thanksgiving Activities
- Hanukkah Crafts for Preschoolers
- December Holiday Crafts for Preschoolers
- Christmas Holiday Colors and Shapes
- Christmas Ornament Projects
- Religious Preschool Ornaments
- Santa Face Crafts
- Christmas Gift Ideas for Preschoolers to Make and Give
From aardvarks to zebras, or Valentine’s Day to Thanksgiving, crafts are a very important part of the preschool curriculum. Crafts offer hands on learning fun, which is essential to the development of motor skills. They can be used as standalone activities or supplements to your daily curriculum. No matter what your lesson plan, a craft can drive it home. Use this handy and helpful guide over and over again to help you plan lessons that celebrate your weekly theme. Visit Bright Hub Education for even more ideas according to grade level. Happy crafting!