Five Fun Art Activities for Preschoolers: Greek Culture

Five Fun Art Activities for Preschoolers: Greek Culture
Page content

Getting Started

This art activity is a good way of introducing preschoolers to Greece and Grecian culture. Art activities for your preschoolers that have to do with Greece culture will captivate your youngsters’ imaginations.

Materials

  • Newspaper/paper pulp
  • Drawing paper
  • Colors – water-colors, pastels, markers
  • Yarn
  • White glue
  • Googly eyes
  • Beans
  • Soil
  • Old can, bottle
  • Photographs and videos of Greece
  • Books on Greece, Grecian art and Grecian mythology

Note to Teacher

Tell the preschoolers that they are going to do some art activities on Greece. To explain what Greece is, unless they already know, ask them if they know what country they live in. Tell them that Greece is a country, too, on the European continent. Show it to them on a globe, pointing out how near or far it is from their own country. Take the children on a Google Maps tour to Greece.

Please make sure all art materials used are non-toxic and keep an eye on the preschoolers so nothing is swallowed accidentally.

Directions

Talk about Greece, what the country is like and where it is situated in Europe. Look at photographs and videos of Greek cities, countryside, monuments, and people in traditional Grecian dress. Talk about Greek culture: In what way is it different from the culture the preschoolers know?

Read aloud stories from Ancient Greece and Greek mythology to the preschoolers. Keep the pictures books at hand so the preschoolers can dip in and look at the pictures and the text. Talk about the characters and encourage the preschoolers to talk about what they like or don’t like about the stories and the characters in the stories.

Make Paper Pulp

To get started with the art activities, first make paper pulp. This is done by soaking torn or cut paper pieces in hot water overnight, and then processing the soaked mass in a mixer. Set aside the resulting pulp and use as required. If it dries up, you can soak in hot water and process again. To use the paper pulp, mix it with white glue.

Activities

Make a Medusa

Explain what a Medusa is, without making it scary. The Medusa was a woman with hair of snakes and everyone who looked at her turned into stone. To make a Medusa, take an old mug and layer paper pulp on the outside. Let dry and paint a face on one side or on both sides. Fill the mug with soil and plant beans. Water and let sprout. The Medusa will soon have a green hairstyle that will melt hearts of stone.

Make a Cyclops

Explain what a Cyclops is. Cyclops was a one-eyed giant. Apply paper pulp around a bottle and fashion a round head at the bottle neck. Let dry and paint over. Stick on a googly eye at the head. When you shake the bottle, the eye will move.

Make a Trojan horse

Roll paper pulp cylinders to make the body, neck and legs of the horse, and let them dry. Then glue the pieces together. Stick on yarn to make the horse’s tail and mane. Paint on the body color and facial features. Explain the story of the Trojan horse to the preschoolers.

Make a Chlamys

Ancient Greeks wore chlamys. This was a length of rectangular cloth draped about the body, worn knee-length or full-length. Show the preschoolers how a chlamys was worn; see link at bottom for reference. Make a chlamys of your own with long scarves or bedsheets.

Make a Pot

Take a small plastic bag and put it around your fist and apply paper pulp about it. After first layer, keep upside down to dry. Tear off plastic bag and apply more layers to make pot thicker. Fashion a neck. Let dry and paint designs on the pot. This pot is for show only. If you want to use it for any liquids, you will need to seal it with several layers of acrylic emulsion and oil paint.

What Else to Do

  • See where Greece is located on Google maps. Go for a virtual visit.
  • As part of the art activities for preschool that has to do with Greece culture, visit a museum that has Greek artifacts.
  • Show the preschoolers what the Greek alphabet look like. Have them compare it to the alphabet they know or are learning.
  • See the movie ‘Mamma Mia’. It has some great shots of Greece and the preschoolers will love the music.

Reference:

Cyclops -

Medusa -

Trojan Horse -

Chlamys -

Grecian Pottery -