Lessons & Classroom Games for Teachers
Get Crafty!
One of the best parts of a preschooler's day is arts and crafts time. Preschool crafts allow children an opportunity to express their individuality and creativity as well as teaching discipline, basic color theory, and fine motor skills. Since the possibilities are nearly endless where preschool craft are concerned, especially when approaching a topic as broad as the alphabet, here are a few simple ideas for the letters D and E.
When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth...
Children are fascinated by the idea of gigantic, hulking beasts called dinosaurs roaming the earth before humans even existed. This provides a wealth of crafting possibilities, such as this Dinosaur Travel Book.
Each child is given the task of creating at least 3 pictures of where they would go and what they would do if they were a dinosaur. Encourage children to depict many different kinds of dinosaurs, and show them pictures of dinosaurs to help get the creative juices flowing.
Children may use whatever artistic means are at their disposal, from crayons to markers to finger paint. After their pictures are completed, punch three holes in the side of each picture and join the pictures with string to form a book.
Since fossils are the only clue as to how the dinosaurs lived, try this craft called Dinosaur Skeletons. This craft requires construction paper, dried pasta, popsicles sticks, and glue. Give each child a piece of construction paper and a selection of pasta and popsicle sticks to recreate their dinosaur skeleton. Once they are satisfied with the skeleton, they can glue it to the construction paper and decorate it with markers or crayons.
Fresh as a Daisy
Next, here's a craft that requires paper plates, construction paper, paint and glue. Children will be creating daisies using the paper plates as the centers. To begin, have the children paint the paper plates yellow. Next, have them trace the petals onto pieces of construction paper. Each child will need between 8 and 12 petals to complete their flower. After all the petals are cut out, glue or staple them to the edges of the paper plate.
Hatching Eggs and Fancy Elephants
This craft, called "What's in an Egg" has children use their imaginations to decide what they wish could hatch out of an egg. Once they've come up with a good idea, they are to draw a picture of it on a piece of construction paper. Try to keep the drawings fairly small as they'll be placed into plastic eggs. Children can go around the room and show others what hatches out of their eggs.
Children love dressing up and wearing masks, so why not let them create their own? Here's a quick and easy way to create elephant masks using only construction paper, toilet paper tubes, and paper plates. To begin, children will paint their paper plates gray and cut them in half to make the ears. Next, cut the construction paper in half and staple it together, forming a band that will fit on a child's forehead. Now, staple the ears to the side of the band. Finally, to make the truck, paint the toilet paper tubes gray, cut them in half, and staple them to the top of the band to resemble the elephant's trunk.
These preschool crafts provide a stepping stone for you to use to spark your imagination in teaching any of the letters of the alphabet or teaching theme units.
Mary Robinson has been teaching preschool for well over a decade. You can get instant access to her preschool activities, crafts, and lesson plans by visiting her website:
For a limited time, all visitors to Mary's site will also get a free copy of her special report: "The 7 Biggest Mistakes Preschool Teachers and Parents Make". Go get your free copy today!
