Preschool Art Activities
ages 3, 4, and 5
Your child is ready to Explore! The art you see at this early stage starts with scribbles as your child’s picture-making is based on exploring art materials. As skills grow, the child begins to produce images built of lines, circular shapes, dabs, and dots in response to what they see in the world around them.
This ARTistic Pursuits resource is designed specifically for your Preschooler's MANIPULATION Stage of Development. We provide learning opportunities with clear art class objectives that fit your preschooler's needs as a growing artist and expand their visual experiences. You and your child will sit together and explore a child-friendly master artwork, then engage in an activity to inspire their picture-making.
The Way They SEE It - A Book for Every Parent About the Art Children Make
crayons, finger paint, paper cutting and pasting, dough, water color painting, nature observation and illustration
What they will learn: Providing preschool art activities helps your child to build manual dexterity, acquire observation skills, and become familiar with common art materials and art processes.
The Way They SEE It: A Book for Every Parent About the Art Children Make by Brenda Ellis
What does your preschooler’s artwork reveal about how they see the world? The Way They SEE It: A Book for Every Parent About the Art Children Make from ARTistic Pursuits helps parents, caregivers, and teachers understand the stages of artistic development in children ages three to five and provides hands-on art experiences to nurture creativity, observation, and self-expression.
This engaging book helps adults understand how children’s artistic abilities develop and why the creative process matters. Rather than copying pictures or filling in coloring pages, it begins with the foundation of artistic creation: learning to see. As children observe the world around them, they begin transforming their experiences and discoveries into original works of art.
Featuring 26 art appreciation lessons inspired by masterworks from artists such as Hokusai, Hicks, and O’Keeffe, this book introduces preschoolers to a variety of artistic styles, ideas, and ways of seeing. Each lesson includes a hands-on art project that encourages children to experiment with materials while exploring their own ideas through art.
The First Skills section offers guidance for introducing scissors, drawing tools, adhesives, and paint, safely and effectively, along with ten additional project ideas to inspire further exploration. Throughout the book, parents will find practical suggestions for connecting art experiences to everyday life.
Adults are invited to look beyond the finished picture and appreciate the discoveries behind it. Help your preschooler grow in curiosity, confidence, and imagination while building a deeper understanding of how young children learn, create, and express themselves through art. Used regularly, this book will expand the scope and vision of what is possible for young artists.