Teaching Preschool Art Lessons

Teaching art to Preschoolers

Preschool aged children (aged 2, 3, 4 & 5 yrs) need opportunities to develop their growing abilities through books, games, songs, science, math and art activities.

What to Expect: 2-3 years:

Between their second and third birthdays, children begin to pay attention to print, such as the letters in their names. They also begin to distinguish between drawing and writing and start to scribble on paper, making some marks that are like letters. Two and three year olds require activities to help them develop hand coordination (for example, by holding crayons and pencils, putting together puzzles or stringing large beads).

What to Expect: 3-4 years:

By their 3rd and 4th birthdays, children have greater small-muscle control than toddlers, which is reflected in their drawings and scribbles. They can match and sort things that are alike and unalike, recognize and print  and can “write,” or scribble messages.

What to Expect: 4-5 years:

Between their 4th and 5th birthdays, children are active, enjoy more group activities and have better muscle control. They can recognize and write the numerals 1-10, recognize shapes such as circles, squares, rectangles and triangles and can write some letters.

Keep the following things in mind when working with your preschool aged child:

• Never tell your child what to draw or paint.
• Don’t “fix up” your child’s drawings. It might take practice before you can recognize what she has drawn, but let her be creative.
• Invite your child to talk to you about what she is drawing and to identify by name each object in the picture.
• Give your child lots of different materials to work with. Show her how to use new types of materials.
• Find an art activity that’s at the right level for your child and let him do as much of the project as possible.
• Display your child’s art prominently in your home. Point it out to visitors when your child is near to hear the praise.

Ideal Arts Activities for Preschoolers:

Young children love to play with dough. They can squish and pound it and form it into fascinating shapes. Helping to make play dough lets children learn about measuring and learn and use new words.

Music is a way to communicate that all children understand. It’s not necessary for them to follow the words to a song; it makes them happy just to hear the comfort in your voice or on the recording or to dance to a peppy tune.

Young children are natural artists and art projects can spark young imaginations and help children to express themselves. Scribbling also prepares them to use writing to express their ideas.

>>Click HERE for our list of PreK Art Lessons<<

Favourite Preschool (Early Childhood Education) Art Lessons

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