Parents and preschool teachers can offer age appropriate art exploration projects with these fall painting activities for preschoolers. The harvest-themed projects are age appropriate for preschoolers because the activities allow young children to focus on art exploration. Preschoolers will explore art with corncobs, paper bag pumpkins, straw brushes and acorns or marbles using paint in harvest themed colors.
The four fall art projects listed below are simple, yet age appropriate activities for preschoolers and work well as fall party activities or as art exploration projects in a preschool classroom. These preschool fall painting activities add age appropriate fun to fall themed events for young children.
Corncob Prints
Supplies Needed:
- corncobs – dried and without kernels
- paint – use fall colors such as orange, yellow, and red
- shallow pans to hold paint
- corncob holders or wooden skewers
- large sheets of paper
- tape
Preparation:
- Cover work surface (with plastic or newsprint)
- Tape large sheets of paper to work surface
- Press corncob holders or skewers into both ends of dried corncobs.
What Preschoolers Do:
Preschoolers explore painting with corncobs by rolling the corncobs into the paint (using the corncob holders or skewers as handles) and then rolling the corncobs around on the large paper.
Painting with Straw Brushes
Supplies Needed:
- straw or hay
- rubber bands
- paint in fall colors
- small bowls or dishes
- paper
Preparation:
- Cut and bundle straw into “paintbrushes”. Wrap rubber bands around straw bundles to hold them together.
- Set out paints in small bowls or dishes.
- Lay paper on a tabletop or tape to an easel or other vertical surface.
What Preschoolers Do:
Preschoolers paint on the paper using the straw brushes and paint in fall colors.
Paper Bag Pumpkin Painting
Supplies Needed:
- lunch size paper bags (1 bag for each pumpkin)
- newspaper
- string or green ribbon
- paint – orange, green, black
- paint brushes
Preparation:
- Stuff newspaper into each paper bag.
- Tie paper bag closed with string or green ribbon.
- Set out paints and paper bag pumpkins.
What Preschoolers Do:
Preschoolers paint their paper bag pumpkin as they choose.
Acorn or Marble Leaf Painting
Supplies Needed:
- large sheets of paper
- paint – fall colors such as orange, red, yellow, brown
- a large box, box top or container at least 1 inch deep and large enough (a box lid from a box of copy paper works well)
- spoons – one for each color of paint
- acorns, nuts or marbles
Preparation:
- Cut out large leaf shapes from the large sheets of paper.
- Place one leaf shape in the box.
- Spoon a bit of different colored paint into each of the four corners of the box.
What Preschoolers Do:
Preschoolers place an acorn or marble into the box.
Preschoolers hold the box and move the box around so that the acorn or marble rolls into the paint and across the leaf shaped paper. Allow children to decide how long they want to continue painting with the acorn or marble.
All of the fall art projects above provide age appropriate art exploration for preschoolers using shapes and natural fall themed items. These preschool fall painting activities can be adapted in many ways as fall party activities or harvest themed projects for young children.
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Kelly Pfeiffer - Kelly Pfeiffer teaches Positive Discipline workshops to parents and trains child care providers on various child development topics.
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