If your child has a favorite story, or if her class is discussing a story, a picture book is a great art project to help her explore the story. Have your student tell the story in her own way through a series of pictures. These pictures can be her own drawings or you can provide media such as construction paper, glitter or magazine cutouts to help her expand her creativity. The use of magazines in particular can teach your student to make a connection between the pictures she sees on a page and the story in her mind. The picture book is also a great way for your student to illustrate for you the way she sees and understands the story.
Collages are an excellent way to encourage children to illustrate their emotions. Students will use one sheet of paper or poster board to group different items or pictures together; they can be based on personal experiences or centered around a theme. Collages incorporate a variety of media into one finished piece of work; this provides exposure to a variety of textures that help a student to feel her way around the world. Students can also practice their skills with scissors and pasting. The greatest reward of creating a collage is the satisfaction that comes with seeing several parts combining to create a whole image.
Holidays are a great excuse to incorporate art into a preschool curriculum. The best part is that students are not only gaining experience as artists, but learning about the different holidays at the same time. Holiday art activities do not need to be elaborate; a page to color is a great activity on its own. If you want to increase your students' experience beyond coloring, incorporate textures into coloring activities. After students have colored their picture, provide glue, feathers, pompoms, cotton balls, felt, glitter, confetti, sand, fabric and so on in a variety of colors. Instruct your students to fill in the colors of their picture by gluing objects of similar color to the corresponding area. Students will love creating a picture that they can see and feel.