25 Fun and Easy Crafts For Toddlers and Preschoolers

Whether you are a childcare provider, another form of caregiver, a stay-at-home parent, or a parent just looking for fun and easy crafts for toddlers and preschoolers, it can sometimes be exhausting coming up with a game plan.

When you start searching the web or other social platforms for ideas and see more ideas then you could do in a lifetime. It’s exciting to think of all the possibilities you can do with your littles.

It’s also overwhelming!

My goal with this list is to give you quick, fun, and engaging art ideas for your littles with low prep for you.

Remember, art doesn’t have to be perfect and it doesn’t have to be overly involved by you aside from supervision and interacting with conversation.

Disclaimer — some mess is bound to happen! Be prepared for messy fun!!

Finger Painting

Let’s start this off with a bang. Fingerpainting is probably one of the messiest of messy art projects. Not only will you have a crafting space to clean but also a little who probably has paint to their elbows, maybe in their hair.

Listen up…

KIDS ARE WASHABLE!

This is the #1 go to project at my in-home childcare. Every painting project we do tends to end with little hands in the paint and it has become such a routine that we have made it part of our artistic excitement.

Supplies: Washable finger paints, large paper or kraft paper, smocks or old shirts

Instructions: Lay out the paper on the floor or table, squeeze out different colors of finger paint, and let the kids use their fingers to create designs.

Tips: Use a plastic tablecloth to protect surfaces. Have washcloths or wet wipes handy.

Add brushes or other items for your little to test out!

Bubble Wrap Splat

This makes a fantastic collaborative project for little learners. Consider setting this up outside as a project children can come and go as they please.

The mess for this project is relatively low…as long as you don’t have a little trying to sneak under the bubble wrap.

Supplies: Bubble wrap, washable paint, small plastic hammer or mallet, paper

Instructions: Lay paper on the floor, add globs of paint, add bubble wrap over the paper and use the hammers or mallets to hit the bubble wrap and paint. Can you pop pop pop the bubble wrap?

What’s happening to the paint?

Tips: Tape the bubble wrap to a table or secure it to the ground to keep it steady.

Tissue Paper Stained Glass

We had a great time creating lady bugs with this project but you can turn these into anything! A simple circle in the window with different colors shining through would be beautiful!

Supplies: Tissue paper, contact paper, scissors

Instructions: Cut tissue paper into small pieces. Arrange on sticky side of contact paper. Seal with another piece of contact paper and cut into shapes.

Tips: Tape the contact paper to your surface to keep it in place.

Edible Art

This is a great option for your mouthers. While I never suggest encouraging your kiddos to eat your artistic medium, (what’s to stop them from trying next time when it isn’t a yummy food), having these items on hand allows your early toddlers and even older infants the opportunity to create with the older children.

Supplies: Vanilla or chocolate pudding, food coloring (optional), paper

Instructions: Mix food coloring with pudding to create edible finger paint. Let kids paint on paper.

Tips: Skip the paper and let them paint a small tray for easy clean up.

Create art using food items like yogurt, or pudding on a tray or paper. This also makes a great sensory bin filler, think chocolate pudding mud!

Handprint Art

I would like to encourage you to try this two ways, one being you helping stamp hands or feet for a cute keepsake project, two, try something like this campfire project where the kids stamped their own hands how they wanted.

Supplies: Washable paint, paper, brushes

Instructions: Paint the child’s hand and press it onto paper to create handprint designs.

Let the children create their own handprint designs to create something such as a campfire.

Tips: Have a washcloth or bucket of water nearby for easy cleanup.

Masking Tape Art

There are many ways to create this project. Will you lay the tape in a geometric pattern? Write out the child’s name? Perhaps you will try to create an image?

Supplies: Masking tape, paper, washable paint, brushes

Instructions: Place masking tape in patterns on paper. Paint over the tape and let dry. Remove tape to reveal designs. Use brushes or fingers!

Tips: Use painter’s tape for easy removal.

Crayon or marker coloring

Sometimes we forget about the simplest of things.

Set out one or two crayons or markers with a sheet of paper and let your child make marks and scribbles. Markers are great for them to notice the cause and effect. Color transfer is a lot easier with a marker then a crayon.

Supplies: large sheet of paper, crayons or markers, optional paper punch

Instructions: Set out a variety of crayons or markers and let your child decide and create.

Tips: Once finished, use a paper punch to punch out parts of your child’s drawing and glue to a sheet of colored construction paper. Make sure your child is okay with you cutting out pieces on their art!

Egg Carton Flowers

I love projects from recycled objects! Check those bins before you put out your recycling. Keep things like egg cartons or milk covers for flowers or bugs. Applesauce twist covers make awesome wheels. Bubble wrap packaging are so fun to pop or use as a textured painting object

Supplies: Egg cartons, paint, brushes, pipe cleaners, scissors, glue

Instructions: Cut egg carton cups, paint them, and glue them to pipe cleaners to create flowers.

Tips: Pre-cut the egg cartons for younger children.

Q-tip Painting

Have you tried painting with cotton swabs or q-tips? This is such a facinating thing to watch. You will have the children who use them like a regular paint brush and swipe swipe swipe.

You will have the child who dot dot dots as quick as they can.

You will have the child who slowly and meticulously fills in every little circle if you choose to use a paper template.

Supplies: Q-tips, washable paint, paper

Instructions: Use Q-tips to paint dots and create designs on paper. Show examples of pointillism art for inspiration for older children.

Want some fun templates? Check these out!!

Leaf Rubbings

Take this exploration outside and have children try this process with other items in nature!

Supplies: Leaves, crayons, paper

Instructions: Place a leaf under a piece of paper and rub a crayon over the top to reveal the leaf’s texture.

Tips: Use a variety of leaves for different textures. Don’t stop at just leaves…what else can you find that makes an interesting texture?

Rolling Object Painting

Don’t have marbles? No worries!! Try this out with other objects that roll. Use toy cars, tennis balls or try plastic or paper mâché eggs during Easter time!

Supplies: Marbles or anything that rolls, washable paint, shallow box, paper

Instructions: Place paper in a shallow box, dip rolling item in paint, and roll them around to create designs.

Tips: Put paint on the corners of the paper to keep the colors mixing and fresh until your little is ready to be done.

Footprint Art

Like handprint art, this is a great way to have a project with two parts. Keepsake art, and an amazingly fun (yet messy) sensory experience by laying out a large sheet of paper outside.

Supplies: Washable paint, paper, brushes

Instructions:

Option 1: Paint the child’s foot and press it onto paper to create footprint designs.

Option 2: Lay out a large sheet of paper outside. Have a pan of various paint colors on one end and a small pool of shallow water on the other end. Have the children step in the paint then walk, run, dance etc across the paper ending in the shallow pool of water to clean their feet. Dry your toes and do it again! Such a fun collaboration of footprints!!

Tips: Have a wash basin nearby for easy cleanup.

Bubble Painting

I have yet to meet a child who doesn’t like bubbles!

Supplies: Bubble solution, food coloring, straws, paper

Instructions: Add food coloring to bubble solution, blow bubbles onto paper, and let them pop to create colorful designs.

Tips: Use a shallow tray to contain the bubble solution.

Have younger children use a bubble wand to create colorful bubbles to keep them from accidentally drinking the solution, yuck!

Let older children blow air into a straw and let the colorful bubbles overflow or use a bubble wand if they’d like.

Crayon Resist Art

This is a fun way to show the kids in your care the amazing thing that white crayon we so often shove to the side can do.

Supplies: White crayon, watercolor paints, paper

Instructions: Draw with a white crayon on paper, then paint over it with watercolors to reveal the design.

Tips: Use thick paper to prevent warping.

Consider having an extra light close by for the kiddo who is trying to create a picture but struggles with the inability to see their lines. Art should never cause stress in our little creators!

Coffee Filter Science/Art

This makes an amazing project for a rainbow or butterfly theme!

Supplies: Coffee filters, washable markers, pipette, water

Instructions: Color coffee filters with washable markers. Using a pipette, drip water over the coffee filter and watch the colors blend together beautifully.

Tips: Place paper towels underneath to absorb excess water.

Paper Mache Bowls

Functional projects are always so fun for children. Consider making this around the time you may make another small object such as beaded necklaces allowing children to see how their bowl creation is functional.

Supplies: Balloons, newspaper strips, glue, water, paint, brushes

Instructions: Inflate a balloon, dip newspaper strips in a glue-water mixture, and cover the balloon. Let dry and paint.

Tips: Apply several layers for sturdiness.

Button Art

Wondering what to do with all the buttons you’ve collected over the years? I bet your littles sure would know!

Supplies: Buttons, glue, construction paper

Instructions: Arrange and glue buttons onto paper to create designs and patterns.

Tips: Use templates to help with design ideas or put out markers for an added level to your creativity process.

Shaving Cream Art

I love a good ‘part 2’ to our projects as a way to keep using items that will need to be disposed of when we’re done.

Supplies: Shaving cream, food coloring, paper, a baking sheet

Instructions: Spread shaving cream on a baking sheet, add drops of food coloring, and swirl with a toothpick. Press paper onto the mixture and lift to reveal the design.

Tips: Scrape off excess shaving cream with a ruler or squeegee.

(Part 2) After you finish the art portion, give the children a fork or spoon, something to mix the shaving cream and coloring then let them write in the shaving cream. Give them letter prompts or have them write their names for an added learning benefit.

Tissue Paper Collage

There are so many elements to this project, from tearing tissue paper to crumpling it up if that’s what your little chooses to do, and finally to glueing the pieces down in a pattern of their own choice.

Supplies: Miscellaneous colors of tissue paper, paper plate or paper, glue

Instructions: Tear or cut pieces of colorful tissue paper and let your toddler glue them onto paper to create a collage.

Show your toddler how to tear the tissue themselves and let them give it a try!

Tips: Your littlest of learners may not be ready for glue bottles and glue sticks just yet, give them a hand by sticking glue dots on the paper or give them a small amount of glue and a cotton swab to apply glue themselves.

Cotton Ball Painting

Think outside the box when coming up with your next painting idea. What can you use for a brush that is not a brush? When you hand this over what do you think your littles will do?

Supplies: Cotton balls, paint, paper, clothes pin (optional)

Instructions: Use large pompoms or cotton balls as paintbrushes, dipping them into paint and rolling or dabbing them onto paper. Clip a clothes pin to the cotton ball to create a handle.

Tips: encourage children not to squeeze the clothespin if you are using one as the cotton ball will fall out. If they do…teach them how to secure it on again.

Another fun outside the box painting idea…why not try painting with marshmallows?!

Musical Shakers

Marching band is such a fun activity for children! Whether your littles create music to go along with a song you play for them or you take your instruments outside to stomp around and create music, your kiddos are sure to have a blast creating their own instruments!

Supplies: Empty water bottles or other containers with a lid, rice or beans, hot glue or tape, items for decorations such as ribbon, markers, stickers etc.

Instructions: Fill small containers with dry rice, beans, or pasta and let your toddler decorate them with stickers, ribbons, and markers to create musical shakers.

Tips: Turn it up a notch and let your toddler fill the container!

Do A Dot markers

Every kid I have ever met loves these circular bingo dobbers. This is such a fun and easy craft for toddlers and preschoolers.

Supplies: Dot markers, paper with circles drawn on or template like the images.

Instructions: Show your kiddo to dot dot dot their paper. Grab some fun premade printables or draw little circles on a sheet of paper and see if they dot the circles.

Tips: Draw circles in the pattern of your child’s name!

Head this way for a rainbow template so you can try this with your little!!

Mess free Ziploc bag painting

Sometimes we want to be as clean as possible but also offer a fun engaging project.

Supplies: Paint, large ziplock bag, paper or paper plate (optional)

Instructions: Try adding some paint to a piece of paper or paper plate and put it in a plastic zipper bag. Let your little squish the paint around.

Tips: skip the paper inside and use this strictly as a squishy sensory experience. Not everything has to be a take home project!

Toy Car Painting

Do you have a car lover in your care? Whether you do or not I can guarantee your group will think this is about the coolest thing. Make sure to find cars with interesting textures on the wheels!! I couldn’t believe how long my kiddos sat for this project!!

Supplies: toy cars, paint, paper

Instructions: Dip toy cars or trucks into paint and let your toddler drive them around on paper to create tracks and patterns.

Tips: tape kraft paper to the table first and add paint directly to that so your kiddos can drive through the paint and all the way across their paper rather than having to dip their car wheels

Painting with flowers

Try painting projects with unusual objects, like flowers for instance. This will not only change textures on their projects, but allow your child to begin thinking ‘outside of the box’

Supplies: flowers, paper, paint

Instructions: Dip flowers into paint and let your littles experience painting with this unusual paint brush. Will they dab, brush, swipe, swirl?

Tips: If they lose petals in their work, don’t pick them out. This adds a neat textural element.

What is your choice

Now is the hard part, deciding what to do first!

While these projects and artistic explorations may be messy, they are fun and quick to set up!

Try going through the whole list and see what your kids enjoy most then begin catering your project set ups to their interests.

My current group could paint all day, so everything is our paintbrush.

Not too sure you’re ready for messy art with a group? Check out my post on messy art with one-year olds, many of the tips apply to older kids as well.

Also grab my guide on messy art with toddlers! I’ll give you some tips to get you started so the messy process isn’t so overwhelming…because let’s be real, it can get really messy.