DIY Preschool Art Learning Center Using Recycled Materials

Preschoolers and indeed all students learn best with interactive, hands-on activities. Learning centers are multi-sensory, provide choice and are user-friendly. This guide will help you set up an arts and crafts learning center.

I've taught grades K-8, early childhood, special needs, Montessori and homeschool. This DIY guide can be used in an size classroom environment. Home-schoolers, use this guide to create an art center in your home, too.

If you are fortunate to have at least a partially tiled area of your classroom, use this area for the art center. If your classroom in entirely carpeted, you can easily create a spill-proof art center floor. You will need duct tape and an inexpensive vinyl tablecloth, shower curtain or piece of vinyl flooring. Lay the piece of vinyl flat and pull it taut so that it will not cause anyone to trip over it. Duct tape all around the plastic.

Place your art and craft center near a sink or bathroom for easy clean up. Place a dish rack near sink to dry paint brushes and supplies. No sink or bathroom in your classroom? No problem. Fill a dish pan with soapy water near the art area. Provide hand towels or paper towels, too. When children are finished working, they should rinse their hands.

Set up several back-to-back easels for painting projects. No easel? Make an easel easily with a piece of particle board (or paneling or plywood) and two cement blocks (or plastic tubs filled with sand). Place the board between the cement blocks or sand pails. This will hold the wood upright. Place clothespins on the board to pin paper in place while the child paints. If you don't have drying rack, tie string along windows or walls, like a clothesline. Hang pictures to dry. Be sure to hang string flush with the wall so that there is no potential for injury.

Use recycled ice cube trays or Styrofoam egg cartons to hold paints. Pour a little paint in each section at the beginning of each class section. To rinse paint brushes, use shallow plastic bottles or jugs with narrow openings. Plastic is safer than glass and narrow bottle openings prevent spills and messes.

Children can wear a mans shirts backwards, to cover clothing. Make child-sized art aprons from a recycled shower curtain or table cloth. Cut rectangles with a hole in the center for the head. No need to add ties as children can easily slip the apron over their heads.

When children are finished painting, they should clean up their area. Make a pictorial list of what clean up involves:

-Hang up apron (place hooks near the art center).
-Empty paint water and add fresh water for the next person.
-Rinse brushes and place in dish rack to dry.
-Place painting in drying area.
-Wash hands.

For more classroom management tips, visit my linked blogs.