Preschool Crafts: Monochromatic and Holiday Inspired Collages

Preschoolers explore art as an experiment or learning experience. They want to do something that is exciting and stimulating. Young children are more interested in doing the art rather than making the finished product. And that's okay at this age! One of my favorite types of art to present to preschoolers is the collage. "A collage is a work of art made by combining pieces that have to do with one topic or idea."[1]

In this article, I will be talking about using a monochromatic theme and holidays as a focus. This means children can learn their colors, as well as make holiday decorations for the home or school. This is the time to bring out the art and recycle box and provide materials that will work with the project of the day. Many different kinds of materials can be used, but each piece is put into the collage for a reason - it belongs there - it has a reason!

Easy Start with Toddlers and Twos

A great start when working with toddlers and twos is using clear adhesive paper as your backdrop. There is nothing easier than giving your children small materials to add to their collage and letting it stick to the paper without glue. Just cut a sheet from a roll of this sticky paper and tape it down onto the table, sticky side up. Invite the little ones to choose materials and stick it down - voila, a simple collage!

Make a Green Inspired St. Patrick's Day Collage

Preschoolers can manipulate a glue stick or even school glue with a paintbrush or cotton swab applicator. Since green is the main color of this holiday, provide them with a sheet of green card stock. The card stock or tag board is thicker than construction paper and can withhold some weight. Then I collect small green objects that either relates to the color or holiday. For example, green papers, fabrics, buttons, glitter, pom-poms, pipe cleaners, faux gems and sequins, just to name a few. For holiday flair, look in craft stores for St. Patrick's Day stickers, plastic shamrocks, shiny garland and more. Invite the children to pick and choose what they want on their collage and proceed to place the objects on their board. Then it is a matter of gluing everything in place and they will have a beautiful piece of artwork to share with family and friends. Not only are they learning about the different shades of green, but discuss the symbolism used for St. Patrick's Day and you have accomplished two lessons with this craft.

Love is in the Air with A Valentine's Day Collage

You will see in the photograph of this collage, that I chose a black background but had the children enhance it with shades synonymous with Valentine's Day. Think red, white, pink and shades of lavender for this holiday. First the children used red and white paint to make pink - a lesson in color mixing to draw random stripes on the page. Sprinkle some glitter on the wet paint for sparkle. Next using safety scissors, I taught preschool children how to cut hearts. Easiest way is to fold a square of paper and cut half a heart. When you open the paper the full heart is made. Cut them in different sizes, free-from and even try some of those specialty scissors that make fancy edges. Glue all the hearts down on your page. Again craft stores have fancy Valentine stickers, faux jewels and holiday trinkets that can be easily glued down. You may find that a low-temperature glue gun is best for plastic decors, but only under the supervision of an adult.

I could go on and on about making collages with preschool children. Make sure to take advantage of all the holidays, as there are so many cute items to make and glue to these themes. Colors are a must for early childhood learning. Even the infamous "my favorite things" is one collage preschoolers love to do and a way to express themselves.

Happy Crafting!

Source: Personal experience in the early childhood classroom and as a mother.
[1] Frank, Marjorie; I Can Make A Rainbow, Incentive Publications, 1976

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