Helpful Tips for Parents

• Keep a dedicated "drying rack" (a clothesline with pegs) for wet paintings and glue projects. Eliminates the flat surface shortage problem in a busy craft session.

• Smocks or old shirts make messy crafts a yes rather than a no. One dedicated craft shirt removes the cleanup anxiety that limits creative risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

What craft supplies should every preschooler household have?

The essential preschool craft supply kit: washable crayons and markers, child-safe scissors, a glue stick (plus liquid glue for older preschoolers), white and colored construction paper, tape (painter's tape and clear tape), watercolor paints and brushes, playdough (homemade or store-bought), and a smock or dedicated art shirt. With just these supplies, hundreds of craft projects are possible. Secondary additions: natural materials (leaves, sticks, pinecones), recycled materials (toilet rolls, egg cartons, cardboard boxes), and foam sheets.

Related reading: See also our writing readiness guide and our sorting and color activities for more ideas on this topic.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 🎨 Creativity & Self-Expression — Making freely chosen creative decisions — which colors, shapes, and materials to use — develops a child's personal artistic voice and the confidence to express original ideas across all areas of life.
• 🌈 Color & Pattern Recognition — Selecting, mixing, and arranging colors and patterns sharpens visual discrimination — the ability to notice subtle differences — which transfers directly to letter and number recognition in early literacy and math.
• 📐 Spatial Reasoning — Three-dimensional crafts — paper folding, cardboard construction, clay sculpting — develop the spatial intelligence children need for geometry, engineering, and understanding how physical objects relate in space.
• 💬 Vocabulary Expansion — Craft activities introduce rich domain-specific vocabulary: fold, crease, overlap, layer, press, symmetrical, transparent. Children who acquire craft vocabulary develop stronger descriptive language across all contexts.

Basic Preschool Note

The Basic Preschool Note can be used for many occasions. This particular note is designed to be inserted into the Preschool Toilet Tissue Tube Friendship Stick, but you can use the Basic Preschool Note inside cards or just folded and placed in an envelope. Any time you wish to give your preschooler a chance to express him/herself in written words is a good time to use the Basic Preschool Note .

Materials you Will Need

A pad and pen to write down your preschooler's words

Printer paper

Crayons or makers

Your word processor and printer

How to Make It

This is a parent participation craft.

**Step 1:

**Talk to your preschooler about which people s/he would like to express friendship or thanks to. Make a list.

Step 2:

Taking one person at a time, ask what s/he would like to say to this person. You can prompt a bit if necessary. For instance, if s/he has put his/her preschool teacher on the list, say, "what would you like to tell _____ thank you for?" For friendship, you can offer choice between two simple sentences such as "Thank you for being my friend" or "I like having you for a friend". If your preschooler wants to make a new friend, s/he can say, "Please be my friend" or "I want to be your friend." Be sure you use a proper salutation and closing. Let your preschool sign his/her name even if it is only a scribble then write it clearly for him/her beneath.

Step 3:

The toilet tissue tube is about 4 1/2 inches long. Word process your preschooler's words so that the paper will fit when folded in half and rolled up to fit into the tube. Leave room on the sides, top, and bottom for him/her to draw.

Step 4:

Let your preschooler decorate the edges of the "stationery".

**Step 5:

**Let your preschooler roll up the note and put it inside the Preschool Toilet Tissue Friendship Stick

**Step 6:

**Help your preschooler deliver his/her notes.

Helpful Tips for Parents

Tip 1:

You can use Step 2 above to help your child write any kind of note or greeting to someone s/he would like to write to. Simply change the prompts to one more suitable and give limited choices, though if s/he comes up with something independently, that's even better.

Tip 2:

The Basic Preschool Note is a tiny step towards teaching your preschooler that written language represents spoken language. Even if s/he is much too young to read, sit with him/her and read back his/her own words. Over time, the written/spoken word connection will become internalized.

Tip 3:

When the two of you are writing thank you's, it's a nice idea to include your co-parent on the list. Hopefully, when s/he receives his/her thank you, s/he will do the same for you.

**Tip 4:

**Don't forget siblings. They often feel unappreciated by younger brothers and sisters.

**Tip 5:

**Be sure to make one or more photocopies so you have them for scrapbooking, the baby book, or your preschooler's memory book.

I'm Margaret Studer , the Preschool Crafts writer for PreschoolRock.com. In addition to crafts, I enjoy writing, children, cooking, and cats. I love to hear from my readers, so please share your preschool craft ideas with me. If you have any suggestions, ideas, or questions about this site, please contact me .

HOME | ABOUT US | CONTACT | LINK TO US | ADVERTISE

SITEMAP | REPRINTS | PRESS RELEASES | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS OF USE

Preschool Crafts is Copyright 2006-2007- Margaret Studer

PreschoolRock.com is Copyright 2006-2007- Stacey Lloyd - All Rights Reserved.