Helpful Tips for Parents

• Catalog and photograph finished work before displaying or sending home. A digital portfolio of children's work across a year shows developmental progression beautifully.

• Fine motor skills developed through crafts directly support handwriting readiness. Scissors, glue, tearing, folding, and painting all build the hand strength writing requires.

• Process over product: the developmental value is in the making, not the thing made. Resist the urge to fix, redo, or "help" make it look better.

• Stock a craft supplies box that children can access independently: paper, tape, glue sticks, scissors, crayons. Open-ended materials produce the most creative work.

Frequently Asked Questions

At what age are children ready for scissors?

Spring-loaded or squeeze scissors can be introduced from age 2 for supervised snipping. Proper child safety scissors for basic cutting are typically introduced between ages 3–4. By age 5, most children can cut straight lines and simple curves independently. Fine motor development varies significantly — children with stronger hand development may be ready earlier; children with lower muscle tone may need more time and targeted practice. Supervised cutting practice 3 times per week develops the skill rapidly.

Related reading: See also our salt dough projects and our paper plate crafts for more ideas on this topic.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 💪 Persistence & Resilience — Working through a craft that doesn't go as planned, fixing mistakes, and persisting to completion teaches children that effort — not talent — produces results, a mindset that predicts lifelong learning.
• 🌿 Sensory Exploration — Handling varied craft materials — soft fabric, rough sandpaper, smooth clay, scratchy burlap — builds sensory discrimination and supports the processing skills that some children need additional practice with.
• 🏆 Pride & Accomplishment — Completing a craft and displaying or giving it away gives children a concrete experience of accomplishment — building the relationship between effort, completion, and pride that motivates future creative risk-taking.
• ♻️ Environmental Thinking — Using natural or recycled materials in crafts begins to develop awareness that materials have a life beyond their original use — an early foundation for environmental stewardship and sustainable thinking.

Preschool Rose Parade Float

Preschoolers love the Rose Parade. Your preschooler can make his/her own Preschool Rose Parade Float from gift boxes left over from Christmas. All you need is a gift box, tissue paper, glue, 2 beads, and a string.

Materials You will Need

1 flat gift box, the kind with a separate top and bottom

6-inch squares of tissue paper in many colors

Glue

String

2 large wooden beads, at least 1/2 inch in diameter, for the end of the string

Hole punch

How to Make It

**Step 1:

**Lay the gift box on a protected surface.

**Step 2:

**Punch one hole in the end of the top and a matching hole in the bottom so that they line up.

Step 3:

Tie one bead to one end of the string.

Step 4:

Slip the string through both holes from the inside.

**Step 5:

**Fit the lid of the box on the bottom and tape it down all the way around.

Step 6:

Place the other bead on the string, slide it down to the box, and tie it so it doesn't slip. This keeps the string from slipping back inside the box.

Step 7:

Roll the tissue paper into balls and glue them on the top and sides but not the bottom of the box.

Make it More Challenging

Suggestion 1:

If your preschooler wants to make a picture, s/he can draw it on white paper first and glue it to the top of the box. Then s/hejust follow the colors in the picture as a pattern for what colors of tissue paper to use.

Suggestion 2:

If the preschooler is ready to make a more detailed picture, the tissue paper squares can be cut smaller to make smaller balls.

Suggestion 3:

Some older preschoolers may want to add dimension by gluing a smaller box of any shape to the large gift box. Be sure to let it dry thoroughly before adding the tissue paper.

Suggestion 4:

If your preschooler is sophisticated enough to want wheels, s/he create them by using precut dowels and circles purchased at a craft store. Dowels should be long enough to go through the box from side to side and have room left over for a wheel. Or use this alternative method for making wheels.

Suggestion 5:

Use dried or artificial flowers instead of tissue paper.

**Suggestion 6:

**Save the wrapping paper from the gifts opened on Christmas morning to use instead or along with the tissue paper.

Helpful Tips for Parents

Tip 1:

The wooden beads help hold the string in place, but be careful to keep them away from children who are still in the everything-in-the-mouth stage. It your preschooler is still putting things in his/her mouth, you can use little squares of cardboard instead.

Tip 2:

Have the entire family and/or neighborhood friends make their own Preschool Rose Parade Floats and have your own mini Rose Parade either indoors or out as weather permits.

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 .

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