Kindergarten Rocks!
5 year olds are the best. I was a kindergarten teacher for many years before I became an art teacher. The kids are so full of wonder and possibility. I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite art activities for 5 year olds. Some are ones I’ve done more recently, and some are oldies but goodies that the kids loved. Check them out below and if you have any teacher friends, please share this with them. Teachers are always in planning mode and looking for fun ideas to kick off the new year (hopefully after a very long restful summer break.)
1. Make Robot Puppets. This is AWESOME. The kids love it and they love playing with the puppet afterwards even more. This is a really great one for the boys too, which are sometimes a little harder to engage in the art department. In my experience anyway.
2. Ballon Bowls – Click through to see the vid. This is really fun and a great keepsake.
3. Family Portraits – I think this is really a parent fave than anything else. The kids like it for sure, but the parents love it even more.
4. Marble Run – Marble runs are such a fun project for kids. They have endless possibilities and there are so many ways to do them. Check out this marble run post by Tinkerlab for a great how to.
5. Mini Art Books – There is something about small compartments that kids just love. These books were such a hit with my five year old art class. You can fill them with any kind of art and they are super cheap. Plus, they make a great art portfolio.
6. Zip line – Do this. Just do this. The’ll love it!! Great summer activity and science and art combo.
7. Paint Mixing – Kindergartners can do this pretty much daily and never get tired of it. It’s just always fascinating to mix colors and see the changes you can make with the smallest adjustments.
8. Self-Portrait Shadow boxes – This is my personal favorite project for 5 year olds. It’s the best keepsake and the whole process is just great. Highly recommend it! Great gift too.
9. Make Robots with Tinker Trays – I’m totally in love with tinker trays for young kids, especially kindergartners. They just love working independently and having the freedom to make their own decisions and choices.
10. Spin Art Buffet – Anything involving the word buffet is kind of awesome and this spin art buffet is no exception. All the choices and the autonomy of individual salad spinners make this activity a home run. Great for play dates and birthday parties too.
11. Sculpey Necklaces – The pic doesn’t really do these necklaces justice. It’s on my never ending list of things to do – re-photograph these – but in the meantime, kindergartners totally LOVE this project. It’s really fun to use all the real tools and every kid I know loves sculpey. For real.
12. Tinker Tray Pumpkins – This is something I will do every Halloween season forom now until my kids leave the house. It just rules and the 5 year olds I work with made the most incredible pumpkins I have ever seen. They were just so alive and amazing. This is a class I won’t forget. Totally awesome.
13. Gratitude Boxes – We make gratitude boxes for all kinds of occasions from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day and everything in between. This is such a special way to show your love. Great for grandparents too. It’s a truly meaningful gift.
14. Recycled Cardboard Art – These are inspired by the artist Marcus Oakley and such a great process for the kids. We did paint mixing, shape identifying and worked recycled materials.
15. Washi Tape Rain sticks – This is another of one of my all time favorites. The kids absolutely love this project. Everyone was successful. Each rainstick looked different and unique and all the kids loved doing a rain dance after to help out dear old California. A must do!
16. Best Play Date Activity Ever – This is just such a great sensory activity and the erupting volcanoes are super cool. Great introduction to chemical reactions and the kids can do it over and over again.
17. Wood working – I’ve down this countless times with 5 year olds and the process and results never cease to amaze me. Start collecting wood odds and ends because this is awesome.
18. Lotto for Kids – This was one of the best things we did one summer at camp and I’m still frustrated because pinterest never gives this post any love. I mean, hours of fun and kids laughing hysterically and total engagement.
19. Spin Art Rocks – When we figured this one out, we just did it over and over again. Pure fun.
19. Tissue Paper Art – This was one of the last projects I did with my kindergarten class before I changed jobs. It was so beautiful and everyone’s looked so different. I love this project.
20. Make Alien Army – And lastly, the project that will make me famous one day. Am I allowed to say that? It really will though because the awesomeness of this army with over 200 members is so freaking awesome, it will someday be in the hands of children across the world and I can’t wait! I don’t really have a great post on it but you can click the link to find out a little more and see the amazing poster.
5 More Kindergarten Ready Art Activities from some of the Rockin’ Art Moms
So there you have it. 25 art project ideas to make Kindergarten Rock! Thanks for reading along everyone. Have fun. Meri
Do you have any ideas for me? I’m an art teacher at a very large elementary school. I see 5 kdg classes, one a day, then start over again with a new lesson. The amount of prep time needed for even a simple lesson is insane, and I teach k-5 every day with only a lunch break until my planning at the end of the day. Simple kindergarten lessons that are fun and engaging are what I need!!!