We understand that educators are strapped when it comes to time and the resources available to them. When coming up with new and easy preschool crafts, they must be simple to teach, align with lesson plans, be fun for children to make, and of course, require as few resources and materials as possible.
We feel that the humble paper plate serves as an excellent foundation for a wide range of interesting, creative and easy preschool crafts that you and your students will enjoy. Best of all, paper plates are inexpensive, accessible, and incredibly versatile!
The following are some of our favorite paper plate crafts to try:
Spider
Have children paint the underside of a paper plate in the color of their choosing. Once dry, glue or draw on as many googly eyes as desired in the center of the plate. Finally, glue or staple 4 pipe cleaner legs on each side of the plate to make up the spider’s 8 legs!
Rainbow
This is an easy preschool craft suited to lessons about weather. All you need is half of a paper plate to create a beautiful rainbow. Have children paint or color their paper plate in rainbow hues, then glue on cotton balls to the ends of your rainbows for fluffy clouds.
Umbrella
Another craft that is great for weather-themed lessons, or just a rainy day! Cut a paper plate in half to form the top of the umbrella. Cut out and glue on a hooked handle-shaped piece in the centre of the umbrella top. Next, let children decorate their umbrella with any leftover craft supplies on hand.
Ring Toss
Cut out the centers of 4-5 paper plates, leaving only the outer ring intact. Color each of these rings with a different color. Create a stand for the ring toss by cutting slits in a cardboard tube and taping these flaps to an upside-down paper plate. Toss away and see who can score the most points!
Fish
All you need to do to create your fish is cut a triangle shape from one side of a paper plate. This creates a mouth for the fish, while the cut-out piece can become the tail. Glue the tail on the opposite side of the plate from the mouth. Let preschoolers decorate their fish however they wish!
Sundial
Practice time-telling skills and get outdoors with an easy sundial. On the bottom of a paper plate, write out the hours of the day as you would on a clock face. Push a pencil through the center of the plate and head outdoors on a sunny day with the sundial’s 12 o’clock facing due north to see what time it is!
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