Where can I find preschool art activities for special needs children?

Question

I need new and creative activities for preschool children who are special needs children.

Answer 1

Most people tend to overcomplicate art projects at the preschool level. So many kids are completely happy (and engaged) with simple projects. A few colors of paint at an easel, a ball of playdough, exploring with glue or shaving cream... these are all fun and interesting activities - open ended activities that promote creativity! It's hard to know what will be most effective without knowing the particular special needs of your students, but I have ideas that work well with most kids.

Here are a few more specifics...

With paint, give just 2 or 3 colors that will make observable effects when mixed. Put a vibrant color out with black and/or white and discuss how the shades get darker or lighter when mixed. Or put out yellow and blue, and when the pictures turn out green, remark on how they didn't start out with any green paint. Add glitter, sand, salt, and other things that will make cool effects and textures.

With playdough, there are so many neat sensory and investigation things you can do - pinching, pulling, rolling, poking, pressing, pounding, tearing... you can also pull out simple tools to explore with.

Glue is also fun to explore - just a tray of glue can provide a LOT of entertainment! It's squishy, it's cold, it's sticky... give paint brushes, toothpicks, toothbrushes, paper, wire, salt, shaving cream, liquid watercolors, etc. Let them use the tools and mix the other ingredients to see what happens.

These are really basic ideas, and you may have done a lot with them already. Just remember that kids are curious by nature - most children don't need a lot of bells and whistles to be interested, especially when they have the chance to be creative.

Answer 2

There are a ton of sites out there... especially for preschool craft projects. Here are a few I use...