Art is important for so many reasons. Teaching art to kids gives them the same tools of self-expression as the famous artists we all admire.
In addition to self-expression, lots of important skills are developed through art. Kindergarten art projects teach kids the following things:
- creativity
- critical thinking
- problem-solving
- how to follow steps in sequence
- art concepts
Coming up with art projects for kindergarteners can be a challenge. Luckily, we've done some of the leg work for you. All you need to do is set the activities up and watch your students get creative.
Here are 52 kindergarten art projects students are sure to love.
1. Make a Paper Clip Painting
This art project combines math, art, and a scavenger hunt all in one. Kids dip paper clips into paint and stamp them onto paper to make creative art projects.
There's no need to confine their creativity to paper clips, though. Send them on a scavenger hunt around the classroom to see what other items they find to use.
Learn more: Mosswood Connections
2. Make a Fizzy Baking Soda Print
Making a fizzy baking soda print is an art project that combines art with science. What kindergartener wouldn't want to see what they could create by touching a fizzling, colored liquid to paper?
Learn more: Typically Simple
3. Making Snowmen with Air-Dry Clay
Making snowmen with air-dry clay is a great art project for winter-themed activities. It can also be done to bring a little winter into your classroom on a hot day.
The clay can be painted or colored with markers and decorated with craft accessories.
Learn more: The Montessori-Minded Mom
4. String Painting
This is a very creative idea for an art project for kindergarteners. Using watercolor paints, water, yarn, and a tissue box, kids can create professional-looking art.
These art pieces are perfect for turning into Mother's Day or Father's Day cards.
Learn more: One Little Project
5. Cotton-ball Cherry Blossom Painting
Painting cherry blossoms using cotton balls is an adorable idea. This art project incorporates the use of clothespins, which is great for fine motor development.
The end product is gorgeous.
Learn more: Projects with Kids
6. Coffee Filter Tulip Suncatcher
This is a fun art project that combines process art and product art to make a beautiful and creative art piece.
The end result is a beautiful tulip-shaped suncatcher.
Learn more: There's Just One Mommy
7. Thumbprint Bug Art
This is such a cute art project idea that is so simple to set up. Paper, markers, paints, and thumbs are all kindergarteners need for this one.
Making art using thumbprints is a great art project for Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Learn more: Toot's Mom is Tired
8. Fork Stamping Tulip Art
Have you ever noticed that forks are kind of shaped like tulips? This makes them perfect for springtime process art projects.
This activity is super fun and super easy to set up.
Learn more: Toddler at Play
9. Abstract Painted Hearts
This is such a fun and creative art project idea. This is a perfect art activity for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, or Father's Day.
The canvas for this project is a wooden heart, so the end result is a keepsake that will last.
Learn more: Color Made Happy
10. Painting With Circles
This art project is really fun and easy. There's no need to limit making circles to only paper cups.
Kids can use bottle caps or any other circular item they can find.
Learn more: Mess for Less
11. Ice Cube Painting
Ice cube painting is a great kindergarten outdoor art project for the warm months. It can also be part of a winter-themed learning unit during the cold months.
Learn more: Green Kid Crafts
12. Splat Painting
Splat painting is a process art project in the truest sense of the meaning. Using paint, sponges, and a wooden spoon, kindergarteners can experience how beautiful making a "mess" can be.
Learn more: Taming Little Monsters
13. Pointillism with Q-tips
Making pointillism art using Q-tips is the perfect art project for kindergarteners. Using Q-tips to create art really helps develop a child's fine motor skills.
This art project is also great for learning about symmetry.
Learn more: Artful Parent
14. Painting with Nature
Painting using items from nature is one of the fun art projects for kindergarteners that can be done outdoors. Teachers can also set up a nature table inside the classroom and let students choose their own painting tool.
Learn more: Toddler at Play
15. Sidewalk Painting with Chalk Ice
Chalk ice is a fun sensory variation on the sidewalk chalk that kindergarteners know and love. Painting with the chalk ice is only half the fun of this art project.
Kids enjoy helping to make the chalk ice, too.
Learn more: The Best Ideas for Kids
16. Watercolor Painting on Paper Towels
Paper towels are usually used for wiping up spills made while kids are painting. They actually make great canvases, too, though!
This is an art project your kindergarten class will love.
Learn more: Gift of Curiosity
17. Blow Painting
Blow painting is a ton of fun for kindergarteners. It's also one of those kindergarten art projects teachers can set up in a matter of minutes.
Blow painting art projects can be process-based or you can assign your class to make animals, like scorpions, sea creatures, or birds.
Learn more: Artful Parent
18. Scribble Art
Kids have typically outgrown scribbling by the time they reach kindergarten. This art project is heavy on fine motor refinement and it lets kindergarteners relive their glory days of scribbling.
Learn more: Fireflies and Mud Pies
19. Make Coffee Filter Butterflies
This art project is great for spring-themed, summer-themed, and life-cycle learning units. The steps are fun for kindergarteners to follow and the process of coloring the butterfly wings allows for a lot of creativity.
Learn more: Organized Island
20. Jellyfish Salt Painting
Making a jellyfish salt painting is both an art project and a science project. It's a lot of fun and kids get to be really creative when it comes time to paint it.
Learn more: I Heart Arts n Crafts
21. Rain Cloud Gravity Painting
Rain cloud gravity painting is an art project and a science project rolled together. It requires only simple materials and pairs well with books such as Thunder Cake and Down Comes the Rain.
Learn more: A Little Pinch of Perfect
22. Yarn Painting
Painting with yarn is a fun change of pace from the paint-based art projects that dominate art project lists. The link below shows you how to set the project up using self-adhesive paper, however, your students can also use glue if that is what you have available.
Learn more: Picklebums
23. Crumpled Paper Art
This crumpled paper art project is inspired by the book, Ish, by Peter H. Reynolds. Not only is this a really fun kindergarten art project that yields a beautiful product - it's a great sensory-feedback activity that can help calm an unruly classroom.
Learn more: Bug and Buddy
24. Paint with Puffy Paint
This is one of several kindergarten art projects on our list that involves a science lesson. Make some puffy paint with your class, then let them at some canvases to see what they create.
Learn more: Happy Hooligans
25. Toilet Paper Roll Stamp Flowers
This is a really cool kindergarten art project that is inexpensive (uses empty toilet paper rolls) and easy to set up. The end product is a beautiful flower painting.
This art project is great for spring-themed learning units or flower life-cycle units.
Learn more: Taming Little Monsters
26. Marbling with Oil and Food Coloring
This is decidedly the kindergarten art project on this list with the biggest mess potential. The final product is so worth it, though.
This is an easy way to marble paper and the students will be so proud of the artwork they get to bring home to their families.
Learn more: Artful Parent
27. Cardboard Rainbow Collage
Making a cardboard rainbow art collage a great art project that has endless opportunities for creativity. Kindergarteners can incorporate construction paper, tissue paper, crafting supplies - anything they can think of - into their collage.
It's a great loose parts play activity.
Learn more: Art Bar
28. Block Painting
Block painting is a simple art project that's easy for kids and allows for a lot of creativity. Kids just have to dip their blocks into paint and stamp them onto craft paper.
Learn more: Taming Little Monsters
29. Flower Painting
The great thing about art projects for kindergarteners is that just about anything can be used in place of a paintbrush.
Grab some inexpensive flowers, some tempera paint, and some sturdy construction paper, and see what your kindergarteners create.
Learn more: Play to Learn Preschool
30. Bubble Wrap Roller Printing
Bubble wrap roller printing is a simple and satisfying kindergarten art project that involves a great amount of fine and gross motor activity.
Another wonderful thing about this project is that it encourages teamwork between classmates.
Learn more: Art Bar
31. A Surprise Rainbow
There are 2 different ways this activity can be done, which are explained in the link below.
This is a really cool activity because a lot of kindergarteners still believe in magic and this project lets them make some magic of their own.
Learn more: The Best Ideas for Kids
32. Painted Plate Flowers
Making painted paper plate flowers is a very involved, but very fun, kindergarten art project. The work they put into this beautiful project is sure to make them feel very proud.
Learn more: Pink Stripey Socks
33. Straw Blown Peacock Painting
Blow painting allows for a lot of open-ended creativity. It's also fun to challenge kindergarteners to create a specific product using this art technique.
Since peacock feathers are a work of art in and of themselves, what a great end product to work toward.
Learn more: The Pinterested Parent
34. Northern Lights Chalk Art
Making an art project that is Northern Lights-themed is a fun and creative activity that pairs well with a book about the phenomenon or a Northern Lights-themed science unit.
Learn more: One Little Project
35. Foil Art Prints
This is a really neat art project idea that uses card stock and colored aluminum foil. After the print is made using a laminator, students can paint them or use crayons to fill in the spaces.
Learn more: Color Made Happy
36. Salt Painting a Pineapple
Salt painting is always a big hit with kindergarteners. Salt painting a pineapple is an art project that also incorporates science and can introduce the concept of symmetry.
Learn more: Skip to My Lou
37. Painting with Rubber Bands
Painting with rubber bands uses a similar concept as splat painting, just on a smaller scale. It's messy, it's fun, and it allows kids to get really creative.
Learn more: Craftulate
38. Bell Pepper Shamrock Stamping
Have you ever looked at a cross-section of a bell pepper and thought to yourself, "That looks a lot like a 4-leaf clover".
It does - which makes it the perfect tool for stamping shamrocks!
Learn more: Crafty Morning
39. Painting Fireworks
Painting fireworks is a fun art project that is a wonderful addition to holiday-themed learning units.
Using empty toilet paper rolls, paper plates, and paint, kindergarteners can create a beautiful painting of fireworks.
Learn more: Learning 4 Kids
40. Bleeding Tissue Paper Art
This is a really fun art project for kindergarteners. The creative possibilities are endless when kids get to use spray bottles and tissue paper in their art.
Bleeding tissue paper art is great for seasonal art projects - for any season!
Learn more: The Best Ideas for Kids
41. Shaving Cream Painting
Painting with shaving cream is one of the kindergarten art projects that let kids get truly involved in their art via multiple senses. The activity can be set up in a deep tray or in a sensory bin.
Learn more: Fun With Mama
42. Make a Dinosaur Stomp Painting
This is a great art project that lets kids create something beautiful and play with dinosaurs at the same time. There's no need to focus on perfection, just let the dinosaurs stomp around!
Learn more: Paper and Glue
43. Making a Self-Portrait
A self-portrait is a challenging concept for kindergarten-age children. This art project should be kept simple, fun, and without the expectation of a picture-perfect finished product.
Learn more: The Kitchen Table Classroom
44. Make a Paper Line Sculpture
Making paper line sculptures is an art project that introduces children to the concept of being able to create 3-D art.
Kindergarteners aren't limited to making their lines of paper resemble a specific object or structure. They are free to use their imaginations on this one.
Learn more: Art is Basic
45. Make a Body Flip Book
This is a fun art project every kindergartener will love. Making their own body flipbook, kids can imagine themselves in different fun clothing combinations.
How cool is that?
Learn more: My First Pallete
46. Making Stained Glass Crayons
This art project for kindergarteners also involves a science element - melting crayons. The activity is fun for kids and the end result is beautiful stained glass art.
Learn more: Education.com
47. Painting with Bubbles
Who knew you could paint with bubbles?
This art project gets kindergarteners involved in making the bubbles, then creating the art. The results are very cool.
Learn more: Early Learning Ideas
48. Body Tracing and Painting
Body and tracing and painting is one of the few art projects for kindergarteners that incorporates a gross motor aspect. Kids get to paint a whole-body self-portrait and have a great time in the process.
Learn more: The Artful Parent
49. Create Spin Art with a Salad Spinner
This is such a neat art project that makes use of that salad spinner you probably haven't used in a while. Bring it to school, lay down some newspaper, and watch your class create some neat-looking art projects.
Learn more: The Artful Parent
50. Make a Painted Paper Duckling
This art project has multiple steps, each one being a lot of fun. Students get to use fun brush strokes to paint paper and then use that paper to make a paper duckling.
This is a great art project for springtime.
Learn more: Deep Space Sparkle
51. Create an Apple Starry Night Print
You are likely familiar with Vincent Van Gogh's famous painting, Starry Night. Following this art activity, your child will be, too.
This activity pairs well with the book, Touch the Art: Make Van Gogh's Bed and it can be done with items you have around your house, including an apple core.
Learn more: The Educators' Spin on It
52. Make a Robot Puppet
Making a robot puppet is an adorable art project that any kindergartener is sure to enjoy. It gives kids the chance to show off their creative chops and, bonus points - they have a puppet to play with after the art activity is finished!
Learn more: Merri Cherry
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you introduce art to kindergarteners?
Kindergarteners can be introduced to art in easy, low-pressure ways, such as simply supplying them with art materials and letting them create what they like.
What art should kindergarteners learn?
Kindergarteners should be introduced to art that involves a variety of canvas types, mediums, tools, and colors.
What colors attract children's attention?
Bright, vibrant colors generally attract children's attention more so than pastels. When setting up art projects, it's a good idea to set out some brightly colored art materials.
