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 88 kindergarten art projects students are sure to love.
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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
Need new ideas to liven up your Kindergarten science class? Check out our Kindergarten Science Experiments
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.
Learn More: Projects with Kids
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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
53. Create a Paper Weave Rainbow
Your little artists are sure to love this color-blending activity. Simply provide them with colorful strips of paper and then invite them to weave their paper together to create their very own spectacular rainbows. It’s an incredible blend of artistry that will make lessons on color transitions vibrant and exciting.
Learn More: Teach Beside Me
54. Produce a Footprint Dinosaur
Invite your kiddos to walk with the dinosaurs as they create dinosaur art footprints! Allow them to dip their feet in paint and then have them stamp down on a piece of paper. Then, provide them with art supplies that they can use to transform their footprint into a dino of their choice.
Learn More: Crafty Morning
55. Develop a Bubble Wrap Beehive
Bubble wrap isn’t just fun to pop, it can also be used as an artistic tool! Task your kiddos with dipping bubble wrap into paint before pressing it onto paper to create a pattern reminiscent of a beehive. Then, have them fill their bubble wrap beehives with paper bee cutouts. This activity makes the perfect introduction to lessons on pollination and ecosystems!
Learn More: Capturing Parenthood
56. Making Paper Plate Sunflowers
Get your kiddos in the mood for summer with this creative activity. Invite them to grow their very own artsy sunflowers by having them use paper plates, paint, and sunflower seeds to create summer-ready artwork.
Learn More: Non-Toy Gifts
57. Construct a Fruit and Vegetable Printing Art
Embrace the mess with this juicy activity! Simply begin by cutting fruits and vegetables in half before inviting your learners to dip the halves into paint and then stamp them on paper. Whether it’s a lesson on color combinations, shapes, or healthy eating – your learners are sure to enjoy this hands-on activity.
Learn More: FirstPalette.com
58. Make a Magic Wand
Inject some wonder into your classroom with this magical activity. Invite your little wizards to craft their own magic wands by providing them with sticks, ribbons, and glitter.
Learn More: Happy Family Art
59. Develop a 3D Paper Aquarium
Dive into the deep blue sea without ever leaving your classroom! Task your kiddos with cutting out fish shapes from colored paper and then place their fishies into a box to mimic an aquarium. Next, engage them in a discussion about marine biology or oceanic ecosystems to create an immersive activity that’s fun and educational for all.
Learn More: YouTube
60. Assemble a Pasta Necklace
Here’s a tasty lesson to secretly tune your little ones’ fine motor skills. Start by providing them with dry pasta to paint and thread onto string to create fabulous noodle necklaces that are worthy of a mini Met Gala!
Learn More: Childhood Magic
61. Paint a Tree with Wine Corks
Swap those paintbrushes for wine corks in this hands-on activity. Wine corks can be used by your little artists to make texturally rich leaves. Simply task your students with dipping wine corks into various colors of paint, before stamping them onto paper to create tree foliage.
Learn More: Juggling with Kids
62. Making a Leaf Mobile
Students today, environmentalists tomorrow – sounds appealing right? Send your kiddos outdoors to collect leaves of all shapes and sizes. Then, encourage them to use their leaves to create their very own hanging mobiles. It’s a sneaky way to introduce a lesson on leaf identification and local flora, while also sprucing up your classroom decor.
Learn More: Art Bar Blog
63. Create Sand Art Bottles
Get crafty with sand in this interactive project! Encourage your pupils to carefully plan their sandy layout, as you have them use colored sand to create a layered beach in a bottle.
Learn More: My Frugal Adventures
64. Make a Texture Collage
Introduce your learners to different art materials with this tactile-forward activity. Invite them to glue materials such as sandpaper, feathers, and cloth onto a single piece of paper. Then, watch as they create texture-rich pieces of art.
Learn More: The Picky Apple
65. Build a Popsicle Stick Picture Frame
Get your kiddos thinking out of the box with a lesson on art perception. Prompt a discussion on how frames can influence the artwork they house, as you have them construct their own frames with popsicle sticks, glue, and paint.
Learn More: Kids Art & Craft
66. Draw a Chalk Self-Portrait
Take art class to the great outdoors! Encourage your students to lie down on the pavement and trace each other’s outlines with chalk. As they admire their designs, use the opportunity to spark a discussion on the beauty of their uniqueness.
Learn More: Two Clever Moms
67. Create a Salt Dough Sculpture
Here’s an activity for all those budding sculptors in your class. Simply provide them with salt dough and then task them with sculpting figures, abstract shapes, or miniature landscapes. Once completed, place their figures into an oven to bake and harden. Then, invite them to paint their creations and watch as they transform them into long-lasting art pieces.
Learn More: Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art
68. Make Watercolor Resist Art
Your little artists are sure to enjoy this magical activity! Engage them in using white crayons to draw secret designs on white paper. Afterward, have them use watercolors to paint over their drawings and reveal a colorful surprise.
Learn More: kidsactivities.com
69. Assemble a Collage Using Magazine Cut-Outs
Here’s a real page-turner of an art project! Deepen your kiddos’ understanding of composition by allowing them to snip interesting images from magazines. They can then use glue to stick their images onto blank paper. The end result is a symphony of vibrant storyboards and thematic collages.
Learn More: Arts and Bricks
70. Produce a Colored Rice Mosaic
This activity presents a golden opportunity for a lesson in color and pattern. Task your students with dying grains of rice with food coloring and then encourage them to carefully arrange them on adhesive paper. The end result? A unique mosaic filled with intricate patterns.
Learn More: Focus on the Family
71. Pasta Mosaic Art
If you’ve run out of rice, you can also use pasta to create artful mosaics! Challenge your learners with arranging colored pasta in intricate patterns on a piece of cardboard. Once their layout is complete, you can then prompt them to use glue to set their patterns down.
Learn More: Art Club Blog
72. Clothespin Airplane Art
Buckle up and prepare your little pilots for takeoff! Challenge them to engineer their very own airplanes using clothespins and craft sticks. To add a personal touch, invite them to use paint to decorate their aerial wonders.
Learn More: DIY Inspired
73. Ocean-In-A-Bottle
Create thriving underwater ecosystems with this imaginative activity. Simply guide your students in crafting miniature oceans by layering water, blue food coloring, oil, and tiny sea critters in a bottle. It’s a hands-on way to discuss density and why oil and water just won’t get along.
Learn More: YouTube
74. Torn Paper Collage
Forget the scissors, it’s all about hands-on tearing here! Task your kiddos with ripping up colored paper to assemble landscapes, abstract designs, or even animal portraits. As they get into the rhythm of tearing and gluing, you can slide in a mini-lesson on color and contrast.
Learn More: YouTube
75. Bead and Clay Wind Chimes
Introduce your learners to sounds and frequency with this whimsical wind chime project. Invite them to shape air-dry clay and then have them string their dried shapes together with vibrant beads to make a classroom decoration that sings.
Learn More: Lil Blue Boo
76. Nature Faces
Here’s an eco-friendly activity that’s perfect for those sunny days. Take your art class on a nature walk and invite them to collect leaves, flowers, and sticks. Then, gather them back into the classroom and have them use their materials to create “nature faces” on cardboard.
Learn More: Happy Hooligans
77. Decorate a Birdhouse
In this activity, your little ones will decorate houses for their feathered friends. Engage them by giving them paint and decorations to personalize their little wooden birdhouses. As they work, you can use this chance to discuss different bird species and their preferred homes.
Learn More: Mod Podge Rocks
78. Twig Weaving
Get your students keen for some textile art! Introduce them to some basic weaving techniques, then invite them to weave colorful yarn between twigs.
Learn More: Raritan Headwaters
79. Shadow Drawing
Shadows will become stencils for your learners in this memorable activity. On a sunny day, take your class outside and provide them with paper and markers. Encourage them to use objects to create shadows, that they can then trace onto their paper.
Learn More: HiMama
80. Kite Making
The sky’s the limit with this high-flying activity! Challenge your students with assembling kites using sticks, string, and lightweight fabric. Then, have them decorate their airborne creations before they take to the sky.
Learn More: YouTube
81. Pipe Cleaner Sculptures
No mess, no stress, just bendy fun! Let your kiddos’ imaginations run wild as you task them with creating whatever strikes their fancy, using colorful pipe cleaners. They can twist and bend their pipe cleaners as they like to create unique 3D shapes.
Learn More: Picklebums
82. Paper Plate Animal Masks
Create a zoo right in your classroom with this adorable activity. Task your students with creating animal masks out of paper plates. Simply allow them to cut holes in their plates before they use paint to bring their animal face to life.
Learn More: One Crazy Mom
83. Nature Impressions in Clay
Incorporate a touch of Mother Nature into your art class. Invite your little ones to press leaves and flowers into clay to create fossil-like impressions.
Learn More: My Bright Ideas
84. Origami Creations
Get those little hands folding with this geometric activity. Start by introducing them to the basics of Origami by having them fold something simple like a boat. As their skills unfold, you can then challenge them to more complex shapes.
Learn More: YouTube
85. Colorful Paper Chains
Link up your class for some colorful fun! Simply provide them with colored paper, allow them to cut it into strips, and then task them with forming chains of colorful paper that they can stick together using glue or staples. Finally, hang their completed chains around the classroom to give your space some festive flair.
Learn More: Crayola
86. Leaf Rubbing Art
Art and science combine in this engaging activity. Task your learners with creating leaf rubbings by having them place leaves under paper, then allow them to use crayons to rub over it. As they transfer color to paper, they will reveal the detailed outlines and vein patterns of the leaves beneath their paper.
Learn More: YouTube
87. Paper Bag Puppets
Ready, set, action! Invite your learners to create colorful puppets out of brown paper bags. They can then draw on or cut out features to bring their puppet to life. For the main event, get their imaginations going by prompting them to put on an entertaining puppet show.
Learn More: Simple Everyday Mom
88. Pom Pom Painting
Who needs paintbrushes when you have pom-poms? Fill your classroom with mesmerizing patterns, abstract art, or representational images by allowing your learners to dip fluffy pom poms into paint before dabbing them onto paper. It’s an intuitive and tactile way to explore color theory.
Learn More: Learning 4 Kids
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.
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