In our article on the benefits of process art, we discussed the ‘why’ of letting children create without limits during art activities. However, to give more practical advice on this subject, we thought we’d share ideas on the essential art supplies you’ll need for your preschool process art table.
Keep in mind, these are just ideas to get you going! We encourage you to try different materials – whether or not they are from an actual craft store.
Craft store supplies to keep handy in your classroom
When we talk about creating art, we usually think of the most obvious supplies – the ones we remember from our childhoods. You can get these at craft stores like Michaels, or even from a dollar store, drug store or Wal-Mart. They are ‘manufactured’ in that sense.
These can include:
- Non-toxic paints (try watercolour varieties to ease up on the stains).
- Pencil crayons
- Wax crayons
- Pastels
- Paint brushes (have a variety on hand, with ‘kid size’ handles)
- Paint rollers
- Paint sponges
- Pencils and erasers
- Chalk and chalk pens
- ‘Paint’ pens
- Construction paper
- Tissue paper
- Origami paper
- Poster board paper
- Scrapbooking paper
- Wrapping paper
- Drawing paper
- Cardboard slats
- Canvas
- Scissors (safe ones for kids!)
- Paper trimmers (for the teachers to use)
- Stamps and ink pads
- Pipe cleaners
- Foam sheets
- Hole punchers (they come in shapes other than circles, too)
- Stickers
- Sequins (loose kinds and with the sticker on the back – might be called gemstones)
- Glitter and glitter glue
- Confetti (in hole-punch style plus the ‘shredded’ kind)
- Straw (as in grassy hay, in different colours – seen at Easter time)
- Fake feathers (avoid real ones to avoid contamination)
- Googly eyes
- Coloured foil
- Fuzzy balls (pom poms)
- Felt fabric
- Sewing fabric and other fabrics (like faux fur)
- Garlands (including saved Christmas decor)
- Vinyl sheets
- Coloured sand
- Kinetic sand
- Magnets
- Tape (masking tape, washi tape, clear tape, etc.)
- Buttons
- Wood shapes (craft cut outs)
- Wood dowels (the crafting kind)
- Yarn
- Rope and tweed
- Leather sheets
- Beads (larger sizes may work better for kids who are new to threading)
- Lanyards
- Ribbon
- Stencils
- Glue (liquid glue and glue sticks)
- Rulers and tracing supplies
- Modelling clay and playdough (unless you home-make these)
- Cork (in rolled sheets, or in pre-cut shapes)
For the teachers:
Staples, staplers, thumb tacks, Command strips and hooks, paper clips and other items to post the children’s art up on your ‘gallery’ walls! You may also want a printer and cartridge ink to pre-print labels or colouring sheets (not necessarily for process art).
And, don’t forget your aprons, table covers, box organizers, finger paint trays, sand bins and washing supplies!
Outdoor and wilderness items to use as craft supplies
Nature is full of art, have you noticed? We can use pieces of art found in nature, to make even more art! When you are on a walk with your classroom kids, or enjoying an outdoor activity, try collecting some of these items for creating process art later in the day:
- Leaves
- Sticks
- Rocks
- Straw (from a farm or pet store, or stick to the store-bought kind)
- Sea shells (if permissible, or buy them)
- Sea glass (with dull edges only!)
- Pine cones
- Moss and grass
- Flowers
Notes on the above: be sure to only take from nature what is allowed! E.g. your government regulations may prohibit taking sea shells from your beaches. It also would not be appropriate to pick flower heads off of people’s front yards! Also, please ensure these materials are clean and that they come from uncontaminated sources.
Household items and repurposed supplies to use for process art
And finally, we have many things lying around our homes that can creatively be turned into supplies for process art at preschool. Steal some ideas from the list below!
- Wallpaper
- Adhesive shelf liners like Con-Tact Paper
- Hardware store paint sample cards
- Furniture foot pads
- Salad spinners (put paint in these, spin, and see what happens!)
- Dry foods like beans, seeds, pasta and rice
- Cotton balls and pads
- Q-tips and cotton swabs
- Coffee sticks
- Aluminum food trays or pie pans
- Tin foil
- Parchment paper
- Duct tape
- Cupcake liners
- Plastic wrap
- Ziplock bags (for mixing)
- Toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls
- Toilet paper and paper towels
- Cereal cartons
- Egg cartons
- Yoghurt containers and lids (and similar food containers)
- Bottle caps
- Candy wrappers
- Mint tins
- Wipes openers (the hard plastic kind)
- Clothes pins
- Potatoes and carrots (for temporary stamps)
- Crystal sugar
- Kool-Aid powder (or other drink crystals)
- Sugar cubes
- Epsom salt
- Old sheets or pillow cases
- Paper plates and cups
- Paper straws
- Paper lunch bags
- Take out containers
- Sand paper (mild ones, for the kids)
- Food cans and lids (make sure they’re not too sharp)
- Old maps
- Old phone books (for the paper)
- Newsprint paper
- Old magazines and flyers (appropriate ones!)
- Nuts and bolts
- Shipping boxes and packaging materials (paper, cardboard, bubble wrap)
- Flour (for paper mache recipes)
- Makeup brushes and sponges (unused ones)
- Cookie cutters
- Cake and cupcake moulds (with different shapes)
- Kitchen utensils like tongs, spoons, turkey basters, basting brushes, etc.
- Food trays
- Table place mats
Notes on the above: if you are bringing food items, or containers that once carried food, be sure to avoid contamination! Clean containers thoroughly, and only use fresh produce for stamping. Sugar or foods in the art itself can also attract pests in due time, so be careful! And, keep your adult eye on those kiddos, so they don’t eat any of the food items meant for crafts!
See also:
- 8 Educational DIY toys you can make from home materials
- Teaching daycare kids about food safety
- Teaching early learners about food cross contamination and cleanliness
Just how many art supplies do we actually need to create process art?
The above ideas are not ‘set in stone’ rules – the point of process art is to let the mind wander on its own, and arrive at its own creative expression. We just don’t want to limit the actual ‘process’ by not having sufficient supplies on hand.
Now – we will balance that thought with the overwhelming idea that a preschool teacher needs to buy out an art store; fear not! You don’t have to create a huge mess of art supplies, nor get very fancy when it comes to crafting this way. In fact, putting out two or three types of supplies for a process art activity is just fine. It may even spark the problem-solving imaginations of those youngsters even more, when they try to figure out what they can do with only a few objects.
So, do we put out a lot of supplies so as not to limit the children in process art? Or, do we put out only a few at a time (for our sanity, and to spark creativity)? Actually, the choice is yours. It can be interesting to see what happens when you provide say, five types of art supplies, verses ten. But even that may be overwhelming for your particular group of children. In those cases, simple paint and crayons are enough. Play it by ear, and see what comes out! As you and the classroom get used to it, you can add more to your tables, or try new materials.
