Let’s read, sing, and make some art! These activities are based on Every Child Ready to Read, which helps our friends learn pre-reading skills. We'll cover Reading, Writing, Talking, Singing and Playing.

TALKING:

• Do you like to draw? What do you like to draw? 
• Do you like to paint? What do you like to paint?  
• What do you like to make with play-doh or clay?  
• What’s your favorite color?  
• What is your favorite way to make art?  

READING:

Read any book you have that mentions art! This includes color books, painting books, anything like that! I enjoy Mix It Up, which is interactive and discusses coloring mixing. You can also learn about famous artists in This Little Artist. We’ll also make our own art book at the end.

SINGING:  

Instead of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, let’s sing Painting Painting All Around.

Painting, painting all around, 

Painting like a merry-go-round. 

Painting high up in the sky, 

Painting low right by your toe. 

Painting, painting all around, 

Painting like a merry-go-round. 

PLAYING:

What better way to play than to make art! I love cotton ball painting. Put some paint on a plate and have your child make dots with a cotton ball. The most important part of preschool art is knowing that the act of doing it is more important than the final product. Let them know what to do, and you can even show them, but then let them do it on their own. The final product won’t be perfect, but it’ll be beautiful in its own way. And they learned much more doing it on their own! 

LEARN: 

Look up famous artists and art styles on our online encyclopedia!

WRITING:

Make your own art book:

1. Staple papers together and have each page represent a different type of art tool.  
2. Color with each one. (On one page draw something with crayons, on one page draw something with markers, etc.)