Preschool Art: Art Wall

I like to provide opportunities for creative exploration and this preschool art wall is the perfect catalyst for creativity. My kids love this art activity!

This fun art activity allows kids to do something that is usually forbidden – draw on the wall! I’ve noticed that a bigger canvas equals more creativity and my son will stay engaged with the activity longer. This art wall provides kids with a HUGE space to draw and create on.

Materials Needed:

Roll of craft paper

Painters’ tape

Crayons, colored pencils, stickers or anything else you want to use

Prep:

1. I cut 3 sheets of paper that were equal length.

2. I taped each sheet to the wall with painters’ tape.

3. I joined the sheets together with a tiny bit of clear Scotch tape so that there were no large gaps in the canvas.

I definitely could have done a better job than I did…if I had done this during nap time. That is what I will do in the future. This is not easy task when you have a 15 month old trying to tear it down while you put it up and a 3.5 year-old asking when I will be done constantly. However. the way it looked didn’t matter to Evan AT ALL. He was so excited to draw on it!

Evan was told to stay on the paper and not draw on the wall. He had no problem whatsoever with this rule. I think that, because the surface is so large, there is no desire to go outside of it and color on the wall. I would definitely make sure to go over the boundaries and watch your child closely if you think they may be tempted to color on the walls.

Once I was done taping and put the baby down for nap, Evan got to work creating. He spent almost an hour drawing with crayons and putting stickers all over the paper. Then he took a nap. As soon as he got up he went right back to the paper and started creating again. He spent about another hour that time! He is really into coloring right now, so I know that is a factor, but the large surface was also so inviting.

I love that this activity is entirely open-ended and true creativity can emerge!