Fall Art Projects for Preschoolers - Scarecrow Process Art

It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for another #PLAYfulpreschool post! This week, it’s all about scarecrows and I’m sharing some fall art projects for preschoolers to make. If you’re a regular reader of Fun-A-Day, you know I love creating process art with the kiddos. This scarecrow art definitely falls into this category! It was inspired by my mixed-up scarecrow sensory bin from last year, which was a favorite fall activity for kids!

Last week, I read The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams a few times with my students. They got into helping with the repetitive text and movements, and the “surprise” ending made many of them laugh. To get the children started on our scarecrow art, I referred back to the book, “What did the things following the little old lady work together to make at the end?” I’m sure you’ve guess by now that the answer is a scarecrow!

We then discussed materials that are usually used to make scarecrows. We settled on hay for the filling, denim for the jeans, plaid for the shirt, buttons on the shirt, and burlap for the face. I originally discussed flannel for the shirts, but the children were more into the scarecrows having red and blue plaid shirts. Once our little list was created, I gathered the materials and off we went.

fun with fall art projects for preschoolers

Amazon links to comparable items below.

Materials
White construction paper
Small white canvas
Hay or raffia
Brown tempera paint
Assorted buttons
Plaid fabric scraps
Denim fabric scraps
Tiny straw hats
Glue
Hot glue gun

Directions
Have the children paint their paper with hay and brown paint! Twodaloo shares how to make a hay paintbrush, and it is easy peasy. My kiddos watched me make them, and they thought it was hysterical. Getting to actually use them to paint was even more fun, apparently!

After the paint’s dried, spread out the rest of the materials for the children. Explain that the materials are what are used to make a scarecrow and let the kiddos touch everything. We did this, referring back to our previous conversation about the book and making scarecrows. We ended up having a great discussion about textures and the feel of each material.

Tell the children they can use the materials as they want for their scarecrow art. My students did a few different things. Some glued items on willy-nilly and some were incredibly intent on the placement of each piece. Most of the children chose the abstract approach, with bits and bobs all over the paper. I did have a few who created scarecrow faces, which was just fine too!

When popping into the school, my son saw the art and decided to create one too – so this is an art activity even older kiddos can enjoy!

Collaborative Fall Art Projects for Preschoolers
As with my acorn art and corn painting, the kiddos also worked together to make one canvas to hang up in our class. We went with a smaller canvas this time, as we already had it on-hand. A few of the children painted the canvas, and most of them helped add different pieces to the canvas once the paint was dry. I let them come over in groups of 3 or 4 to make sure everyone had a chance if they wanted. I wielded the hot glue gun, but the students did everything else! We also added some small hats to our group project, which the children loved. This canvas will be going up on our walls soon! The different colors and textures look so appealing to me, and I love the three-dimensional aspect of the hats and stacking the buttons.