Inexpensive Preschool Supplies
Are you worried about what preschool supplies that might need to teach preschoolers at home? I found out if I bought items on sale and used recycled items that preschool did not cost a lot. You will need preschool supplies for craft, curriculum, and outdoor equipment.
Preschool Supplies for Art and Crafts
Art and crafts can help develop your child's fine motor skills. When my children were preschoolers we did a lot of crafts. You can find craft books at your local library. There are also sites on the internet that have crafts for preschoolers. There will be some supplies that you will want to buy from the store. Here are some art and craft items that I had on hand during my children's preschool years. Most of the supplies are inexpensive.
I like to have fat colored pencils, washable markers, and crayons. The larger sized pencils and markers were easier for my child to hold. Also the chunky crayons did not break as easily as the regular size.
Next I want to buy some paper for my child to draw on. I would buy white paper such as computer paper and colored construction paper. I also bought some coloring books. Now you can download coloring pages from the internet.
When I bought children's scissors I would look for brands that actually cut.
Every year I would buy some fresh white glue and glue sticks. I liked the purple glue sticks. The color made it easy to see where the glue was on the paper.
I would buy water colors for my children to paint their coloring sheets. Water colors for me were less messy than some of the other paint options.
I liked to buy lunch sized bags. The bags were good for making hand puppets. To make puppets glue two wiggly eyes above the fold. Add yarn for hair. The fold is the mouth.
Brad fasteners are good to have to hold two pieces of paper together so that they will turn.
I love craft foam. A lot of simple gifts can be made out of craft foam. We have made picture frames, door hangers, and Christmas ornaments. Some of the foam is already cut into shapes and had a sticky back. You can also use the foam to make lacing cards. To make a lacing card cut out a simple shape. Then on the outside punch holes for yarn to go through.
There are quit a few household items that you can save for crafts. What you save and have on hand will be determined by your creativity and what you use. Here are some of the items that I have used in the past.
Oatmeal boxes are good for making drums.
Cereal boxes are a good source of light weight cardboard. You could make stencils by cutting out shapes in the cardboard.
Buttons can be used to sort and count. Buttons also make good eyes if you do not have wiggly eyes.
Jello boxes or other small boxes can be used to make cars. Paint the box. Then add four bottle caps or buttons for wheels.
My children made a mobile with stickers, frozen juice lids, and a hanger.
Yarn can be used to make hair for puppets or you can have your child write his name with the yarn. Also you can put ten knots in a piece of yarn and use for counting to ten. Yarn can also be used with lacing cards.
There are other items that are fun to have on hand such as:
- Ribbon
- Fabric scraps
- File folders
- Greeting cards
- Tissue paper
- Wrapping paper
Dramatic Play
Preschoolers need to be able to play and imagine.
- Old shoes and clothes for dress up
- Dolls
- Plastic bugs, dinosaurs, or horses
- Plastic food
- A kitchen or workbench I got a nice kitchen from a garage sale.
Curriculum
You don't need to buy a lot of curriculum to teach preschool. We read a lot of books to our children. I also had magnetic letters and numbers.
Preschool Supplies for Fitness
You should have an assortment of balls for your child to play with. Balls can help develop eye hand coordination. Use the balls to play catch with your child.
Jump ropes can help children develop coordination. You will have to show your child how to use a jump rope.
When are children were young we had a swing set with a jungle Jim. Having a swing set is not necessary if you go to the park some of the time.
We also had a tricycle. Trikes are fun for children to ride.
Homemade Preschool Supplies
Play Dough
This is my favorite recipe for play dough. Use cookie cutters to help make shapes.
1 /2 cup cornstarch
1 cup salt
3 /4 cup water
Food coloring
Mix cornstarch and salt. Gradually add water. Cook over low heat until stiff like mashed potatoes. Add food coloring. Let the mixture cool.
Finger Paint
I made this recipe a couple of times. It calls for soap fakes which my stores no longer carry. You can make your own soap flakes by grating a bar of soap.
1 /2 cup liquid starch
1 /2 cup soap flakes
5 /8 cup water (it help desolve the soap if the water is hot)
Mix together and add food coloring or tempera paint. An old shirt makes a good cover up.
Bubbles
2 cups water
1/ 4 cup joy dishwashing soap
2 tablespoons corn syrup
Mix the ingredients together.
Use straws or handmade bubble wands. We made wands out of chenille stems. Bend one chenille wire into a circle add another stem for the handle. I also saw online where some moms used fly swatters.
Don't feel bad if you do not use up all of your preschool supplies. You can use a lot of the supplies with your young elementary children.
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