3D Art Activities for Preschool, Pre-k, & Kindergarten

3D art activities are so much fun for little learners to let their creativity shine while they develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, color recognition, and crossing the midline, just to name a few skills. These 3d art activities for preschool, pre-k, & kindergarten students are a wonderful addition to your process art rotation any time of the year. Plus, most of these activities use materials you may already have in your art closet!

So, what’s the difference between process art and product art? Process art is open-ended. The focus of the activity is to use various mediums and create a piece of art for the purpose of expression. Product art is a craft that has a set of instructions and requires the final product to replicate a given design. Both kinds of art are important in the classroom for kids of all ages, I believe.

Want over 180 process art ideas for the whole year? Grab the Art Guide to make planning easy!

This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a tiny commission when you use my links at no cost to you.

Glue Buckets

Glue Buckets! This tip is going to be a game-changer for your art center or craft activity! All you do is pour liquid white glue into a small container that has a lid. Place a couple of old paintbrushes in the glue, and students use the paintbrushes to apply glue to their paper. It is so much easier than little hands trying to squeeze half-empty glue bottles. At the end of the day, put a lid on the glue container and soak your brushes in water. If the glue becomes stiff, you can mix in a little water to get the consistency you want.

Cardboard 3-D Art Projects

Cardboard Sculptures! Put those online shopping boxes to good use by doing cardboard sculptures! I cut rectangles for the base. Then, cut smaller shapes and some paper towel tubes so young children have a few different shapes to pick from. Then, I let them create their own masterpieces. Allow them to dry overnight, and the next day, you can let them paint their creations. This is an excellent way to extend the creative process and give students time to gather their attention again. 

Train Models! Start with a piece of cardboard for the base. Students can use paint sticks to color the cardboard. Next, students used the paint sticks to color their egg carton train cars. Use glue to secure the train cars to the base. Then I dyed some wheel pasta black, and students glued them onto their train cars. See how I dye pasta here.

3D House Models! Grab some small boxes, I am using HP Instant Ink boxes, and let students color them with paint sticks. Then, students used foam shapes to add details like windows, doors, and a roof.

Donut Sculptures! Turn your cardboard scraps into circles and have students decorate their own donuts! They will love painting the frosting on top. Add in more fine motor development by having students cut pre-cut strips of paper into sprinkles. Add the sprinkles while the frosting paint is still wet, and they will stick without glue.

Paper 3D Art Activities

3D Paper Sculptures! For these construction paper crafts, pre-cutting the strips of paper helps save time and frustration for your students. Cut strips of paper in a variety of colors. Give each child a piece of black paper for the base. Then, students can bend, fold, and crumble the strips of paper and attach them to their base. So simple but these are so much fun for students to create.

3D Flowers! Make some fringe from a piece of paper, roll it into a cylinder, and tape it. This is a fun way to talk about 3-d shapes with your students. Then, roll a piece of green paper into a cylinder and tape it. Tape the flower fringe to the top of the stem to make the flower head. Then, add some leaves to complete your flower! These are perfect for a dramatic play prop, too! My students love this easy art activity to make a flower garden.

Collage 3D Art Activities

Marker Lid Collages! I have just the art activity for you to use up all those extra marker lids you have saved or maybe you need to start keeping them! give each child a piece of cardboard for the base. I like the cardboard since it is much thicker and sturdier than a piece of paper. Students use liquid glue to attach marker lids to create a collage. Some students may make a picture while others may just put them randomly on the base; either way is fine and will create something gorgeous!

Noodle Collage! Use some dyed noodles to create some fun, textured collages. There are some different ways to dye noodles but I like these 2 best; you can dye the noodles with liquid watercolor or paint with a few drops of rubbing alcohol. For more detailed instructions to dye noodles click here. Students glue the noodles onto a piece of cardboard for this simple process art activity.

Extra Lid Collages! If you are anything like me, you save all sorts of treasures because you are just sure you are going to need them in your classroom! Well, I found a fun use for all your lids that you keep. These make great loose parts in a sensory bin but they also make beautiful collage art! Grab a piece of cardboard for the base and let students glue the lids however they want!

Sculpture 3D Art Activities

Pool Noodle Sculptures! Grab a few pool noodles from the dollar store and cut them into pieces. For more pool noodle ideas, check out this blog post! Students can use pipe cleaners to create the sculpture part of the art project. They are easy to poke into the pool noodles and students can twist and bend them however they want!

Pool Noodle Sculptures! Here is another pool noodle sculpture idea that your students will love! Use those sliced pool noodles and toothpicks to build and create something awesome! Tip: be sure to have somewhere for students to put the toothpicks when they are done so they don’t end up on the floor. Students are also developing problem-solving skills while they build and figure out how to make the pool noodles stay in place. 

Pipe Cleaner Sculptures! Grab some foam balls from the dollar store and cut them in half. Students can use pipe cleaners and beads to turn their foam balls into a unique sculpture! This is so great for fine motor since students are lacing beads and then pushing the pipe cleaners into the foam. This is a fun craft for a colors, weather, or rainbow theme with all the different colors. 

Packing Peanut Sculptures! Use toothpicks and these colorful packing peanuts to create a fun art piece! These packing peanuts also make a great sensory filler idea. I found it best to have a tray for students to put their sculptures on so they don’t fall apart while moving them.

Play Dough Trays! Don’t forget about a play dough tray for an easy 3D art activity. Students can sculpture and create something to match any of your themes! Play dough trays are the perfect time to set out different materials for students to explore without giving them step-by-step instructions for their use. Plus, play dough is great for strengthening hand and arm muscles. Head here for more play dough trays for the whole year!

Diorama 3D Art Activities

Animal Habitats! Use your theme to give students a real-life 3D art idea, like creating a habitat for certain animals. We made these for an animal research project. Students read and looked at books about a certain animal, and then they created the habitat. To display the art work, I set up a zoo in the dramatic play area, and these were the animals on exhibit. So much fun! Head to this post to read more about how I do the animal research projects. These are a great addition to your art rotation for young children.  

Ocean Habitats! Make another diorama for your ocean, beach, or summer theme. Then, use them to make an aquarium in your dramatic play center. My students loved knowing their work was a part of the classroom and held value in my eyes and their peers. Here are more detailed instructions for completing these ocean habitats.

Lacing 3D Art Activities

Button Lacing! Get tons of fine motor practice by having your students practice lacing with large-shape buttons. I used cross-stitching sheets and cut them in half. Then, students used lacing strings and large-shaped buttons to make designs. If you don’t have lacing strings, pipe cleaners work, too.

Straw Lacing! Practice fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and more with this simple lacing activity. Students used pipe cleaners as the base and laced star beads and cut-up straws that I found at the dollar store. You can turn them into bracelets for even more fun!

3D art activities don’t have to be complicated or take a bunch of materials; these 18 ideas can be implemented easily into your lesson plans! Many of the materials I had in my art cabinet, so I wasn’t spending more money while giving my students an artist opportunity to explore 3d techniques. This is also a great way to use up some of that cardboard and various materials that you have leftover from other projects.

Find more amazing seasonal ideas below by clicking on the pictures!

See some of these 3d art activities in a video here!

Love these 3d art activities? Pin this image!