Watercolor Preschool Wreath Craft that Builds Fine Motor Skills

Last Updated on December 23, 2018 by Sheryl Cooper

Inside: Work on fine motor skills with this fun watercolor preschool wreath craft. A fun art activity for Christmas!

Dropping watercolors is one of our favorite ways to build fine motor skills.

I use this method throughout the year and not only is it super effective, but young children love the process.

Once they learn how to master transferring and dropping the watercolors, they want to do it over and over again.

This particular activity created a colorful wreath that we used to adorn our classroom walls before winter break!

Watercolor Preschool Wreath Craft that Builds Fine Motor Skills

Watch the video:

What we used:

Droppers (these ones are my favorite)

Round coffee filters

Green liquid watercolors

Pom Poms

Buttons

Small tissue paper circles

White glue

Preparing this preschool wreath craft:

Cut the centers out of the coffee filters so they are rings.

Pour the green liquid color into small containers and dilute a bit with water.

Step 1: Drop the Paint on the Wreath 

If your children have never used droppers before, model how to squeeze the bulb while the dropper is inside the watercolors.

Then, transfer the dropper over the coffee filter and squeeze the bulb again to release the watercolors.

This might take some of the children awhile, depending on their fine motor control.

For our very youngest child, who turned 2 last month, he simply loved watching the dropper make bubbles in the liquid. It will take a few more of these types of activities before he can master the concept of how to actually transfer the paint to another area, and that’s just fine. He was still strengthening his hands and fingers while using the dropper. Eventually I gave him a paint brush so he could get some of the watercolors onto the tissue paper wreath.

Related:

The Easiest Toddler Water Activity that Strengthens Fine Motor Skills

How to Build Preschool Fine Motor Skills with Pipettes and Watercolors

Make sure to use a tray with sides to contain the liquid. We used the tray side of our In and Out Activity Table.

Some of the children covered all of the coffee filter while others got theirs partially covered.

And then there were those who loved this wreath craft so much that they wanted a second filter to cover.

Let the coffee filters dry completely when finished.

Step 2: Adding the Details

You can glue the wreath onto a solid color piece of paper, or have the children do it.

Then, it’s time to glue the pom poms, buttons, tissue paper circles, or whatever other pieces you have on hand.

I also made bows out of green twine that were added at the end.

Once the children are finished adding the details, we placed them on our drying rack.

When dry, display!

We displayed ours in the classroom for a short while before they were put in cubbies to be taken home.

A fun way to work on fine motor skills while making a simple preschool wreath craft!

More Christmas activities to try:

18 Christmas Fine Motor Activities

20 Easy Christmas Snacks for Kids

16 Christmas Science Activities