Torn Paper Art

by Michelle
(Houston, Texas)

My two-year-old twin girls love to make torn tissue paper art. I just give them sheets of tissue paper. They tear off small pieces, roll them into little balls, and glue them onto construction paper. This gives them a lot of fine motor practice (tearing, rolling, gluing) and requires very little clean-up. It can also be easily addapted for younger kids. When the girls were very young, I would just give them balls of tissue paper and a paper covered in glue and let them stick the paper where they wanted it. As they got older, I let them take over the rest of the process as they were able until they could do the whole project on their own. You can also adapt the colors of the tissue paper and the shape of the background paper to
make festive holiday art (Christmas trees with colored "ornaments," pink and red Valentine's hearts, etc.). This is one of our favorite go-to crafts when we want something quick and easy but a little more involved than just crayons or markers or paints.