DB Institute for Autism & Behavior
🎨 Art Room Program
Spring Art Activities
🌸🌻🦋🐝🌼
Daily projects for PreK children with autism · Art Room · May 2026
Activity Types:
🎨 Painting
✂️ Craft
🖍️ Coloring
🖐 Stamping
📄 Collage
🌀 Sensory✨ Tips for Children with Autism
Offer gloves or tools for texture-sensitive kids. Never force direct touch.
Set up materials before kids arrive so there's a clear visual of what's happening.
Keep the art room calm, with low noise, soft music, and predictable routines.
Photograph finished work. Kids love seeing their creations on display.
Use visual timers so kids know when activity starts and ends.
Offer 2 to 3 color choices rather than the whole palette to reduce overwhelm.
May
Week 1 · May 1
Friday
May 1
🌿
May Day Flower Crown
Cut a strip of paper to fit the child's head. Kids color and glue pre-cut flower shapes around the crown. Add leaf shapes and link ends to make a wearable crown.
✂️ Craft
🖍️ Coloring
Book: Sophie's Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller
Week 2 · May 4–8
Monday
May 4
🌺
Fork-Print Flower
Dip the tines of a plastic fork in paint and press onto paper to make flower petals, with 5 prints in a circle. Add a fingerprint center in a contrasting color and a green stem.
🖐 Stamping
🎨 Painting
Book: Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
Tuesday
May 5
🌊
Watercolor Wet-on-Wet Sky
Wet the paper first with a sponge. Drop watercolor paint blobs onto the wet surface and watch them bleed and bloom. Tilt the paper gently. Add bird stamps when dry.
🎨 Painting
🌀 Sensory
Book: Little Cloud by Eric Carle
Wednesday
May 6
🌸
Mother's Day Handprint Card
Fold card stock into a card. Kids press their handprint in paint as a flower on the front, a keepsake gift. Dictate a message inside, “I love you because...” for the teacher to write.
🖐 Stamping
✂️ Craft
Book: The Invisible String by Patrice Karst
Thursday
May 7
🐠
Bubble Wrap Fish Print
Cut bubble wrap into a fish shape. Kids brush paint over the bumpy side and press onto paper. The bubbles leave a scale texture. Add an eye and fins with marker.
🖐 Stamping
🎨 Painting
Book: Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Friday
May 8
🌼
Dandelion Wish Straw Painting
Paint a green stem and yellow circle. Dip a cotton swab in white paint and dot around the outside. Blow through a straw to spread the seeds across the paper.
🎨 Painting
🌀 Sensory
Book: The Dandelion Seed by Joseph Anthony
Week 3 · May 11–15
Monday
May 11
🌦️
Sponge-Painted Clouds
Kids dab white paint with a sponge onto blue paper to make fluffy cloud shapes. Discuss how clouds look on different kinds of days. Inspired by It Looked Like Spilt Milk.
🎨 Painting
🌀 Sensory
Book: It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw
Tuesday
May 12
🐢
Turtle Shell Mosaic
Pre-draw a turtle with a large shell. Kids cut or tear small squares of green, blue, and yellow paper and glue in a pattern to fill the shell. Color the head and legs.
📄 Collage
🖍️ Coloring
Book: Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss
Wednesday
May 13
🐝
Beehive Toilet Roll Bee
Paint a cardboard tube yellow with black stripes. Cut wings from wax paper and glue on. Add googly eyes. Group all the kids' bees around a class hive collage on the wall.
✂️ Craft
🎨 Painting
Book: The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive by Joanna Cole
Thursday
May 14
🎨
Scratch Art Spring Scene
Color paper heavily with crayons in rainbow colors. Paint over completely with black tempera. When dry, scratch a spring scene, such as flowers, sun, and birds, with a toothpick so the colors reveal magically.
🖍️ Coloring
🌀 Sensory
Book: Press Here by Hervé Tullet
Friday
May 15
🌸
Peony Cupcake Liner Flower
Flatten and scrunch pastel cupcake liners into layered flower shapes. Glue several layers together and attach to green paper stems. Arrange into a class garden mural on a wall.
✂️ Craft
Book: The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin
Week 4 · May 18–22
Monday
May 18
🌷
Spring Hat / Bonnet Craft
Decorate a paper plate with tissue flowers, ribbons, and stickers. Staple on a chin-strap. Kids parade around the room in their spring bonnets, a classic springtime tradition.
✂️ Craft
Book: Jennie's Hat by Ezra Jack Keats
Tuesday
May 19
🦜
Feather Collage Parrot
Use a pre-drawn parrot outline. Kids glue real craft feathers in bright colors for the wings and tail. Paint the beak yellow and add a googly eye. Display on a jungle green background.
📄 Collage
✂️ Craft
Book: Polly's Pen Pal by Stuart Murphy
Wednesday
May 20
🦋
Coffee Filter Butterfly
Kids use washable markers to color coffee filter sections. Spray with water and watch colors blend. When dry, pinch in center, clip with clothespin body, and add pipe cleaner antennae.
✂️ Craft
🖍️ Coloring
Book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Thursday
May 21
🎈
Hot Air Balloon Craft
Cut a large oval balloon from paper, divide into sections with marker, and color each section a different color. Attach a small paper basket with yarn strings. Float them from the ceiling.
✂️ Craft
🖍️ Coloring
Book: Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss
Friday
May 22
🌙
Firefly Silhouette Painting
Paint the whole paper dark blue or black for a night sky. When dry, cut tiny jar and firefly shapes from yellow paper and glue on. Dab yellow paint dots as glowing fireflies everywhere.
🎨 Painting
📄 Collage
Book: The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle
Week 5 · May 26–29 · (May 25 = Memorial Day · No School)
Tuesday
May 26
🇺🇸
American Flag Crayon Resist
Draw flag stripes and a star field with white crayon. Wash over with red, white, and blue watercolor. The wax crayon resists the paint and shows through for a patriotic look.
🎨 Painting
🖍️ Coloring
Book: The Flag We Love by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Wednesday
May 27
🦋
Mixed Media Nature Journal Page
Give each child watercolor paper. Glue on a pressed flower or leaf, paint around it, and use crayons to add details. A personal nature-inspired art journal page to keep.
📄 Collage
🎨 Painting
Book: The Listening Walk by Paul Showers
Thursday
May 28
🐟
Koinobori Wind Sock
Decorate a toilet paper roll with scales drawn in crayon, add tissue paper streamers as the tail, and a paper circle mouth. Hang on string, inspired by Japanese Children's Day.
✂️ Craft
🖍️ Coloring
Book: Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say
Friday
May 29
🌈
Spring Portfolio Cover Art
Kids decorate a folder to hold all their spring artwork. Paint a big rainbow, stamp their handprint, and write or trace their name. A celebration of a full season of creating.
🎨 Painting
🖐 Stamping
Book: Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg