Megan Reynolds

Megan Reynolds

I am a teacher & designer. Connecting with students & seeing them enjoy learning is my favorite feeling on earth! I hope you enjoy this article!

Kindergarden Art Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Art Choice Board for Kindergarden in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates
To use a choice board in your Kindergarden Classroom during Art you will need to create the Artchoices (there are lots of examples), organize the classroom, and have a goal;

Time-saving, differentiation, and dynamic classroom management are my favorite reasons to use a choice board!

Integrating choices every day you will need to hone in on the best way to apply Kindergarden Art choice boards to your classroom style!

Here are a few ideas and instructions on choices, classroom management and getting buy-in from yourKindergardenrs

Ideas & Examples of Great Kindergarden Art Choices

Colorful Paper Collage
Glue small paper pieces on a big paper to make a fun picture. Mix colors like a rainbow!
Finger Paint Fun
Dip fingers in colorful paint. Make dots, lines, or swirls on paper. Mix colors to make new ones. Have fun, be creative! Wash hands after.
Clay Shape Creations
Squish & roll clay to make shapes like balls & snakes. Press them together to create a fun creature or anything you imagine. Let’s make clay friends!
Crayon Rubbing Magic
Lay a leaf under paper, then rub a crayon on top to see the leaf’s magic picture appear! Make sure to hold the paper and leaf still with one hand.
Sticker Story Art
Make a story with stickers! Pick fun stickers, stick them on paper, and tell a story about them. Use your imagination to make the stickers come to life!
Nature Texture Hunt
Let’s go on a treasure hunt outside! Find things like soft leaves, rough bark, and bumpy rocks. Touch them gently and remember how they feel. Bring one back to share!
Rainbow String Painting
Dip string in paint, lay it on paper, fold paper, pull string out, open to see a rainbow!
Glittery Glue Drawing
Draw with glue on paper, sprinkle glitter on it, shake off extra. Shiny picture!
Doodle with Dough
Make fun shapes with colorful dough! Roll it, squish it, and create anything you like. Use your fingers to press and your imagination to play!

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Art in a Kindergarden Classroom

Keep It Simple

Everyone “teacher & student” should know exactly what they are doing. If you don’t make it even easier! 

Differential Instruction vs Saving time?

There is nothing more irritating than “Saving Time” with a Choice Board & ending up with “More work!”.  Are you using this to hit standards or save time or both? 

"Self Guided" or "instruction-based"?

If you giving out work, should they do it on their own or are these more instructions for each choice?

General rule, if the grade is > 3 there is more work per choice.

FREE Blank Fillable & Custom Choice Board

All ages, all grades where you need 9 grid choice board. Start loving learning again! 

How To Manage Your Kindergarden Classroom During Art (With a Choice Board)

I find its easiest to use a big board at the front of the classroom where all students can see the choices  then decide what they want to do

This often will be coming in from a break or transition between subjects. 

If you can get all students to know whats expected during a choice activity it becomes one-hundred times easier to manage the class & have everyone know what choices they have!  

There are three core steps you have to hit when using a Choice Board; 

1) The Set Up
2) 
The Instruction 
3) The Q+A 

1) The Set Up

Select your choices, decide on how you are going to use this time in your classroom. Build the choice board

1) The Instruction

Tell the students what they are going to be doing (this becomes easier over time) Simply start with 3 options & move from there. 

1) The Q & A

Does anyone have questions? This will help you or the next time. Remember the goal is to make this easier each time! 

Why Use A Choice Board?

So, let’s chat about choiceboards and why they’re like the coolest thing ever in your classroom. 

Picture this: kiddos bouncing into the room, eyes lighting up because they get to pick their own adventure in learning new words.

 It’s like a mini vocab party, and everyone’s invited!

We all have our own jam, right? Some of us are little artists, others are born performers, and some love to get lost in stories. Choice boards are like a buffet of fun learning snacks, so every munchkin finds something tasty that helps the vocab stick!

And here’s the kicker – when the little ones get to steer the ship, they turn into these mini captains of learning. They’re making the calls, and with every choice, they puff up a bit more with confidence. It’s a win-win – they’re learning and feeling like the boss at the same time.

Plus, for us teachers, it’s like having a secret helper in the room. We get to sprinkle in all sorts of activities that match our students’ levels and what makes their hearts tick. It’s like custom-making a learning playlist that gets every kid grooving to the vocab beat. How cool is that?