Collage Art Ideas for Kids

Need New Collage Art Ideas for Your Kids?

A collage is a form of art involving placing various images or materials on some type of backing, like a piece of paper or fabric. This can be a fun and easy art activity for people of all ages, especially young children. We have some excellent collage art ideas for kids to help you get started.

When creating collages with kids, you will need to collect scissors, glue, and a sturdy base. We recommend stiff paper, like cardstock or poster board. The kids can use old magazines and newspapers to find and cut out their images. However, in a collage, there are no limitations on what materials you can use, including things from nature, like colorful leaves, small stones, and feathers.

What Are Some Topics for a Collage?

While collages are freeform art, starting with a general theme is a good idea, so the kids don’t feel too overwhelmed with options. 

Here are some common collage topics:

• Nature: A nature-themed collage can use actual items from nature, like leaves and sticks. You can also cut out pictures of nature. Or you can do a combination of the two.

• Textures: A texture-based collage is great for young toddlers or preschoolers who enjoy exploring things with their hands. Gather items with different textures like cotton balls, popsicle sticks, paper with rough textures, and crushed eggshells.

• Shapes: You could challenge your kids to make a collage based on a specific shape, like circles, triangles, or stars, using whatever materials you have available.

• Newspapers/magazines: Make a collage using only pictures, images, and words from newspapers and magazines.

• Scribble Art: With this type of collage, you let the kids scribble whatever they want across pieces of paper. Then cut those papers into strips and other shapes, and they can use those to make scribble art collages.

• Recreate Famous Art: Numerous artists are known for producing graphic images with bold colors and simple shapes, like Matisse or Kandinsky. Explore this art as a group and challenge your kids to recreate their famous art. This is best geared toward older kids.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Making a Collage

Making a collage is a fun, creative project for kids to try. It gives kids a sense of creative freedom to do almost anything they want. However, every collage does require a base, a sticky medium, and materials to place on the base.

Here are the basic steps to making a collage.

1. Choose a Theme

Each child should pick a theme for their collage. This could be nature-inspired, what they want to be when they grow up, what they did during the summer, or something less concrete and just use colors, shapes, or specific materials (fabric, yarn, buttons, etc.).

2. Find a Sturdy Base 

You want a backing that will be strong enough to hold gobs of glue plus whatever is stuck onto it. Typical writing paper usually won’t work. Consider pieces of cardboard, poster board, old book covers, wood, or even plastic.

3. Gather Suitable Materials 

Start gathering materials in advance for whatever theme you pick, so there is plenty to choose from. For example, if this is a group project, ask parents to donate any old magazines or newspapers they have. If you’re going for a nature theme, take the kids on a walk to collect items from nature: leaves, grass, small stones, feathers, flowers, acorns, etc.

4. Prepare the Area for the Kids

Make sure the area you choose for the collage project is large, flat, and easily cleaned. The kids will need a lot of space to spread out their items, and there will be a lot of glue. You don’t want items getting stuck to their collages accidentally, so clear off the space entirely before starting.

5. Supervise the Cutting 

Depending on the age and skills of the children in your group, you may need to supervise and help with any cutting. For this reason, nature collages are excellent for very young children since they don’t require any cutting.

6. Lay Down the Materials

Before you hand out the glue, have each child lay their chosen pictures and materials on their backing. This way, they can see what it will look like and make changes before they start gluing.

7. Glue the Materials 

Glue sticks are a good choice for collages, especially if you are only using pictures you’ve cut out. You may need liquid glue for heavier, larger items.

8. Let It Dry

Before you hang up your collages, ensure they are completely dry. It’s best to let these projects sit overnight to ensure everything dries down.

Explore Your Creativity with Collage Art Ideas for Kids

Whatever type of collage you and your kids choose, they are sure to have a lot of fun letting their creativity flow.

What type of collage are you excited to try with your kids?