Preschool Fairy Tale Crafts and Activities - The Activity Mom (2024)

Preschool aged children absolutely love using cotton balls, pipe cleaners, paint, and really anything that allows them to get creative. They also LOVE fairy tale stories.

When reading stories to preschoolers, it is always fun to try and bring the story to life. It’s a great idea to get preschoolers learning through activities that are hands-on, like these preschool fairy tale crafts.

Preschool Fairy Tale Crafts

These 35 preschool fairy tale crafts and activities are fun and educational. Plus, they allow your child or students to gain valuable skills.

Three Little Pigs

Three Little Pigs & The Big Bad Wolf Nose Craft

If you’ve told or are telling the classic fairy tale of The Three Little Pigs, this fun activity is the perfect way to end the story or even have students act out parts of the story.

Using old tissue paper rolls, some string, fabric, and fabric glue, you and your children or students can make the cutest little pig and wolf noses. We absolutely love this cute little craft and we’re sure you will too.

Source: Not Just Cute

Three Little Pigs Tube Craft

Another great way to unlock your child’s imagination with this classroom favorite fairy tale, The Three Little Pigs, is to create the actual characters in the story!

Using toilet paper tubes, you and your children can create the entire Three Little Pigs world. Simply make copies of the characters from your favorite version that you’ve been reading. This is meaningful for your child because they can connect it to the book. It’s the absolute cutest little craft and such a fun way for kids to really let their imaginations run wild.

Three Little Pigs Finger Puppets

Use these Three Little Pigs finger puppets to retell the story and to encourage your children to retell the story too. Using finger puppets is a great way to strengthen finger dexterity.

Three Little Pigs Alphabet Matching

Print the FREE Three Little Pigs Alphabet Matching Activity for some extra practice. Match the Big Bad Wolf to the House he is blowing down.

You can find a ton of other printable preschool activities to go with The Three Little Pigs at FREE Preschool Printables.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Goldilocks and the Three Bears Wooden Spoon Craft

This is easily one of our favorite fairy tale crafts. Using wooden spoons that can be purchased for cheap pretty much anywhere, children can bring this classic fairy tale to life.

This is such a great wrap around fairy tale craft too. You’ll be creating the characters using the wooden spoons and because wooden spoons were such a big part of the story, it will really help to solidify the learning to the message of the story. Using brown paint, googly eyes, leftover felt, and some yellow yarn, this is a craft not soon to be forgotten.

Source: Red Ted Art

Porridge Oats Play Dough Craft

This super cute and fun fairy tale craft is great to do when reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It’s also great for imaginative play with preschool students. Using a few found at home baking items, you can either make the dough in class or at home to bring to the students. It uses real oatmeal to look like the porridge the bears were going to eat and will allow the children to play out the scenes they have heard or read about with you.

Source: The Imagination Tree

Three Bears Paper Plate Mask

Cut three holes in a paper plate for the eyes and the mouth. Have the children paint the plates with brown paint. Glue on brown tissue paper or construction paper for texture. Glue or staple the mask to a craft stick to hold up in front of your face. You can also attach string to tie it on like a traditional mask.

Source

Goldilocks Finger Puppets

Print these FREE Goldilocks and the Three Bears finger puppets to retell the story. Finger puppets are a great way to strengthen finger dexterity. One child can put multiple finger puppets on one hand or each child can be in charge of one character puppet to retell the story.

If you are looking for more Goldilocks and the Three Bears printable activities, you will love the free resources at Free Preschool Printables.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Abstract Seven Dwarfs Art For Kids

The classic fairy tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has it all. A great hidden message about beauty being on the inside, a great villain, a happy ending, and the cutest little supporting cast of animals and dwarfs. This abstract art craft is a great way to either end the story with or do while you read the story by creating these super cute abstract art dwarfs! All that’s needed for this project is some colored construction paper or craft paper, scissors, and glue.

Source: All For The Boys

Snow White Mirror Craft

Beauty is on the inside, but the mirror was a big symbol in this fairy tale. Make a magic mirror from cardboard, aluminum foil, gems, and glitter.

Source: Pinterested Parent

Snow White Dot Marker Page

Use dot markers, stickers, sequins, or pom poms with this Snow White dot marker page.

Snow White Chain Craft

I love how cool this Snow White chain turned out and how it is completed with different shapes of paper. They used theirs as a countdown to a Disney trip, but I think this is a neat craft to connect to this magical fairy tale.

Source: Making the World Cuter

Jack and the Beanstalk

Counting Golden Eggs Number Game

This fantastic cross-curricular activity about the classic fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk is a wonderful lesson to teach right after you read the book. It’s great practice for counting with math manipulatives (using the golden eggs), or you can even use some type of tried dried bean.

You will find a free printable beanstalk number line at the resource with links to purchase golden eggs if desired. While there isn’t much “crafting” to do with this activity, the students will need an egg carton that they can decorate with paint or markers.

Source: Rainy Day Mum

Jack and the Beanstalk Finger Puppets

Print these FREE Jack and the Beanstalk finger puppets to retell the story. Finger puppets are a great way to strengthen finger dexterity. One child can put multiple finger puppets on one hand or each child can be in charge of one character puppet to retell the story.

Above the Clouds Craft

Glue cotton balls to represent the sky. Paint a beanstalk and add any details from the story that you remember. I appreciate the open ended part of this activity. You could also add lima beans to glue onto the craft as an option.

Source: Learning and Teaching Preschoolers

Grow a Beanstalk

Design a castle and grow a beanstalk that reaches it. This craft involves a little waiting time, but can be done at school and then sent home to watch the beanstalk grow.

Source: Be a Fun Mum

Looking for more FREE printable Jack and the Beanstalk activities for preschoolers? Free Preschool Printables has a ton that you will love.

Free Jack and the Beanstalk Color by Number Pages

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Three Billy Goats Gruff Storytelling Basket

Storytelling baskets are a fantastic way for children to use their imagination when telling or retelling a story. It allows students to have an actual visual of what they are talking about but also lets the child’s imagination run free with no real boundaries, which is never a bad thing.

This is one of the many fairy tale activities that you may not have every student create, but you may make a few of these baskets for your classroom for students to use or your own children at home.

Source: The Imagination Tree

Three Billy Goats Gruff Block Play

This activity could easily fall into the category of early STEM learning, but for now, we’ll just call it imaginative play. Everything you do as a teacher has always been planned out with an objective and this awesome activity is no different.

In the classic fairy tale; Three Billy Goats Gruff, the goats have to cross a bridge to get to their feeding field, but a troll prevents them from doing so. In this activity which you can set up for group or individual play, give the children small blocks, large blocks, and misshapen blocks and see what type of bridges they can build to help the billy goats get across the river and away from the troll.

Source: Teach Preschool

Paper Plate Goat

I love paper plate crafts. Create a paper plate billy goat gruff (or three) with plates, paint, and glue.

Source: I Heart Crafty Things

Symmetrical Troll Craft

Fold a piece of paper. Put paint on one half. Fold and rub to create a symmetrical design. After it dries add details to your troll. I love how each of these comes out so differently.

Source: Scrumdilly-Do

Little Red Riding Hood

Paper Plate Little Red Riding Hood Craft

This fun fairy tale craft goes along with the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Using a paper plate, tissue paper, card stock, scissors, and some glue, students will create their own version of what little red riding hood looks like to them!

Source: Glued To My Crafts

Craft Stick Red Riding Hood Craft

These crafts start with craft sticks glued into a triangle. Then, they can be as detailed or as simple as kids want them to be.

Source: In the Bag Kids Crafts

Red Riding Hood Finger Puppets

Print these FREE Little Red Riding Hood finger puppets to retell the story. Finger puppets are a great way to strengthen finger dexterity. One child can put multiple finger puppets on one hand or each child can be in charge of one character puppet to retell the story.

Red Riding Hood Basket Craft

Make a basket just like Little Red Riding Hood’s. Use paper and glue. Then, add details like stickers.

Source: Tea Time Monkeys

Frog Prince

Egg Carton Frog Prince Craft

Sticking with our fairy tales theme, the next craft is about the Frog Prince. To start, you’ll need some egg cartons to cut up and give each student, black and green paint, hardy paper like construction paper or card stock, and finally, glue and scissors.

This is such a great activity to do while learning about the classic fairy tale of the frog prince, and the best part is it’s so quick and easy!

Source: Crafty Morning

Paper Plate Frog Prince

Using paint, construction paper, a paper plate, and glue you can create your very own frog prince.

Source: 123 Play and Learn

Frog Prince Paper Bag Puppet

I love that this craft can be used as a puppet afterwards!

Source: Learning Ideas

Craft Stick Frog Prince

Starting off with a triangle of craft sticks, children can create their characters using construction paper and glue. Precut different shapes for younger children.

Source: In the Bag Kids Crafts

The Ugly Duckling

Ugly Duckling Handprint Keepsake

Little kids making keepsakes at school is one of the most precious things that a teacher can do with their students at preschool age. This is one of those great ideas for a follow up craft that the kids will enjoy and parents will enjoy receiving at home. Using a few different paint colors, the kids will use their hands to create the characters from the story, The Ugly Duckling.

Source: The Mail Box

Paper Plate Ugly Duckling Craft

This paper plate craft is a simple way to make the goose. Have the lines drawn on the paper plate for the kids to cut out or have them already cut out. Add feathers, white tissue paper, or thinned out cotton balls to add texture to the goose. That way each child will have the chance to express themselves creatively on the goose shape.

Source: Learning Lessons with Amy Labrasciano

Folded Paper Ducks

I love the idea of making a group of ducks and putting them onto a blue poster board for a collaborative piece.

Source: Creative Little Explorers

Egg Carton Ducklings

These egg carton ducklings float! What a cool way to experiment with the concept of sink and float. Note: If you choose to experiment with the floating ducklings, encourage them to make more than one so the water doesn’t change their design (or in case it tips and sinks).

Source: Barley and Birch

Other Fairy Tale Crafts

Melted Bead Magic Wand Craft

The setup for this craft is very involved and does need some time to set up, so this craft may be best done with older kids. You will be melting beads, so a heat source will be needed to complete this fairy tale craft. That said, it is so much fun, and the end product is a beautiful magic wand! If you happen to use an oven or hot plate at your school, that would be ideal, but you can always have the kids pick their beads and magic wand shape and then melt them at home. You’ll also need a hot glue gun, some craft sticks or wooden dowels, and cookie cutters in the shape of stars, hearts, or whatever else your child’s imagination can come up with! Again, yes, this is very involved and has several steps, but we just couldn’t leave this off our list of fairy tale crafts!

Source: The Artful Parent

Pine Cone Rainbow Fairy Craft

The absolutely perfect rainy-day fall craft is here! From start to finish, this pine cone craft is so much fun! First, you’ll need to gather your pine cones. Whether that’s as a class or individually is totally up to you. Still, either way, you’ll enjoy being outside in the crisp autumn air as pine cones usually drop from September through December. While you’re out there, grab some acorns because they make the cutest little caps for your pine cone fairies!

Source: Red Ted Art

Craft Foam Crown

Every kid deserves to feel like a prince or princess, and one of the best ways to achieve this feeling is with a self-made crown! Using sheets of craft foam, craft embellishments (for decoration), and a few crafting tools like scissors, glue, and elastic or rubber band, your littles can create their own crown to their own style!

Source: First Palette

These preschool fairy tale crafts will get children gluing, coloring, painting, and exploring many different materials. They also help foster a love for reading which is very important at such a young age.

Preschool Fairy Tale Crafts and Activities - The Activity Mom (2024)

FAQs

What are three reasons parents should read fairy tales to their children? ›

The Importance of Fairy Tales to Preschool Development
  • Spark imagination and offer moral lessons. ...
  • Aid in emotional resilience by helping children connect stories to real life. ...
  • Expose children to different cultures, as they are often set in different parts of the world.

What life lessons do fairy tales teach us? ›

Based on the Jungian interpretation, fairy tales teach children how to deal with basic human conflicts, desires, and relationships in a healthy way; acquiring these skills can ultimately impact a child's health, quality of life, or even influence its values and beliefs in the future.

How do fairy tales make children intelligent? ›

Fairy tales can act as model behaviour for children, presenting new skills like problem-solving or emotional intelligence. These stories teach them how to believe in stories and to imagine new worlds, which is crucial in the development of creativity and creative thinking in general (link).

How do you teach kids about fairy tales? ›

Find different versions of the same fairy tale and have students compare and contrast them. Not only is this a great way to teach compare-and-contrast, it also opens up the possibility of book talks or universal book reports or presentations. Check out these books that put a twist on classic fairy tales.

What are 3 positive lessons taught in fairy tales? ›

A few things can be learned from a childhood spent devouring Greek myths, Arabian legends and the classic tales of Grimm, Perrault and Andersen. Life is difficult and challenging; bad things happen to good people; the course of true love never runs smooth; and we all live happily ever after.

Why is 3 important in fairy tales? ›

In conclusion, "3" is used for memory and recognition, while "7" is used for luck and goodness.

What are three negative lessons taught in fairy tales? ›

These stories, like the recent Cinderella, can validate the wrong lessons: be silent in the face of injustice; wait for a man to save you; if a girl is just pretty and kind enough, her life will work out. Many women have spoken out against this narrative because it set girls up to fail in life.

Do all fairy tales have a moral lesson? ›

Not all fairy tales teach morals or lessons for our daily lives, but many do. Fables are such stories. They often use animals that behave like humans to teach lessons about life. These tales often end with a moral.

What is a fairy tale explanation for kids? ›

Fairy tales, also known as traditional tales, are short stories for children based in folklore. They contain a range of imaginary characters, from dwarves and goblins to magical creatures and witches.

What fairy tales teach kindness? ›

They are: • “Cinderella” which teaches students about being kind, even to those who are cruel. “The Enchanted Princess” which teaches students that kindness will be rewarded and cruelty will be punished. This fairy tale also highlights the importance of being kind to animals as well as people.

How do fairy tales develop a child's imagination? ›

They invite us to make correlations between the imaginary characters in the world they depict and in the world in which we live. In this fashion, fairy tales exercise and build-up of a moral imagination, they add vision to our lives. The moral imagination is a way of seeing.

What psychological impact do fairy tales have on children? ›

Psychological effects of fairytales

For example, a study reports how the tale helped sick children ease their anxieties and fears around their illness by labeling it the “big bad wolf.” The researchers noted that fairytales allowed the kids to “get in touch safely with danger and death anxieties.”

How are fairy tales used in classrooms? ›

Another of the many benefits of fairy tales is that they develop children's emotional well-being by teaching them morals in a context that they can understand and easily identify with. They can show them the importance of being kind, supporting friends through hardships as well as the fundamental need to be resilient.

How do you start a fairy tale sentence? ›

Most fairy tales begin with 'once upon a time' or 'a long time ago', and end with telling the reader that the characters 'lived happily ever after'. Fairy tales are often set in the past, but not in a defined period of history, and they usually have a happy ending where the hero triumphs over adversity.

Why do parents tell their children fairy tales? ›

Fairytales can nurture a child's imagination and teach them about real life. Experts agree their overall effect is positive, but not always. Fairytales — make-believe stories that often reflect reality — give children space to expand their imaginations and teach them how to relate to people in real life.

Why were fairy tales told to children? ›

“Once upon a time, fairy tales were the main way to teach children about the world and their place within it, but over time – and especially post early 'Disneyfication' – people have become more critical about them,” says Glenn Saxby, a teacher and UniSA Education Doctoral candidate, in a press release.

Why do we tell children fairy tales? ›

Isn't it amazing that we can still recite the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Three Little Pigs, or even Cinderella, years after they were told to us? Telling or reading fairy tales to children helps them grasp the meaning behind a story and relate to its moral or message.

Why do fairy tales appeal to children? ›

Embodying Hopes and Dreams. Although fairy tales can depict children's deepest fears, they also frequently embody their greatest hopes and dreams. Many of the best fairy tales present wondrous worlds that captivate and inspire readers.

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