Looking for the perfect art project for you kindergartner? Search no further – this project has it all! Soap carving develops fine motor skills and knife safety. Your child can come up with his or her personalized design or you can guide them with a pattern or template. The amount of supplies needed is minimal and the cost is very low. I told you – this art project for kindergarten is perfect!
This art project is one of the Kindergarten homeschool projects found in my Kinder curriculum called, Kindergarten at Home. If you have a little one between the ages of 4 – 6 years old, you have to check it out!
Art Project for Kids – Supplies needed:
- Bar of soap (Dove brand is recommended because it is soft compared to other brands, making it easier for little hands for carve.) We used Jergain soap due to availability at our home.
- Butter knife
- A shallow box or another container to catch soap flakes. This will help you minimize mess and speed up the cleaning process.
Optional supplies:
- Skewers/ toothpicks
- Paring kitchen knives are good for older kids
- Nails
We also tried painting pallet knives from the dollar store. One tool was particularly helpful in the creative process.
Art Project for Kindergarten: Process
Step 1
Gather all supplies and set up your design studio outside. It is highly recommended outside because little ones sometimes have a hard time keeping all the soap flakes contained in the box.
Step 2
Let your kindergartener decide if they want to make up her own design or if they prefer to use a stencil.
If they do not want a stencil, have them pick a shape that will fit on the bar of soap and scratch in the outline. We liked using skewers for this job.
Step 3
Let your kindergartener carve away. Butter knives are a great tool to start with, especially if you are nervous about a sharper tool. Having confidence and trust in your child to use a knife will help them develop in leaps and bounds. When they have mastered control of a butter knife, try not to be afraid to upgrade your child’s tool. I typically find that I am the roadblock to a lot of my children’s progression.
Observe progress
This is one of the most important steps. You can learn a lot about your child’s needs by observing them.
For example, my 2-year-old loved to be a part of the crew. He used a knife to scratch off the brand of soap. That was the extent of his carving ability at this time. He also watched one of his older cousins work on this project. This was a great learning opportunity for him to observe someone more skilled.
My preschooler used the skewer to poke her soap a lot! She also carved a little bit with her knife to scrape off the label of soap. I will be looking for other poking activities for her to do in the future as this is a great activity to build fine motor skills and hand strength.
My kindergartener stuck with this activity the longest. She was able to scrape her name in the soap and do a little drawn cat design. She also used another bar of soap to carve multiple slices. This action hints to me that she needs more cutting activities in the future.
Soap carving can be a great art project for kindergarten. It can teach a lot of life skills and will allow you to trust and observe your little one at work.
Kyanne graduated from Utah State University and worked with youth of all ages as a 4-H coordinator before taking a leave from her professional career to start a family of her own. She has four darling, creative, and outgoing young children ages 5, 4, 2, and 6 months. She enjoys teaching her children, crafting – they make just about anything together, and adventuring in the outdoors of Idaho with her family.
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