• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Mess for Less
  • Crafts
    • Art
    • Winter Activities
    • Spring Activities
    • Summer Activities
    • Fall Recipes and Activities
  • Kids Activities
    • Baby and Toddler Activities
    • Preschool Activities
    • Sensory Activities
    • Fine Motor Skills Activities
    • Learning Activities
      • Science Activities
  • Family
    • Pets
    • Parenting
  • Shop
  • Breakfast Recipes
  • Lunch Recipes
  • Dinner Recipes
  • Dessert Recipes
  • Snack Recipes
  • Appetizers
  • Crock Pot Recipes
  • Cooking with Kids
  • Hi, I'm Vicky, the founder and content creator at Mess For Less. If you are looking for family-friendly recipes, recipes that kids can make, and play and learning activities for kids, you will find them at Mess For Less. I invite you to learn more about me. Thanks for stopping by!

    Valentine's Day Activities and Recipes

    • Valentine’s Dessert Cheese Ball
    • Valentine's Brownie Cake Pops
    • Valentine's Chocolate Covered Pretzels
    • Valentine Ideas for Kids - Glitter Hearts

    Winter Activities

    • Q-Tip Painted Snowman Craft
    • Winter Shaving Cream Paint
    • Pinecone Snowman Craft
    • Melted Snowman Craft

    Popular Recipes

    • Crack Chicken Casserole
    • Overnight Egg Casserole
    • Toasted Italian Sandwich - Food Fun Friday
    • Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Bake
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Valentine's Day Activities and Recipes
  • Recipes
  • Kids Activities
  • About
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Valentine's Day Activities and Recipes
    • Recipes
    • Kids Activities
    • About
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Crafts

    Art Activity: Square Collage

    Published: Jul 22, 2013 · Modified: May 4, 2022 by Vicky · This post contains affiliate links.

    Pin4K
    Share6
    Tweet
    Yum
    4K Shares

    We love open ended art projects here at Mess For Less. It's so much fun for a child to sit down and create without any pressure or expectation of how something will turn out. I wanted to share a simple art activity that uses supplies most of you probably already have at home. We made a colorful square collage using construction paper and glue. If you are looking for more fun art ideas, you might enjoy this Watercolor Art Tape Resist.

    Open ended art activity - Children create a collage using paper squares and glue.

    You will need:

    • Construction paper
    • Ruler
    • Glue
    • Q-tips
    • Small cup
    • Scissors
    • Pencil

    You can cut whatever size squares you want. We did 1" x 1" inch squares. I used 9" x 12" paper and cut it in half and then drew a grid of 1 x 1 squares on it using a ruler and pencil. I just cup the paper in half to make it easier to cut. You can certainly make your grid on the full size paper. Cut out the squares.

    supplies for art activity

    Once you have the squares cut out, provide an assortment of them to your child along with a cup of glue and a q-tip. If you have an older child who can squeeze glue out of a bottle, you can just use that.

    I used black construction paper as the background since I think all the colors really pop off of it.

    tray, glue and paper squares

    Now your child can let their creativity shine.

    gluing squares

    You can see how my daughter is getting in some fine motor practice while she carefully applies glue to her square.

    practicing fine motor skills through art

    My youngest experimented with a different method of applying glue. She spread some glue on the black paper first and then stuck her squares on top.

    child doing art activity

    I loved watching the different ways my kids approached making art with the squares. My daughter made one piece where she glued the squares in a straight line.

    child gluing squares onto black paper

    For her second piece, she decided to try and use the squares to make a picture.

    kids artwork

    You can see how she made a flower with some green grass on the bottom, the blue sky, and a yellow sun. Notice how she turned her green and yellow squares to make a diamond when creating the sun and grass. Such a great detail!

    square art

    One of my girls was determined to cover every square inch (pun intended) of her paper with colorful squares. She kept running out of squares and I had to keep cutting more.

    learning about squares

    No matter what kind of artwork your child creates, there is much to be learned in the process. In this square collage activity, kids will work on the following skills - fine motor, sensory, spatial relations, sequencing, and problem solving. This would be a great project to work on if you are learning about shapes.

    Open ended art activity - Children create a collage using paper squares and glue.

    What are some of your favorite simple ways to be creative with your kids?

    For more fun art activities check out:

    Black Glue and Salt Watercolor Rainbow

    Pin4K
    Share6
    Tweet
    Yum
    4K Shares

    More Crafts

    • Valentine Votive Candle Holders
    • Angel Ornament Craft
    • Worm Pencil Holder
    • Love Bug Valentine's Craft

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. hey

      July 23, 2013 at 7:09 pm

      I also like open ended art projects that allow children to express themselves. Great fine motor skill development with this square collage.

      Going to tweet it out for indoor fun on a hot day!

      jeannine: waddleeahchaa.com

    2. P is for Preschooler

      July 23, 2013 at 6:39 pm

      Saw this in the morning, when I first got up, then looked out the window at a rainy day. So this was our activity! Thank you for the timely idea:)

    3. Anna

      July 23, 2013 at 3:28 pm

      Love these simple crafts! Thanks!

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Vicky, the founder and content creator at Mess For Less. If you are looking for family-friendly recipes, recipes that kids can make, and play and learning activities for kids, you will find them at Mess For Less. I invite you to learn more about me. Thanks for stopping by!

    Valentine's Day Activities and Recipes

    • Valentine’s Dessert Cheese Ball
    • Valentine's Brownie Cake Pops
    • Valentine's Chocolate Covered Pretzels
    • Valentine Ideas for Kids - Glitter Hearts

    Winter Activities

    • Q-Tip Painted Snowman Craft
    • Winter Shaving Cream Paint
    • Pinecone Snowman Craft
    • Melted Snowman Craft

    Popular Recipes

    • Crack Chicken Casserole
    • Overnight Egg Casserole
    • Toasted Italian Sandwich - Food Fun Friday
    • Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Bake

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy and Disclosure
    • Recipe and Safety Disclaimers
    • About Me
    • Accessibility Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for our newsletter

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Advertise

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 MessForLess