Thanksgiving Corn Craft for Preschoolers

If you are looking for a fun and easy corn craft for preschoolers this Thanksgiving you will love making bubble wrap painted corn! A great way to repurpose old bubble wrap, this harvest corn craft is a fun way to create fall art with interesting textures and patterns.

set of four painted indian corn crafts sitting on the counter next to painted bubble wrap and raffia

I love seeing all of the different varieties and colors of flint corn (otherwise known as calico corn or Indian corn). This painted corn activity is a fun Thanksgiving activity to create your own decorative harvest corn of many different colors!

The finished corn cobs are colorful and bright and a great way to decorate your home or classroom for Thanksgiving and fall!

Other fun Thanksgiving ideas for preschoolers would be this cute Thanksgiving snack mix and printable story tag and these Thanksgiving themed coloring pages with dot markers!

a hand holding a red colored harvest corn craft in front of white curtains

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Thanksgiving Corn Craft for Preschoolers

This activity combines art, sensory play, and fine motor skill practice and makes a great fall craft for toddlers and preschoolers. Plus, it’s budget-friendly and uses materials you probably already have!

There are many ways to engage learning throughout the craft including:

Colors and Patterns: Talk about fall colors, see how they blend together.
Textures and Senses: Encourage children to describe how the bubble wrap feels.
Fine Motor Skills: Cutting, Painting and pressing help strengthen small hand muscles.
Learn About Thanksgiving: Discuss how corn is an important symbol of Thanksgiving and harvest time.

a child painting bubble wrap at the table

Materials

Bubble wrap
Paint
Paintbrushes or sponges
White or light-colored construction paper
Raffia for the corn husks
Scissors
Tape

paint, tape, paintbrush, construction paper, raffia, scissors and bubble wrap sitting on the counter

Indian Corn Craft Instructions

1. Prep the Corn Shape

Start by drawing a large corn cob shape on construction paper. This will be the base for your corn print. Preschoolers can help cut it out with scissors (or you can prep the shapes in advance).

2. Paint the Bubble Wrap Stamp

Cut a piece of bubble wrap just a bit larger than your corn shape. This will be your “corn kernel” stamp!

With the bubbly side of the bubble wrap facing up, use a paint brush to brush the “corn kernels”. You can use fall colors like yellow, orange, red, and brown or you can get creative with lots of different colors to create a very colorful corn cob 🙂

red and orange painted bubble wrap on counter next to a paint brush

construction paper in the shape of a corn cob laid flat on top of painted bubble wrap

3. Press and Print!

Lay the construction paper corn shape on the painted bubble wrap. Gently press all over being careful not to move the paper so it doesn’t smudge (my daughter had some trouble with this). Carefully peel it off to reveal a beautiful, patterned corn print!

5 small strips of raffia taped to the back of a construction paper corn cob

hand holding up 6 finished ornamental corn crafts in front of counter and paint

4. Let it Dry and Add the Corn Husks

You will want to let the paint dry for a bit before you add the corn husk. When it’s dry enough to handle, cut 4-5 small pieces of raffia and tape them to the back side of the corn cob to create the corn husks.

5. Display

Once your corn cob is dried all the way, you can display your finished product on a bulletin board, the refrigerator, the window or string it together to make a cute fall garland!