DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Paper Plate Polar Bear Craft
contributed by Leanne Guenther
This particular polar bear craft uses a printable template and a paper plate to make a project suitable for a mammals or winter theme or just for fun.
Since polar bears are white, no painting is required if you use an ordinary white paper plate.
If you cut out holes instead of using the template eyes, you can convert your paper plate craft to a polar bear mask. Attach a paint stir stick or tongue depressor to allow your child to hold it up to their face.
Materials:
- paper plate,
- something to color with (or color printer),
- scissors,
- glue,
- paper,
- printer
- Optional: You can glue cotton balls onto the plate as fur before gluing on the template pieces.
- Optional: You can substitute large wiggly eyes for the template eyes.
- Optional FOR MASK: Paint Stir Stick, thin strip of wood or Tongue Depressor.
Instructions:
- Print out the polar bear craft templates you would prefer to use.
- Color (if using the black and white version of the craft) and cut out the template pieces. Most of the pieces are simple circles which are easy for young children to cut out, but if needed, an adult can help with some of the harder pieces (for example, the hair).
Optional: Glue cotton balls all over your paper plate as the polar bear's fur. You can fluff them up a bit before gluing them on so they aren't quite so round.- Glue the pieces to the plate to make a polar bear face:
- Glue the ear middles onto each of the ears.
- Glue the assembled ears onto either side of the head - for a bear, I like to glue the ears behind the plate so they look a little smaller (instead of on the front like I would for a mouse).
- Glue the hair onto the center top of the head.
- Glue the eyes onto the face under the hair (or cut out holes for eyes in a mask).
- Glue the eyebrows above the eyes.
- Glue the muzzle under the eyes so the mouth is making a smiley face.
- Glue the nose onto the muzzle.
- Optional: If making a mask, use masking tape or duct tape to attach a thin strip of wood, aTongue Depressor or a Paint Stir Stick (often free at paint supply and home repair stores -- no more than $1 -- we get dad to pick one up now and then when he's at home depot admiring the tools *grin*)
Templates:
- Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
- Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).
Template 1: (color) or (B&W)
Template 2: (color) or (B&W)
Print friendly version of these instructions
