DLTK's Crafts for Kids
10 Easy Animal Paper Plate Crafts for Kindergarten
Hello dear readers, and welcome to our fun-filled crafting corner! If you're a parent, teacher, or simply someone who enjoys spending creative time with little ones, you're in the right place. Today, we have lined up 10 delightful, easy-to-do paper plate animal crafts, perfect for kindergarteners and sure to sprinkle magic into their day.
The beauty of crafting, especially with children, extends far beyond the sheer joy of creating something with one's own hands. It's a form of expression, a journey of exploration, and a wonderful way to develop a plethora of skills. Crafting can empower children, boosting their self-esteem as they transform simple materials into something beautiful and unique. Each craft project becomes a colorful voyage into the realms of imagination and creativity, making learning more engaging and memorable.
Children at the kindergarten stage are like little sponges, ready to absorb, learn, and grow. When they engage in crafting activities, they not only unleash their creativity but also hone their fine motor skills. The act of cutting, painting, and gluing can greatly improve their hand-eye coordination and dexterity. It's also a fantastic way to introduce them to various shapes, colors, and textures.
The benefits of crafting also extend to the cognitive domain. By following step-by-step instructions, children enhance their comprehension and sequencing skills. They learn about patience and focus as they work through each stage of the project, waiting for the paint to dry, or carefully aligning pieces before gluing them together. And when the craft is an animal, there's the added bonus of sparking curiosity about the natural world, opening discussions about different animals, their habitats, and characteristics.
So, why paper plate crafts? Well, paper plates are an absolute gem in the world of crafts. They're inexpensive, versatile, and just the right size for tiny hands. Chances are, you already have a stack of them in your kitchen cabinet, making these projects easy to start without a special trip to the craft store. Plus, their circular shape lends itself wonderfully to representing a whole host of animals - with just a few additional cuts and a splash of color, a simple paper plate can become a roaring lion, a waddling penguin, or a hopping frog!
In today's post, I will be guiding you through 10 delightful paper plate animal crafts, each designed to be easy, fun, and educational. All you'll need are some paper plates, acrylic paint (which is optional), construction paper, markers, scissors, and glue. And of course, the most crucial ingredient - a little imagination!
So, roll up your sleeves and get ready to dive into a world of color, creativity, and fun. These charming creatures are waiting to come to life in your next crafting session, ready to ignite the imaginations of your little artists. Let's get started!
Options for Color-Covering Your Paper Plate
When it comes to covering your paper plate with color, there are several options available, each with its own pros and cons. You can paint, cut out a colored construction paper circle, or use small square scraps of paper. Let's look at each option in more detail:
- Painting: This is perhaps the most straightforward method. Simply grab some acrylic paint and let your little artist paint the entire plate in their desired color. The pros of this method are numerous - it's quick, it allows for a uniform color, and it's a lot of fun for kids who enjoy getting a little messy. Plus, the act of painting can help enhance fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. On the downside, acrylic paint can be messy, and it won't wash out of clothes, so make sure your child is wearing old or paint-friendly clothes. Also, you will need to allow time for the paint to dry before moving on to the next steps of your craft project.
- Colored Construction Paper Circle: For this option, trace the paper plate onto a piece of colored construction paper and then cut out the circle to glue onto the plate. This approach is cleaner than painting and doesn't require drying time. It also offers an opportunity to practice more advanced scissor skills, as your child will need to follow the traced lines carefully. However, it may be more challenging for younger children or those still developing their cutting skills.
- Small Paper Squares: This option involves snipping up small squares from colored tissue paper, construction paper, gift wrap, or scrapbooking paper, and then gluing them onto the plate to cover it. This method allows for a more textured and potentially multicolored effect, which can be quite appealing and can look a bit like fur or feathers. The act of cutting small squares is excellent for developing basic scissor skills and the gluing helps to improve precision. However, this method is more time-consuming than the others and may require a bit more patience from younger crafters.
Each of these methods has its own charm and learning opportunities. Depending on the age and skill level of your child, the time you have available, and the materials you have on hand, you might choose one over the others. You could even let your child choose their preferred method, empowering them to take more ownership of their crafting project. After all, the primary goal of these activities is to have fun and spark creativity!
In the instructions, I'm only going to refer to one way of coloring the plate -- feel free to substitute your favourite!
Penguin Paper Plate Craft:
Penguins are fascinating creatures to kids due to their unique tuxedo-like appearance and adorable waddling walk. The idea of an animal that lives in the cold, icy Antarctic and loves to slide on its belly is also a fun concept for children.
Paint your paper plate black as the base color.
From white paper, cut out a belly shape and glue it to the center of the plate.
Next, cut out a beak and feet from orange paper and add them to the plate.
Draw eyes on two white paper circles using a black marker and then stick them onto your penguin or you can use purchased googly eyes.
Tiger Paper Plate Craft:
Tigers are often loved by kindergarten children for their striking appearance with bright orange fur and bold black stripes. Tigers also appeal to children's sense of adventure and fascination with wild animals.
Start by painting your paper plate orange.
Cut strips of black paper and glue them onto the plate as stripes.
Cut two circles from black construction paper for ears. You can glue pink centers to them if you like.
Attach two circles of white paper with eyeballs drawn on them in black marker as eyes.
Cut an oval of white paper as the tiger's muzzle.
Lastly, draw a nose, eyebrows, whiskers and mouth with a black marker. The nose and mouth would be drawn on the muzzle.
Cat noses often look like little triangles.
Elephant Paper Plate Craft:
Elephants capture children's imaginations with their large size, long trunks, and big floppy ears. Kids also love the idea of an animal that can 'spray' water with its nose!
Color your paper plate grey.
To make the elephant's ears, cut out a large half circles from a piece of gray paper and glue them to the sides of the paper plate. You can add pink ear middles if you like.
Cut a rectangular trunk from grey paper. Cut two triangles from white paper and glue them beside the trunk as tusks.
Complete the elephant's face by attaching two white paper circles with eyeballs drawn on them as eyes.
Dog Paper Plate Craft:
Dogs are commonly adored by kids as they are often a family's first pet. They are friendly, playful, and loyal which makes them relatable and comforting to children.
Paint the paper plate whatever color the child wants their dog to be. You can even paint it with splotches or dots in different colors!
Cut out two floppy peanut shaped ears or two perky triangle ears from a piece of construction paper and glue them onto the painted plate.
You can add pink middles to your ears if you like.
Make eyes using white paper circles with black marker-drawn eyeballs and stick them on.
You can draw eyebrows over the eyes with a black marker or you can cut out construction paper eyes.
You can cut out an oval from construction paper as your dog's muzzle. This oval should be glued onto the plate where the nose and mouth will go.
With a black marker, draw a nose and mouth on the muzzle or, if not using a muzzle, directly onto the plate. Dogs noses tend to be an oval shape.
Cat Paper Plate Craft:
Cats are another favorite animal often found in homes. Their playful antics, purring sounds, and soft fur make them endearing to young children. Plus, their independent nature can be intriguing to kids.
Make your paper plate base color whatever color you want your cat to be.
From construction paper, cut out two triangle-shaped ears and glue them onto the painted plate. You can add pink centers to your ears if you like.
Attach two circles of white paper with eyeballs drawn on them as eyes.
Complete your cat face by drawing a nose and whiskers with a white marker.
Since cat's whiskers are such a defining feature, instead of drawing them on, you can cut six long rectangular strips from black or grey construction paper and glue those to either side of the nose so the whiskers stand out more than handdrawn ones would.
Bunny Rabbit Paper Plate Craft:
The soft, fluffy appearance of rabbits and their long, twitching ears make them a hit with children. Their hopping movements and the fact that they love to eat vegetables like carrots are also things that kids find amusing.
Leave your paper plate white or paint it brown for a summer bunny or an unusual color for a colorful bunny.
Cut out two long ears from construction paper and glue them to the top of the plate. You can add pink middles to the ears if you like.
Attach two circles of paper with eyeballs drawn on them in black marker as eyes.
Cut out a pink construction paper triangle nose, and draw whiskers and a mouth with a black marker.
Dinosaur Paper Plate Craft:
Although not currently living animals, dinosaurs are a huge hit with kindergarten kids. Their ancient, mythical-like status, various sizes and forms, and unique names are intriguing to young, curious minds.
Color your paper plate green.
Cut the paper plate in half. One half will serve as the body, the other half can be cut into a tail, head, and legs or you can cut pieces of construction paper for these pieces.
Glue the tail, head, and legs onto the body.
Add eyes using two white paper circles with black marker-drawn eyeballs.
Frog Paper Plate Craft:
Frogs are interesting to children due to their ability to live both on land and in water. Plus, their jumping ability, their change from tadpoles, and the sounds they make are exciting features for kids.
Paint the paper plate green.
Attach two fairly large white paper circles with eyeballs drawn on them in black marker as eyes. The eyes should be glued toward the top of the head
Cut out four legs from green construction paper and glue them onto the painted plate -- these are basically rectangles with triangle shapes at the end as the hands/feet.
For the tongue, cut out a long, thin strip of red paper and glue it onto the plate.
Draw a mouth with a black marker.
Pig Paper Plate Craft:
Pigs are often loved for their cute snouts, curly tails, and the funny sounds they make. The fact that they love to play in the mud is also an aspect that kids find amusing.
Start by painting your paper plate pink.
Cut out two triangle-shaped ears from construction paper and glue them onto the painted plate.
Make eyes using white paper circles with black marker-drawn eyeballs and stick them on.
Cut out an oval shape from pink construction paper a draw on two black nostrils -- you can even paint an egg carton cup pink and glue that on as the nose (this is quite a bit more difficult than using construction paper).
Draw a mouth with a black marker.
We even added a bit of brown tissue paper mud to one of our pigs faces! I always put out a box of random supplies when we craft (bits of tissue paper, googly eyes, feathers, pipecleaners -- just little leftovers from past projects). I was very confused when the brown tissue paper got added to the pig but was quickly delighted to learn that it's mud because pigs like mud baths. Another instance where I was reminded to just let the kids be creative!
Ladybug Paper Plate Craft:
Ladybugs are charming to kids due to their bright red color, black spots, and small size. They are often one of the first bugs that children feel comfortable with, and their presence in many children's stories and songs adds to their appeal.
Paint the entire paper plate red.
From black construction paper, cut out an oval head and several spots and stick them onto the plate.
Add eyes by attaching two white paper circles with black marker-drawn eyeballs onto the head.
You can add six thin rectangular black legs (three to each side) and two thin rectangle antenna to the top of the head if you like.
Other ideas for animal paper plate crafts kindergarteners tend to enjoy because the animals are easily recognizable.
Well, there we have it, my friends - a menagerie of delightful paper plate animals waiting to be brought to life by your little ones' creativity. I hope you've found these craft projects as exciting and enjoyable as I have in sharing them with you.
Creating these charming creatures together not only helps build those all-important skills like creativity, fine motor skills, and cognitive development, but also weaves threads of precious memories with your children. As you watch a simple paper plate transform into a roaring tiger or a hopping frog, you're not just witnessing your child's growing imagination, you're also part of their journey of discovery and learning.
Remember, the true beauty of these activities lies not in the perfection of the final product, but in the joy of the process. So, don't be afraid to get a little messy, to let your little ones take the lead, and most importantly, to have fun!
Don't forget to venture back to DLTK's Crafts for Kids for more crafty inspiration. We're always here with more delightful projects to spark creativity and learning in your little ones.
Thank you so much for joining me on this crafty adventure. Until next time, keep those imaginations buzzing and those little hands crafting!
Happy Crafting,
Leanne
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