Crafting is a fantastic way for children to express their creativity, build their motor skills and, of course, have loads of fun! And, what could be more exciting than merging their love for animals with these crafty activities? Whether your little ones are animal enthusiasts or simply love getting creative, these delightful crafts are sure to spark their imaginations and provide hours of fun.
With a plethora of charming animal-themed craft ideas, children can unleash their artistic flair and learn while having a blast. From making adorable paper plate masks of their favourite animals to creating cute handprint creatures, there’s a craft suited for every age and skill level.
Kids will revel in the joy of transforming simple materials like coloured paper, glue, and googly eyes into delightful critters. They can craft fluffy cotton ball sheep, vibrant paper plate fish, or even cute sock puppets representing their beloved furry friends.
Animal crafts also offer a fantastic way to educate children about wildlife and foster a love for nature. Engaging in these activities encourages creativity, improves fine motor skills, and promotes cognitive development.
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10 Animal Crafts For Kids
Here are some delightful animal crafts that are easy to create and guaranteed to entertain kids of all ages.
Butterfly Pasta Art
Colourful and enchanting, these butterflies will flutter right into your child’s imagination. All you need are pasta bows, poster paints, a brush, glue, and a pair of googly eyes. First, paint the pasta bows in vibrant colours and leave them to dry. Once done, arrange them on paper to make the shape of a butterfly. Glue them down and stick on the googly eyes to create an adorable butterfly. This is a simple and tactile craft suitable for younger children but still a lot of fun for older ones.
Paper Plate Lion
This cheerful king of the jungle is as delightful to create as it is to display. You’ll need a paper plate, yellow paint, a paintbrush, orange and yellow construction paper, googly eyes, a black marker, and glue. Start by painting the plate yellow and let it dry. Then, cut out strips from the orange construction paper and stick them around the plate to create a mane. Next, use the yellow paper to make ears and the marker to draw the lion’s face. Finally, stick the googly eyes, and voila! You have a magnificent lion plate.
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Egg Carton Turtles
This craft repurposes egg cartons into cute little turtles. Gather some green paint, a paintbrush, an egg carton, green construction paper, scissors, googly eyes, and glue. Firstly, cut out an individual cup from the egg carton and paint it green. While that’s drying, cut out four legs, a tail, and a head from the green paper. Once dry, glue these to the underside of the egg cup. Stick on the googly eyes, and there’s your darling turtle!
Rock Painted Animals
Bring a bit of nature into your craft with this activity. Collect some smooth, flat stones from your garden or a park, along with acrylic paints, paintbrushes, and a sealant spray. Wash and dry the stones first, then paint them into your favourite animals. You could make a small ladybird, a bright fish, or a spotted leopard. Once the paint has dried, spray a coat of sealant to protect your beautiful creations.
Sock Puppet Animals
Creating sock puppet animals is a slightly more complex craft, but one that older children will enjoy. Collect a few old socks, felt of various colours, scissors, fabric glue, and googly eyes. Begin by choosing an animal to create, then cut out shapes from the felt to match. For example, you could cut out pink triangles for a pig’s ears or white and black circles for a panda’s eyes. Next, use the fabric glue to attach these to the sock, and you’ve created a new friend to play with!
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Jellyfish Wind Chime
Delight your children with this beautiful sea-themed wind chime. You’ll need some colourful paper bowls, string, beads, paint, and a stick. First, paint the bowls in bright colours. Once dried, cut strings of different lengths and attach beads to the end. Next, glue the strings to the inside of the bowls and then tie them to the stick, varying their heights to create a cascading effect. Now, you’ve got a stunning jellyfish wind chime to brighten up any room.
Pine Cone Owls
For this, you’ll need a pine cone, felt in different colours, glue, and googly eyes. Cut the felt into shapes to create the owl’s feathers, beak, and feet. Then, glue these onto the pine cone along with the googly eyes. This craft encourages kids to get creative and tactile with natural materials.
Toilet Paper Roll Foxes
These cute little foxes make for a simple and fun craft. Gather toilet paper rolls, orange paint, white and black paper, and glue. Paint the rolls orange and let them dry. Cut the black paper into shapes for the fox’s ears and tail, and white paper for its chest and tail tip. Then, assemble the pieces onto the toilet paper roll to make a friendly fox.
Handprint Flamingos
This craft is a fun way to immortalise your little one’s handprints. You’ll need pink paint, white paper, glue, googly eyes, and orange paper. Dip your child’s hand in the pink paint and print it on the white paper. Once dried, cut out a beak from the orange paper and stick it along with googly eyes onto the handprint to create a fabulous flamingo.
Popsicle Stick Snakes
All you need for this craft are popsicle sticks, paint, googly eyes, and glue. Paint the sticks in any colour or pattern your kids fancy. After it dries, stick on the googly eyes at one end and draw a tongue on the other end to make an easy and playful popsicle stick snake.
Crafting provides an excellent opportunity for children to learn, create, and have fun all at the same time. These easy-to-make animal crafts are sure to be a hit with your kids, sparking their imagination while also enhancing their fine motor skills. So, roll up your sleeves, get out the craft supplies, and have a wild time making these adorable animal crafts!
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EuroSchool also structures play activities to help children learn specific skills. For example, EuroSchool teachers might lead a game that helps children learn about colours or shapes. These structured activities help children to learn in a fun and engaging way.