Paper Craft How-to: Shape Animals

Guest post by Tarana of Sand in My Toes.

Toddlers and preschoolers love working with simple concepts like shapes. My aim for doing crafts with my toddler is to have fun, ignite his creativity, and teach him something in the process. We love doing simple puzzles, and these animals we made were presented to him as a puzzle, which I helped him put together. The idea behind this craft is to use basic shapes.

The appeal here lies in its simplicity, and most toddlers I know love anything to do with animals! We made a lion and elephant, but you can make any animal you like – such as a giraffe, panda, bear, or zebra.

Supplies needed to make the Lion and Elephant from basic shapes:

- Coloured paper: Orange, yellow, grey, white

- A pair of safety scissors

- A glue stick

- Card stock to paste on (in white or other colours)

- Felt tip markers, colored pencils, or crayons

Steps for a Shape Lion

Cut out the shapes for your lion and place on the card where it will be put together and glued. See photo for the shapes I cut out for the lion. It helps to make a sketch beforehand. Your preschooler can help you in this process.

Help your child arrange the shapes in the right order and glue them in place.

Making a Shape Lion

Add details such as eyes and mouth with the markers, pencils, or crayons.

These animals look great as artwork or on greeting cards.

Steps for a Shape Elephant

Cut out the shapes for your elephant and place on the card where it will be put together and glued. See photo for the shapes I cut out for the elephant. It helps to make a sketch beforehand. Your preschooler can help you in this process.

Help your child arrange the shapes in the right order and glue them in place.

Now add details such as eyes and mouth with the markers, pencils, or crayons.

If you liked this craft, you’ll love this Fruit Stick-on Puzzle I shared on my blog! Or how about this Photo Suncatcher for a hand made gift?

Tarana Khan is mom to a toddler, living an expat life. She loves writing and has done her stints as a copywriter, reporter and content editor, before embracing parenthood full time. She blogs at Sand In My Toes, where youcan drop by to read more of her parenting and other adventures! She also has a series called Busy Hands where you can find more activities and craft ideas.

You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook,Pinterest or Google+.