This rather random activity turned out to be a delight on multiple levels. Your child will learn about animals, exercise their creativity, and enhance their fine motor skills.
When I asked Travis this morning if he wanted to make safari animals, he eagerly trotted over to see what the project was all about. To make your animals, fold construction paper in half. Draw the outline of an animal in profile, then cut out with scissors and your folded creature will stand on its own two (or four) feet.
I’m no artist, so I relied heavily on online pictures to get my outlines correct. A giraffe in the shape of an H was the easiest, and one that even kids can try to draw.
Travis was practically shaking with excitement as I started cutting the giraffe out, and the animal was revealed along the folded line. He decorated the giraffe with brown spots…
…And then we added slits at the top to insert little yellow ears.
I asked him which animal we should make next, and the only limit was the scope of his imagination! Soon we had a crocodile, a pink polar bear (“Normally they’re white, but let’s make ours pink!” he suggested), a black rhino, and a green rhino. The rhinos are fun because you can add a slit at the top for a horn.
After that Travis was eager to try his own hand at making animals. I drew him a few outlines and he practiced cutting along a line, something we haven’t done much of.
He asked for a few animals that surprised me – a sheep – and a few that I wasn’t quite able to do – an elephant. I’m really not sure what this red creature below was meant to be, but Travis had fun decorating it!
He had so much fun playing with the animals while I turned to other tasks around the house, narrating games in the background. And then he decided that we should glue all our animals into one big pile. Not exactly what I’d had planned, but a delight to watch his enjoyment.
What animals would you and your little one like to make? Please share in the comments!
With my very amateur crafting skills, I cut out fish, anemone, shells, and a little crab with legs we could attach and unattach.
Our thoughts have been with those in parts of the world and the country ravaged by hurricanes this month. We’re incredibly thankful that Tropical Storm Jose was only a mild disturbance in our neck of the woods, and highly cognizant of others who were far less fortunate…
While Travis was napping, I prepared the picnic – a blanket on our living room floor, along with art supplies and index cards on which to produce preschool-sized masterpieces.
joyful parenting 