Animal Handprints for Children Crafts

Materials for Animal Handprints for Children Crafts

The materials can be as basic or as extravagant as your budget allows. Once the item is glued together, you can allow children to embellish with almost anything that they can attach to the paper. Allow them to be as creative as they like with materials that you may have on hand or can easily find in nature. Take a stroll through the local crafts store for more ideas.

• Construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Pencil or marker
• Crayons
• Feathers
• Tissue paper
• Leaves
• Beads
• Fabric and notion scraps
• Buttons
• Googly eyes
• Pipe cleaners
• Cotton balls
• Sequins

You may also need a template printed from one of the many sites that has instructions for animal handprints for children. Crafts of this type can be found in books, at educational supply stores, and craft stores.

Where to Find Templates

Some of these crafts have handprint poems that can go with them as well. If you want to put a poem and a handprint craft together, it would be best to find the poem before deciding on the animal handprint craft. Other sites have complete lesson plans to help educators integrate stories with projects and crafts for across the curriculum learning. Let your imagination be your guide.

• This crow or raven craft would be great for autumn decorations or in a unit study about birds. Other colors could easily be substituted to change the species of bird.
• A butterfly craft is perfect for spring or a study on butterflies. The colors can be changed to match any theme or type of butterfly and the butterfly could even be suspended from the ceiling with string. Gluing tissue paper on the wings will add a creative twist to this project.
• Both hands and feet are required to make this cute Thanksgiving turkey decoration. Change the colors and you can make a beautiful peacock as well.
• Kids will love this reindeer puppet made out of handprints and a lunch bag.
• Another spring project, or one for Easter is this cheerful duck which uses paper plates in addition to handprints.
• A handprint peacock pattern would be a great addition to a study of exotic birds, or after a field trip to the zoo.
• Another possibility for Easter or a farm unit study is this sweet handprint lamb.
• Make these chickens in several different sizes to have a whole family of chickens. If you use heavy duty paper the chickens will stand up. This site also has a Little Red Hen lesson plan to go along with the craft.

Build Confidence

With a little imagination you can create almost any animal. Handprints for children can be a fun way to enhance a lesson or spend a rainy afternoon.

For best results, use a good quality construction paper. Keep a box of embellishments on hand to allow the child creative interpretation. Projects like this make wonderful memories and keepsakes that help children grow in confidence as they learn to love crafting.