Easy Kids Crafts with Paper Plates

Paper Plate Lion Kids' Craft

Help your kids turn a paper plate into a lion with just a few easy steps. You will need:

• Paper plates (not the plastic kind)
• Construction paper
• Markers, crayons or paint
• Scissors
• Glue or Glue stick

Cut brown or yellow construction paper into strips, about one and a half inches wide and three inches long. Then, use scissors to turn each strip into "fringe" cutting into each strip multiple times, without cutting all the way across the strip. Attach these strips around the edge of the plate with glue to make the lion's mane. Then, cut out two "ear" shapes from the construction paper and attach them to your lion. Finally, draw or paint the lion's face in the center of the plate.

Want to make a lion mask instead? Cut out eye-holes in the plate and attach a piece of elastic cord to go around your child's head and hold the mask in place.

Paper Plate Fish Kids' Craft

A paper plate fish is an easy craft to make with preschool age kids. All you will need to make your fish is:

• Paper plate (not the plastic kind)
• Markers, crayons or paint
• Scissors
• Glue or Tape
• Stickers, beads, googly eyes, sequins, glitter glue or other decorations (optional)

Place your plate flat on a work surface. Cut a pie-shaped wedge out of a paper plate, equal to approximately an eighth of the plate. Using either tape or glue, attach the wedge shape to the opposite side of the plate, with the wide end facing away from the plate.

Now you can decorate your fish. Use crayons or paint to color in your fish. Then, use glue or double-sided tape to attach sequins, beads, paper shapes or any other decorations to the body of your fish to make scales. You can draw eyes for your fish, or attach googly eyes to it.

Paper Plate Crown Kids' Craft

It is easy to make a special crown for your kids out of a paper plate.

To make this simple kids' craft, you will need:

• Paper plate (not the plastic kind)
• Markers, crayons or paint
• Scissors (or Exacto knife)

Optional additions

• Glue or Double-sided tape
• Stickers, foam or paper cutouts, beads, sequins, feathers, fake flowers, glitter glue or other decorations

Use your scissors or Exacto knife to cut from the center of your paper plate outward in eight strips, ending each about an inch from the outer edge of the plate. This will create eight triangles, each anchored by the "brim" formed along the edge of the plate; bend each triangle upward to form a crown.

Use paint, glitter glue and other items to decorate your crown. You may want to add paper cutouts to the tip of each triangle to make the crown extra special. Consider making these crowns for seasons and holidays; make a birthday crown with candles and jewels, a winter crown with snowmen and snowflakes or a spring crown with flowers and baby chicks and ducks.