Stuck at home during a freezing or rainy weekend, do you need activities to keep the kids busy? Here are ten super easy art projects, all inspired by animals, to keep creativity flowing during indoor days. Create puppets from paper bags, turn a paper chain into a fierce snake, and use a straw and paint to create the feathers of a peacock.
Animal art projects:
Animal Finger Puppets. Do you have any lingering sensations? Maybe wide eyes? Well, this job is for you! Cut out finger-shaped pieces of felt (two for each finger!) and decorate with eyes, beaks, feathers and feet. Use hot glue or sew the edges together, and you have cute little creatures to put on in puppet shows for the whole family!
Egg carton caterpillar. Is your recycling bin also overflowing? Glad we’re not alone. Recycle by cutting out sections of an egg carton, turning it inside out and painting it, then creating a chain of about 5 or 6 pockets. Add googly eyes and cut out 1″ pipe cleaners for the tentacles, and you have a colorful caterpillar!
Animal crafts with paper bags. Make a raccoon, fox, dog or bee using construction paper, markers and a small brown paper bag. Get creative and add white tissue paper or a placemat for the wings, pipe cleaners for the tentacles, or a paper tongue that sticks out when you open your pet’s mouth!
peacock painted by stroke. Starting with fresh paper, use markers or other art materials to draw just the body (no feathers yet) of a peacock in the corner of your page, leaving plenty of space. Using liquid watercolor (or, if you don’t have one, diluted food coloring), drop a little paint onto the paper and use a straw to blow the colors together and in all directions, creating beautiful blue, green and purple feathers. .
Fork painted hedgehog. On plain construction paper, draw or paint the round body shape of a hedgehog, with legs and a face. Using a plastic fork and tempra or acrylic paint, use the fork to “stamp” the hedgehog’s points onto its back! You can also try this technique to paint other animals, like a lion’s mane or a bird’s feathers.
Paper plate animal crafts. Make a fish, a rooster or even a koala. Cut a paper plate into a spiral, give it a head and a tail, and you have a snake! Do you have glitter? They can become the feathers of a peacock. The possibilities are limitless!
Paper Chain Snake. Using the good old paper chain technique, cut strips of paper of different colors (have toddlers create a color pattern) and wrap them around each other to form a long chain. Add a flat, oval cutout for the head. Use a black marker to add scales and eyes, and cut out a small strip of paper to make a tongue. Bonus: Before assembly, add a gratitude inside each chain link.
Pipe cleaner animals. Make a monkey, turtle, dog, or even a dinosaur using only pipe cleaners (and googly eyes, if you have them)! Choose your pet and follow these simple step-by-step instructions.
Animal Sponge Print Tracks. Using old sponges, cut out a variety of organic and circular shapes, large and small. Do a little research to find out what the tracks of different animals look like, such as bear, dog, and raccoon tracks. Glue sponges (in the shape of traces) to cardstock. Use these stamps, pressed into a paint palette, to make animal tracks on paper!
Paper mosaic owl. Using construction paper, cut out an oval shape (the body of the owl) and glue it to another sheet of paper. Cut out circles for the eyes and beak and assemble. Use scrap paper to cut out small pieces (about 1 inch) of varying shapes and colors, which can be placed on the owl’s body as “feathers,” in a mosaic pattern.