Farm animals are a source of enjoyment for children of all ages. I have such fond memories of visiting a local farm with my grandparents as a child.. So I thought, why not put together a fun farm animal crafts project that anyone can make alongside their young toddlers or preschoolers? So below I have put together a cute finger puppet farm animal tutorial to share with you today. Your children will surely love doing it with you.
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A Little About This Project
Farm animal crafts for preschoolers will always go over well and this one is no exception. It is always great to find a craft you can enjoy together with your child. I'm sure your children will love making these adorable finger puppets with you and there is so much fun to be had with the finished product too!
Finger puppets make a brilliant fun learning tool for kids, with many opportunities for you to play with them together. Children will love using their imaginations to make their new animal friends come to life. These puppets will also become a toy they can love and keep as they grow up.
I hope you have as much fun as we did making these cute preschool farm animal crafts. Let me know in the comments how you get on with the tutorial!
Supplies Needed To Make Farm Animal Crafts
- Colored cardstock
- Colored foam
- Glue
- Sticky tape
- Googly eyes
- A pencil
- Scissors
- A black crayon
- Something small and round to draw around such as the bottom of a plastic cup
How To Make Farm Animal Crafts?
Step 1: Make the farm animal base/face
First, you will want to help your child draw a small circle on colored cardstock. You can do this by drawing around something circular such as the bottom of a plastic cup. The circle will be the animal's face so choose the color of the card depending on which animal you want to make. Here I have chosen a pink card, as the first animal I am going to make is a pig. Once you have your circle drawn, help your child to cut it out and then put it to one side.
Step 2: Add the facial features
Next, you will need to cut out the other pieces to make your animals face. For the pig you will need a snout shape in a darker pink color - I have used foam to make it stand out from the face. You will also need two triangles for ears in the same pink as the face, two small black circles for nostrils and then two googly eyes.
Once you have all your pieces ready, your child can stick them all to the circle using the glue. When everything is stuck on, put the animal to one side to dry.
Step 3: Repeat with other farm animals
While you wait for your pig to dry, you can start on your next animal. I made a cow next using white card for the face and ears, pink card for the nose and black card for the nostrils and markings.
Step 4: Putting it all together
When your animal faces are dry, you are ready to turn them into finger puppets. To do this you will need to measure around your child's finger and cut strips of card slightly longer than this measurement. You will then help your child to make a ring with the card strip and stick it together with sticky tape. You can use more sticky tape to stick the ring to the back of the animal face.
This will turn the animal into a finger puppet that your child can wear on his or her finger.
Make as many finger puppets as you like!
You can make as many animal puppets as you like. Use different colored cardstock and foam, and cut out pieces to make the faces. I made my pig and cow, then I also made a very simple chick and a sheep. For the sheep face I used a black crayon to draw on the nose and mouth and for the chick I made a triangle beak.
I would love to hear about any other animals that you and your child make in the comments!
Tips and tricks
- Try not to worry if your child's finished result isn't exactly the same as my pictures. Let them express their own creativity by choosing where they stick the eyes or other facial features on their animals. Children will love the animals if they make them themselves, especially if their favorite adult thinks they are amazing.
- Use this craft as an opportunity to talk with your child about all the different animals on a farm. You could discuss the noises they make, the names of baby animals and how the farmer looks after them.
- When your child gets bored with the puppets, you can always put them away somewhere. When you get them out again a few weeks later, the fun will start all over again!
Activities Kids Can Do With Their New Farm Animals
There are so many opportunities for play and learning with these farm animal crafts. Try these fun activities with your new finger puppets:
Singing time
Small children love to sing and they love it even more when their favorite adults join in with their favorite songs. Imagine how happy your little one will be to sing Old Macdonald had a farm with real life farm animals to dance around and make the noises as you sing the song together!
Story time
Does your child have a favorite story book involving animals? Why not sit down together for a story and either let your finger puppet animal friends listen with you or even act out the story as you read it. If you don't own an animal book you could even make up your own story using your puppets as the characters.
Play time
Toddlers and preschoolers love small world and imaginative play and they can learn so much from this too. Why not find some small props such as cereal to feed your animals, or grass for them to sleep in? You can spend a lot of quality time with your child playing with your puppets together.
FAQs
Do I just have to make farm animal puppets?
Of course not! This article is about farm animal crafts for preschoolers and toddlers but you can adapt it however you like and make any animals you can think of.
What can I use if I can't find googly eyes?
Googly eyes are super fun but also easy to substitute if you don't have any. You could either use a black crayon to draw eyes on your animals, or you could make eyes by cutting small circles from white paper and sticking on smaller circles of black paper.
How many puppets should I make?
The answer to this is probably as many as your child stays motivated to make! Farm animal crafts for toddlers are only fun while the toddler is interested in doing them. If your child has a short attention span and only wants to make one animal puppet then that is fine, you could either play with the one or even offer to make some more for him or her.
What if my child isn't great at cutting yet?
If your child isn't able to cut out the shapes, then please feel free to do it yourself. Also, one idea is to cut together, so they can practice their fine motor skills. You could cut the pieces for the animals and let them use their own scissors on a separate piece of paper to practice their cutting skills.
Some other great craft ideas
Here are some other great animal themed ideas to carry on the excitement:
- Have some more animal fun with these Turkey crafts for kids: 5 Easy Turkey Crafts for Children
- Got a little one that is obsessed with dinosaurs? Try this great Dinosaur themed activity: Easy Flip Flop Crafts Idea – Perfect For Preschooler Fun!
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