Ali Croc in the Swamp - Toddler Art Project

I often feel like a coloring page is an incomplete activity to offer little ones, so I try to embellish them with something - like adding craft sticks for skis, or cotton balls for bunny tails. This one is along those lines. It is also a good project for a mixed age group as older kids can do most of the prep on their own.

Ali Croc in the Swamp

Age: 18 Months - 10 Years (younger ones need more prep & supervision)

Time: 10 min (+ Prep)

Theme: Alligators & Crocodiles

Books: An Extraordinary Egg by Leo Lionni, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by Bernard Waber, Mama Don’t Allow by Thatcher Herd, If You Are Happy & You Know It Jungle Edition by James Warhola

Materials:

Green (or white) construction paper

Copy paper and printer

Crayons/Colored Pencils/Markers

Adults / Big Kids get to use Scissors & Pinking Sheers

Prep: Make Ali Crocs (or just a sample/template if you are working with bigger kids – they can trace and cut their own): Fold your construction paper in quarters long way like an M. Make a light outline using the folded edge as the creatures back. (If you position your sketch to the edges 1 sheet will yield 4 Ali Crocs.) You can free hand your Ali Croc or if you search “Fold Up Animals” you can find a template. Cut out the creature – use pinking sheers for the mouth to make a toothy grin!

Find and print a swampy home to color. I found ours at http://www.coloringpages101.com/coloring_pages/Others/Pond_wxxxf.gif

Activity: Each child gets an Ali Croc, a swamp and crayons/pencils/markers. Color the creature and color his home.  Add some friends in the pond. Take him for a swim. Have fun!

Notes/Tips: If you just ‘print’ a page from a website it will have the web address at the bottom, but if you right click and copy the picture then paste it into a Word Document then print that it won’t. You can also resize pictures this way.