An Elephant You Can Play With - Toddler Art Project

An Elephant You Can Play With

Age: 18 Months - 5 Years (younger ones need more supervision)

Time: 10 min (+ Prep)

Theme: Elephants

Books: Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young, Listen to my Trumpet by Mo Willems (or choose your favorite Elephant & Piggie book)

Materials:

Construction Paper (heavier/higher quality works best)

Bendy Straws
Crayons
Adults get to use Scissors and Hole Punch

Prep: Choose different colors of construction paper for the head and body. For the body cut an H shape the size of ¼ of a sheet. For the head, cut a bow tie shape the size of 1/6 of a sheet. Punch two holes in the ‘bar’ of the H and one hole in the center of the head for the straw to feed through.

Activity: Each child gets a pre-cut elephant body, head and crayons. Decorate, draw, scribble! When done, have an adult help feed the long end of the straw through the holes in the head and body, leaving the ‘bendy’ as the trunk. PLAY!

Notes/Tips: Straws come in slightly different diameter, so make sure the ones you have fit snugly in the punched holes. If the straw is too narrow, cut a small ‘x’ with an exacto blade instead of punching holes. The easiest way to size the pieces is to fold the paper into quarters or sixths first. You can also cut multiples easier this way. This easily becomes a big kid project - just let them do the prep themselves.