Kids Craft: Easy Paper Penguins

Penguins seem to have captured Oggie's heart, enjoying a special sort of attention only a toddler can command. This holiday season, while looking for easy cards Oggie can make, it was clear to me that it has to be either penguin or snowman. Penguin won, no contest.

Either construction paper or card stock will work. I went with card stock as it stays firm and withstands the pressure of the little hands without creasing much or tearing.



Items Used: Black, white and orange card stock paper, stick glue, pre-folded greeting cards preferably made out of thick card stock paper in various colors.

(†: Done by a grown-up for toddlers)

1. †On a template paper, draw a lumpy egg shape with only one axis of symmetry for that extra cuteness. Or, symmetric oval or rounded triangle or any reasonably discernible penguin shape for that matter. Make a slightly smaller/larger template roughly the same shape
2. †Cut pieces of black and white card stock using the appropriate templates
3. †Cut small pieces for nose and feet from orange card stock, proportionate to the penguin body
4. Activity Set-up for toddlers: In a tray, set up separate small shallow containers with the black, white, and orange pieces, and a stick glue along with pre-folded cards so it is easy for small hands to access and assemble
5. Let the child apply glue on the front of the greeting card and place the black piece; apply glue to this black piece and stick the white piece on top; and finally apply glue to add the beak and feet, allow to dry
6. †Add the eyes with a marker,or use googly-eyes if preferred
7. Typically, for a specific outcome like this, I show Oggie what to do the first time to demonstrate clearly; it helps if the feet and beak are not too small, but since the stick glue was rubbed all over the card anyway, it was fine to pick up and reposition if needed

This "activity" became so popular he started asking for more... so, I used a few of these finished paper penguins to hang as decorations around the house - punch or poke a hole and attach a piece of thread/ribbon; or attach a piece of masking tape folded over on itself to form a double-sided tape and stick it to the wall. (Masking tape is gentler on the wall-paint than regular tape).

And a couple of them with added glitter and ribbons became Xmas tree ornaments.

Some of them, of course, went to family and friends with the warmest Season's Greetings.

For an older child, can prepare pieces of fleece or felt hats and scarves, even incorporate those cute flapless wings with the black card stock, so they can embellish the penguins whimsically.

Also, potato stamp penguins would make lovely cards for the Winter Holidays.

Paper Snowmen



Similar to the penguins above, paper chain snowmen or paper snowmen strung together make a simple decoration for the season. Alternately, use Watercolor Cling Wrap paper in light blue/teal as the background and glue the white snowmen on it for that snowy day effect.

• Divide an 8x11 inch white card stock paper roughly evenly; draw as many snowmen as can be fitted without wasting paper yet leaving enough room to cut around; try different sizes to create a family
• Use scraps of fleece, felt, flannel fabric to make hats, scarves, even mitts if making arms for the snowmen
• Color in features with markers (puff paint adds dimension but is not easy for kids to control); embellish with beads or ribbons
• String them together with ribbon