Not So Crafty Momma

Our little one is a huge animal lover and this little paper giraffe was a hit with her. It is fairly simple and did not take a lot of time. It also helped work on small motor skills.

Materials Needed

• Brown Paint
• Yellow Construction Paper
• Googly Eyes
• A Crayon or Marker
• Glue
• Scissors
• Paint brush

We started by tracing the little ones hand. We attempted to tuck in her thumb so that wouldn’t be part of the giraffe. The two outside fingers were the ears and the two middle fingers were the horns. I will have to admit, I totally had to google what those were, because the first term that came to mind was “antennas”, but they are actually furry horns called ossicones . After we finished tracing, we gave the toddler a paint brush and let her give her giraffe brown spots. This was her first ever time holding a paint brush. The ability to grasp things in the toddler stage is so important, so even though you might have a little bit of a mess to clean up, break out those paint brushes!

After the spots were added, we let the giraffe dry. It took about three hours before it was dry enough to cut. When we cut it, we made the outer two fingers slightly pointy because those are the ears. If you are working with a preschool or middle school aged child that can safely use scissors, let them do the cutting work for more fine motor skill practice. Lastly, we added googly eyes and a smile!