Making an elephant with construction paper is a fun and easy craft activity for young children. This project helps develop fine motor skills like cutting, gluing, and coloring while also introducing them to animals. Follow these simple steps to create a cute, colorful elephant craft with construction paper.
Materials Needed:
- Construction Paper: Gray, pink, black, and white (or any colors you like)
- Scissors (safety scissors for children)
- Glue Stick or liquid glue
- Crayons or Markers (optional for additional details)
- Googly Eyes (optional, for a fun touch)
- Pencil (optional, for tracing shapes)
Step-by-Step Instructions:
1. Create the Elephant’s Body
- Cut a Large Oval: Start by cutting a large oval shape from gray construction paper. This will be the body of the elephant. It doesn’t need to be perfect—just a big, rounded shape.
- Attach the Body: Glue the oval onto a piece of construction paper (this can be your background or a blank sheet).
2. Make the Elephant’s Head
- Cut a Circle for the Head: Cut out a circle from gray construction paper for the elephant’s head. This can be a little smaller than the body oval.
- Glue the Head: Position the circle just above the body and glue it down.
3. Create the Elephant’s Trunk
- Cut a Long Rectangle or Strip: Cut a long strip or rectangle from gray construction paper to form the trunk. You can curve the strip into a U-shape for a more realistic look.
- Glue the Trunk: Attach one end of the strip to the bottom of the head, letting it hang down and curve slightly (you can curl the trunk if you like).
4. Make the Elephant’s Ears
- Cut Two Large Elephant Ears: For the ears, cut two large rounded shapes from gray construction paper. The ears should be wide and big—think of a “U” or “M” shape with rounded edges.
- Add Pink to the Ears: Cut smaller shapes from pink construction paper and glue them inside the gray ears. These will be the inner ear flaps.
- Attach the Ears: Glue the gray ears on either side of the elephant’s head, just above the trunk.
5. Add the Elephant’s Eyes
- Cut Out Two White Circles: From white construction paper, cut out two circles for the elephant’s eyes.
- Cut Out Two Smaller Black Circles: For the pupils, cut out two small black circles and glue them in the middle of the white circles.
- Glue the Eyes: Attach the eyes to the elephant’s face, just above the trunk.
Optional: You can use googly eyes instead of making your own, which adds a fun, animated look.
6. Create the Elephant’s Legs
- Cut Four Rectangles for Legs: Cut out four rectangles from gray construction paper. The legs should be relatively long and narrow.
- Add Hooves: To make the hooves, cut out small strips of black paper and glue them to the bottom of each leg.
- Attach the Legs: Glue the legs underneath the body. Position them in a way that they look like the elephant is standing.
7. Optional Extra Details
- Tail: You can add a small tail by cutting a thin strip of gray paper and gluing a small tuft of paper at the end for the elephant’s tail.
- Decorative Details: Use crayons or markers to add extra details to your elephant, like wrinkles on the trunk or lines on the legs to make them look more realistic.
Creative Variations:
1. Elephant with Puffy Ears (Using Cotton Balls)
- How-To: Instead of using flat paper for the elephant’s ears, glue cotton balls or white pom-poms onto the ear shapes. This will make the ears look soft and fluffy, adding a tactile, 3D effect.
- Additional Touch: Use a cotton ball for the elephant’s tail as well for a cute, fluffy look!
2. Painted Elephant (Using Watercolors or Finger Paints)
- How-To: Once you’ve cut out the body, ears, and trunk, let the child use watercolor paints or finger paints to add color to the elephant.
- Additional Touch: For a textured look, you could have children “stamp” the paint with their hands, or use sponges to dab on paint to create a more textured body or background.
- Bonus: Let children paint fun patterns on the elephant’s body, such as spots, stripes, or geometric designs.
3. Elephant with a Collage Mane
- How-To: Instead of a simple body, give the elephant a “mane” or decorative elements around its head. You could use torn-up pieces of paper, tissue paper, fabric scraps, or even yarn to create a textured mane or background.
- Additional Touch: Use a variety of colors (such as bright blues, pinks, and purples) for the mane to make the elephant look more colorful and whimsical.
4. Giant Elephant (Using a Paper Bag)
- How-To: Use a large brown paper lunch bag to create a 3D, interactive elephant. The bag will be the elephant’s body, and you can attach paper ears, eyes, and a trunk to the top of the bag.
- Additional Touch: This paper bag elephant can be used as a puppet! Add googly eyes, a trunk that moves, and floppy ears so the child can “play” with the elephant afterward.
5. Elephants in a Parade (Multiple Elephants on One Paper)
- How-To: Create several elephants on one large sheet of paper, making it a “parade” of elephants! Each elephant can have a slightly different pose, trunk shape, and ear size, creating a sense of movement.
- Additional Touch: Add some fun details like balloons, confetti, or even a rainbow in the background for a celebratory feel.
6. Elephant with Moving Trunk (Using Brads)
- How-To: For a fun interactive element, attach the elephant’s trunk using a paper brad (a small paper fastener). This will allow the trunk to move up and down, making the elephant more playful and interactive.
- Additional Touch: You could also attach the ears with brads, so they can flap up and down for extra fun!
7. Silhouette Elephant Craft (Shadows and Silhouettes)
- How-To: Create a simple, dramatic silhouette of the elephant by cutting the elephant’s shape out of black construction paper. Place it on a bright-colored background, such as orange, yellow, or blue, to make the silhouette pop.
- Additional Touch: Use a white crayon or chalk to draw the elephant’s eyes, tusks, and other details inside the silhouette for contrast.
8. 3D Elephant with Paper Rolls
- How-To: For a more advanced (but still kid-friendly) version, create a 3D elephant using an empty toilet paper roll or a paper towel roll. This will become the elephant’s body. Then, create paper ears, legs, and trunk, and glue them to the roll.
- Additional Touch: Decorate the body of the paper roll with patterns like spots or lines, or add a little tail made of yarn.
9. Elephant Footprints
- How-To: To add an extra sensory element, dip your child’s hands or feet in gray paint (or use gray construction paper), then let them make “footprints” on the craft paper to represent the elephant’s feet. These prints can be used as the base of the elephant’s body, and you can then add the trunk and ears around them.
- Additional Touch: You can make a whole “elephant trail” with prints scattered around the paper, leading up to the elephant’s body.
10. Elephant with Fabric Ears (Texture Play)
- How-To: Instead of plain paper, use fabric (like felt or cotton fabric) to make the elephant’s ears. Cut the fabric into the ear shape and glue it onto the elephant’s head for a textured, soft feel.
- Additional Touch: You could also use fabric scraps to make the elephant’s body or add little patches of fabric to the elephant for added texture and detail.
11. Elephant Family (Create Multiple Elephants)
- How-To: Create a family of elephants by varying the size of each elephant. Use smaller shapes for baby elephants and larger ones for adult elephants.
- Additional Touch: Add different colored ears or trunks to show the family’s diversity or create different expressions on each elephant’s face.
12. Elephant in the Jungle (Themed Background)
- How-To: Create a jungle background for your elephant craft. Cut out leaves, trees, and grass from green construction paper and glue them around your elephant.
- Additional Touch: You can add other jungle animals, like monkeys or birds, to the scene to create a more dynamic setting.
13. Elephant on a Paper Plate
- How-To: Use a paper plate as the elephant’s face, and then add a trunk, ears, and eyes. The raised edge of the paper plate creates a cool 3D effect, making it feel more lifelike.
- Additional Touch: You could even turn it into a mask by attaching a string to the sides of the plate, turning it into a fun costume piece!
14. Elephant with Paper Mosaic
- How-To: Instead of cutting the elephant out of one single piece of paper, cut small squares or strips of gray, black, pink, and white paper to create a mosaic-style elephant.
- Additional Touch: For added creativity, let the kids choose the colors and make each part of the elephant (ears, eyes, trunk) with a different color pattern or texture!
15. Stained-Glass Style Elephant
- How-To: Create a stained-glass effect by cutting out the elephant shapes from black construction paper and filling the inner spaces with colorful tissue paper or cellophane.
- Additional Touch: Once complete, hold it up to a window so that the light can shine through, creating a vibrant effect.
16. Elephant and Baby Elephant Craft
- How-To: Make a large elephant with a small baby elephant beside it. The baby elephant can be made from smaller shapes and glued near the parent elephant for a cute family scene.
- Additional Touch: Add hearts or flowers around the elephants to give it a loving, nurturing feel.
Crafting an elephant with construction paper is a great activity that encourages creativity while teaching young children about one of the most beloved animals. It’s simple enough for them to follow along, with the chance to add their own artistic details. Whether it’s part of an animal-themed lesson or a fun, rainy-day project, this elephant craft is sure to be a big hit!
Enjoy making your cute elephant, and don’t forget to have fun with the colors and shapes!
