DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Heart Monkey Paper Plate Craft
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This adorable paper plate monkey is a great way to celebrate Valentine's Day and practice those scissor skills. The simple heart shapes and Valentine's colors makes a fun craft for preschool and kindergarten students!
Tip 1: Include a cute Valentine's message on the back of the paper plate, like "I'm bananas about you!"
Tip 2: Purchase fancy paper from the scrapbooking store and print the B&W version onto this for an extra fancy monkey.
Tip 3: Cut out holes instead of eyes and scotch tape a straw or popsicle stick to the bottom to make a monkey mask.
Materials:
- paper,
- paper plate,
- glue,
- scissors,
- purple paint (or any Valentine's paint color you'd like to use),
- something to color with, if you chose the B&W template
Craft Instructions:
- Paint the bottom of the paper plate purple.
- Print out the template of choice. You need both templates to make one monkey.
- Color (if making the black and white craft).
- Cut out the template pieces. (You can use the finished image in the bottom right of the first template to figure out which pieces belong where on the paper plate).
- Glue the pieces on the paper plate:
Glue the mouth underneath the muzzle (the large heart). The heart will go upside down on the plate, so the mouth should be glued between the two cresents of the heart.
Glue the mouth and the muzzle on the bottom of the paper plate.
Glue the little, heart-shaped nose at the top of the muzzle.
Glue the two eyes above the nose.
Glue the two ears sticking out of either side of the paper plate.
Option for mass-producing - young children: Print out the B&W template. Trace the pieces onto stiff cardboard (back of paper pads works well) or margarine/ice cream container lids. Cut out to make permanent templates. Allow the children to trace these permanent templates onto different colors of construction paper and then glue their special pieces onto the paper plate.
Option for mass-producing - older children: Omit the templates. Let the children cut out heart shapes in various sizes from colored construction paper (show them how to fold paper in half and then cut to make a perfectly symmetrical heart). Let the children create their own animals by putting together hearts of different sizes (you can pre-make a few example animals to give them some inspiration). This allows them to use their creativity!
Craft Templates:
- Close template window when done printing to return to this screen.
- Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).
Heart Monkey template 1 (color) or (B&W)
Heart Monkey template 2 (color) or (B&W)
Printable version of these instructions
