Paper plate crafts are inexpensive and low commitment. You can buy a stack of them for under 10 dollars, and they will last forever. Toddlers, kindergartners, and elementary-aged kids will all enjoy these paper plate crafts for kids, and you’ll be surprised by the variety of crafts you can make with this versatile crafting tool. Enjoy these at home, in the classroom, or as a birthday party activity!
What Kind of Paper Plate Should I Craft With?
The best paper plates for crafting are the plain thin ones that often come in bulk packages. I like to use these because they are undecorated, so you don’t have another design to contend with. Plus, these white paper plates are uncoated, which is pretty crucial—if your paper plate has wax or some other coating, crayon, marker, paint, and glue won’t adhere to it.
10 Paper Plate Crafts for Kids in Preschool
The preschool years are so much fun. Your child is learning something new every day and is constantly amazed by the world around them. The things we take for granted as adults can literally make their jaw drop! These paper plate crafts for kids are designed specifically for this age range, and will help your little one develop his or her fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
1. Melted Snowman Craft | Buggy and Buddy
If you are looking for a fantastic winter craft to do in those months when the weather keeps you indoors for days on end, these melted snowmen are absolutely adorable. Toddlers and preschoolers alike will love learning about snowmen and how they melt.
2. Paper Plate Bird Craft | My Bored Toddler
There are so many skills your preschooler can practice while making these adorable birdies. Let them practice their coloring as they decorate the paper plate, then put their fine motor skills to the test as they glue feathers and eyes onto their bird. All you need are some paper plates, paint, glue, feathers, construction paper, and googly eyes.
3. Rainbow Paper Plate Craft | Inner Child Fun
It’s impossible to make one of these rainbow paper plate crafts without smiling, and this activity will help your little one practice his or her colour recognition while simultaneously developing his or her fine motor skills.
4. Paper Plate Tamborine | Taking Care Of Monkey Business
Who doesn’t love making music and noise? These tambourines are ideal for both! It will get a little loud if you have multiple musicians in your home, so have your headache medicine armed and ready, lol. In all seriousness, this is a great opportunity to teach your child about beat and rhythm.
5. Paper Plate Groundhog Craft | A Dab of Glue Will Do
If you are looking for a craft to help teach your kids about Groundhog Day, this is a fantastic one. Don’t forget the paint, paper plates, construction paper, scissors, glue, pom poms, and a black marker.
6. Rocking Paper Plate Penguin Craft | Easy Peasy and Fun
These sweet little penguins are so adorable. You will likely have to help your little one create the initial penguin shape for this activity, but after that they can let their imaginations run wild!
7. Paper Plate Snake Craft | Crafty Morning
The next time you get bubble wrap sent to your home as part of a package, hang onto it to make this adorable paper plate craft for kids! This is a wonderful craft to teach children about snakes while also putting their scissor cutting skills into practice.
8. Paper Plate Mouse | Housing A Forrest
This is one of my favorite paper plate crafts for kids in preschool. Younger kids will enjoy this one because you paint with one solid shade of gray and don’t have to worry about staying within the lines. Use this project to let your kids practice painting—just be sure to cover your craft area first!
9. Paper Plate Fish Craft | I Heart Crafty Things
I love the clever use of orange stickers as scales in this fish project…and so will your preschooler as they use their fine motor skills to place stickers on their plate. This craft is created to go along with the book The Bravest Fish but would work perfectly as a stand-alone project as well.
10. Paper Plate Apple | Simply Today Life
This project will allow your young child to explore how their hands and fingers move in connection with their brain. Show your preschooler how to rip up paper then put it back together on the paper plate to create a fun apple craft.
8 Paper Plate Crafts for Kids in Kindergarten
These paper plate crafts for kids in kindergarten will help your child learn important life-long skills such as listening to and following a set of directions with minimal support. There are tons of ways you can incorporate classroom lesson plans into these activities, and they make for great birthday party crafts to boot!
1. Paper Plate Polar Bear Twirler | Kids Craft Room
Anything that twirls is sure to be a hit with young children. Plus, this craft allows your child to use scissors and start practicing cutting on a curve, rather than a simple straight line. They will also appreciate the opportunity to decorate their bear with supplies like pom poms, markers, glue, google eyes, and ribbon.
2. Paper Plate Snowman | Easy Peasy and Fun
If you are brave enough to let your child use glue and glitter together, this snowman craft is the perfect boredom buster for a cold winter day!
3. Paper Plate Sun | Crafts On Sea
Learning about the sun is loads of fun when you get to work on a craft at the same time. Kids learn basic science concepts without even realizing it with crafts like these!
4. Fluffy Paper Plate Snowman | Stay At Home Educator
This is one of my favorite paper plate crafts for kids in kindergarten because it provides the perfect opportunity to let your child really fine-tune their hand-eye coordination in a fun and crafty way. Ask them to dab glue on a paper plate, then place and hold a cotton ball on top to create a fluffy snowman.
5. Moveable Penguin Paper Plate Craft | Crafts on Sea
You get a two for one with this fun paper plate craft for kids. First, show your child how to make these cute penguins, then ask them to use their imagination and put on a puppet show for you!
6. Paper Plate Arctic Fox | I Heart Crafty Things
Use this cute craft to teach your child how to cut and then paste tissue paper onto a paper plate. These adorable arctic foxes are sure to put a smile on your kiddo’s face.
7. Bear Mask | Mom.com
This DIY bear mask is the perfect project to work on the next time you have an afternoon free. Make sure to take advantage and have your child wear it for a mid-afternoon snooze, and be prepared for lots of giggles, roars, and bear hugs along the way.
8. Paper Plate Penguin Wreath | Kids Craft Room
This fun project will teach your child how to cut and re-layer parts of a paper plate. They will be so proud to display their handiwork once it’s made. All you need are some basic supplies like paint, paper plates, and the ever-important google eyes.
8 Paper Plate Crafts for Kids in Elementary School
Contrary to popular belief, paper plate crafts for kids aren’t just for the 5 and under age cohort. There are tons of paper plate inspired crafts and activities for older kids, many of which can be completed with minimal supervision. These activities work well in a classroom setting as you can provide written instructions and let your students work in teams to create their masterpieces.
1. Paper Plate Christmas Wreath | Crafty Morning
An excellent skill for your young elementary-aged child to develop is learning how to trace and cut circles, and they’ll do just that with this fun wreath. This project is meant to be a Christmas wreath, but you can change the colors out and make it seasonally appropriate for any time of the year.
2. Winter Love Birds Craft | Our Kid Things
These love birds are so adorable and will allow your child the opportunity to paint and use clothespins that are turned into red birds. Your child will also get to practice using a stapler as they create, which they will enjoy!
3. Paper Plate Snowflakes | Crafts on Sea
If you have a younger child who wants to craft along with his or her older sibling, try this project. Your elementary-aged child can cut out the snowflakes from the paper plates, and then both children can work side-by-side to paint and decorate.
4. Yarn Weaving Penguin Craft by Non-Toy Gifts
This fun project will instruct your child to thread yarn through holes on a paper plate, which will help fine-tune their hand-eye coordination.
5. Paper Plate Snowflake | Messy Little Monster
The options are endless when it comes to painting these snowflakes. When it’s too cold to go outside, spend the day indoors crafting instead and use these snowflakes to decorate your walls!
6. Under The Sea Paper Plate Craft | The Imagination Tree
If you are at the beach or have a supply of sand from a sandbox, try this cute idea. Each child can put their own spin on their unique ‘under the sea’ paper plate craft. Plus, this will give your children the opportunity to practice gluing different types of materials to their plates, which is a great way to develop their fine motor skills.
7. Paper Plate Balloon Car | All For The Boys
This is a great project for older elementary kids. Using paper plates and a few other household objects, your child can actually build a working car while learning some basic physics concepts. This one is fun to make with a friend as they can race their cars together when they’re finished.
8. Birds Nest Craft | Activity Village
Your elementary-aged kids will enjoy making these little birds nests and pretending to take care of their little birds. This is one of my favorite spring-inspired paper plate crafts for kids as it provides the perfect excuse to get your little ones out and into nature as you hunt for real-life bird nests together.
I hope you have enjoyed these creative, unique, and fun paper plate crafts for kids! Remember, most of these projects can be slightly altered to make them easier – or more challenging – for your little one, and you can tailor them for different seasons and holidays by using different colors and materials.
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