Adorable Brown Bear Craft for Kids (FREE Template)

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It doesn’t take much to put together this adorable brown bear craft. Just start with a simple paper lunch bag and use the free bear template for the rest. You’re going to be having so much fun making this easy bear craft that you will want to make an entire family of bears to play together.

I bet you’ve never heard of craft flashcards…Of course you haven’t…because I totally made it up 🙂 As a pediatric Occupational Therapist, I’ve witnessed kids struggle to complete multi-step activities. So, I came up with this brilliant (if I do say myself) way to break down crafts into bite-sized pieces in the form of flashcards.

These are especially perfect for those kiddos who have limited attention spans.

Crafts are such a great developmental tool for kids (improves motor planning, attention span, executive functioning, fine motor skills, language development and more), and using flashcards makes planning crafts for your kids to enjoy even easier.

Just print out a few of your favorites onto cardstock, cut them into the cards with a hole in the corner and place them on a keyring that you can connect to your craft supply bag (which you can fill using our master list of supplies that we stick to for every single one of the projects in the flashcard collection). It’s so simple.

And the best part is that there’s not a screen in sight. Technology is such a great thing, but it’s also nice to take a break from it once in awhile and let the brain explore in other ways. Click the image to learn more about our collection of 100 Craft Flashcards for Kids.

Fun Facts About Brown Bears

During the Fall they eat non-stop in preparation for hibernation.
Their fur ranges in color.
Brown bears include species such as kodiaks and grizzly bears.
Males are called boars and females are called sows.
They are very fast and can run up to 30 to 40 mph.

For more interesting facts about brown bears, check out this article from Cool Kid Facts. This craft would be a great addition to a lesson plans on bears or hibernation. Or turn it into a polar bear and use it for a lesson on arctic animals.

Save this teddy bear craft for later. Pin it to your favorite Pinterest board…

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How to make a Paper Bag Bear Craft

This fun activity goes together quickly. Grab the template and paper lunch bag to get started.

Check Out the Bear Craft Video Tutorial:

SUPPLIES FROM THE BAG

Brown paper lunch bag
Brown and pink construction paper
Crayons
Scissors
Newspaper
Glue stick
Tape
Pom poms (optional)
Elmer’s glue (optional)
FREE Bear Template

Crafting with your kids doesn’t have to be complicated. We keep things simple here so that you can get right to the good stuff of making crafts together. To do this we stick to a master list of basic supplies to make ALL of the amazing projects you see on this site. Just fill your bag and craft along!

Brown Bear Craft Instructions:

Step 1: Download the FREE Bear Template

Download and print the free bear craft template.
You can choose to print it directly onto brown paper or onto regular printer paper to use as a template.
If you print onto white paper and use it as a template, you will need to draw on your bear’s cute face.

Step 2: Cut Out the Parts

Now cut out all of the parts for your bear craft from brown paper, except the heart.
Grab a scrap of pink or red paper to cut out the heart that the bear will be holding.

*You may want to complete this step in advance for young kids as their scissor skills are likely not yet developed enough for cutting these more complex shapes. Older kids will be able to complete this step on their own.

Step 3: Begin Bear Craft Assembly

Now it’s time to begin assembly for this easy craft.
Place the paper lunch bag in front of you with the opening at the top and the flap up.
Use your glue stick to add the feet to the bottom of the bag.
Then glue the arms in place, coming straight out from the sides of bag about half way down.

You won’t have any need for brown paint since the bag is already brown.

Step 4: Stuff It

Tear strips of newspaper and crumple them up. This is a great way for little hands to practice bilateral coordination.
Open up the bag and place the crumpled up newspaper inside one by one until it is filled up, leaving about 2 inches empty at the top.

Step 5: Close It Up

Gather up the top of the paper lunch bag and cinch it shut.
Wrap a piece of tape around the top to keep it closed.

Step 6: Draw on Details

Add details to the bear’s face using crayons. You can also details to any other parts of your bear. This is a wonderful way to add your own unique personality into the craft. You could also use white paint and q-tip for this step.
If you prefer, put googly eyes over the existing printed eyes.

*Break the crayons for better practice of fine motor skills.

Step 7: Add the Bear’s Head

Attach the bear’s head using some scotch tape.

Optional: If you’d like to finish off the back of your bear craft by adding a circle shape to the back of the head or another cut out of the bear’s head, with or without the bear’s ears, from the template. Use your glue stick to attach it. Also add a fluffy bear tail by gluing a pompom at the bottom of the paper bag in the back.

Step 8: Put Something in your Bear’s Paws

Pull the arms to the front of the bear and use a glue stick to attach the heart to the bear’s hands.

Can I Make Other Kinds of Bears with This Template?

You can make other kinds of bears using this bear template by just changing up the colors. To make a polar bear craft, use a white paper lunch bag and white construction paper or cardstock. For a black bear, use paint on the bag and cut the pieces from black construction paper to make your bear craft.

How to turn this into a Valentine’s Day card holder

If you’d like to use this for a Valentine’s Day card holder, leave out the newspaper stuffing. The cut a generous slit in the back where the cards can go. To retrieve your cards you can cut a hole in the bottom or in the back of your bear.

Can I use different paper?

We are using construction paper because it’s what we always keep in our craft bag, but you can use whatever heavy brown paper you have on hand. You can use cardstock paper or even lightly patterned scrapbook paper instead.

Ways to add even more creativity…

One fun way to make this bear craft your own is to change up what he’s holding. We’ve included a heart in the template, but you can draw and cut out anything that you want for your bear to hold. You can also change up the colors and details any way that you would like.

This is your craft, and it shouldn’t look exactly like the picture. Make it your own. The only limit is your imagination.

Modify the bear template for a puppet…

You can use this same template to create a brown bear paper bag puppet. Just glue the bear’s head onto the flap of the bag. Then add the arms and feet to the bottom section of the bag. You can keep the arms as is so that they wrap around or cut them shorter.

Save these fun Bear Crafts for later. Pin them to your favorite Pinterest board…

Bear Craft for Kids made from a paper lunch bag