Cute Giraffe Craft for Kids (with FREE Template)

Any time our family took a zoo field trip when I was growing up, there was always one animal that I simply could not wait to see…the giraffes!!! This cute paper giraffe craft is simple and takes only a few basic supplies to create.

Use the free giraffe template to make crafting even easier. It’s one of the many printable activities that you can find in our printables section. And once you’re done making this craft, you can have lots of fun playing him.

Make some crafty zoo animals to go with him, like this elephant craft or this paper plate hippo craft.

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.

It’s 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 Giraffes

A giraffe is such an amazing animal. Here are a few fun facts…

• The giraffe is the tallest mammal in the world.
• Just like human fingerprints, no two giraffes have the same spot pattern.
• Giraffe tongues are bluish-purple and between 45 and 50 cm long.
• Giraffes only drink once every few days.
• This beautiful animal is already extinct in at least 7 countries in Africa.

For more information about giraffes, check out this article by National Geographic Kids.

Save this Easy Paper Giraffe Craft for later. Pin it to your favorite Pinterest board…

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How to make a Giraffe Craft

This simple giraffe craft is such a fun idea with it’s accordion long giraffe’s neck and brown spots. This is a great craft for kids of any age because it’s easy enough for younger kids to make but complex enough that older kids will enjoy it too. Add as many details as you like to this easy printable craft.

SUPPLIES FROM THE BAG

• Yellow construction paper
• Crayons (or markers)
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Googly eye (or printable paper eyes)
• Giraffe craft template

Crafting with your kids is supposed to be fun…not just another thing on your growing to do list. I’ve found a way to remove lots of the prep and mess to maximize fun and creativity by using a master list of craft supplies for every single project that we make here, both on the site and in the shop. Once you fill your bag, you’re ready to go!

Instructions:

Step 1: Use the Free Craft Template

• Once you’ve gathered the simle supplies on the list, download the giraffe template.
• Print it directly onto yellow construction paper OR print it onto regular paper and use it as a template.
• Before cutting out the parts for your easy paper giraffe, check out the next step.

Step 2: Add the Giraffe’s Brown Spots

• Use crayons or markers to color brown spots onto your giraffe.
• Add other details at this time also.

*To practice fine motor skills, don’t hesitate to break your crayons in half. This encourages a fingertip pinch instead of a fisted grasp, which is great for developing a more mature pencil grasp in the future.

Step 3: Cut Out the Parts for Your Simple Giraffe Craft

• When you’re finished coloring the giraffe’s spots and any other details that you woule like, cut out all of the parts for your paper craft.

Step 4: Make the Giraffe’s Neck (Optional)

• This step is optional, but I do like how it gives the giraffe’s neck a little more movement to fold it like an accordion.
• Simple take the neck, fold it in half and then in half again and again, until there are sections about 1″ wide.
• Then alternate the folds like an accordion, as pictured.

Step 5: Glue Together Your Simple Giraffe Craft

• Use your glue stick to attach the legs to the giraffe body.
• Then attach the tail. (We added a little detail to the tail by snipping the ends for the “hair”.)
• Connect the long neck of the giraffe and add the head to the top.
• Add one of the large wiggly eyes or use our printable paper eyes instead.

Check out this fun idea…

Turn this child’s craft into an interactive “toy”. Add a little motion to your fun giraffe craft, skip the glue. Instead, punch holes where each of the pieces fit together. Then slip a metal brad into the hole and spread out the back. This will allow the legs, tail, neck and head move into various poses. You can even do this with the ears if you’d like.

Make a baby giraffe (using the same template)

The template for this giraffe craft is a pdf. To make a baby giraffe, just reduce the size of the pdf when printing. Click the button that says “custom size” and change the number from 100 to whatever size you would like. I recommend trying about 60 to 70. Whatever number you choose, be sure to pick the same percentage for the second page of the template when printing.

What glue is used for this easy giraffe craft?

We used an Elmer’s glue stick that is tinted purple for this project. I really like the level of adhesive that it offers. A taper runner would also work well. However, I would avoid using regular Elmer’s school glue as it can cause the paper to pucker.

How to Use this Craft in a Themed Lesson Plan

One of the best things about crafts is that not only are they lots of fun to make, but they can then be used for so many things. They can be that hands-on element for so many lessons. You can use this giraffe as part of a lesson plan on jungle animals or when learning about Africa. But you could also use it during a lesson on any number of social issues, like sharing or being kind.

After you’ve made this easy craft, create a story to tell around the subject matter you want to teach. Perhaps make two giraffes and have them act out a scenerio where they choose kindness or accepting each other for being just who they are. In the second story, maybe one of the giraffes has three legs, a shorter neck or stars instead of spots…but they’re still accepted and loved just like they are.

Save this Fun Giraffe Craft for later. Pin it to your favorite Pinterest board…

Here are even more fun giraffe craft ideas (and friends):

Painted Giraffe with Newspaper Spots

Paper Giraffe Craft

Paper Elephant Craft

Crocodile Craft

For more craft activity ideas and to make with your kids, head to our shop and browse around. There’s something for every kid!