Fun and Simple Snowy Owl Craft
Do you have a favorite winter weather animal? The arctic fox? Big lumbering polar bear? Waddling penguin? All of the adorable fluffy creatures are one of the best times about this time of year. And this snowy owl craft portrays one of the absolute most beautiful creatures on the planet. Though this owl craft for kids rendering is more adorable than regal. Happy crafting!
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SUPPLIES FROM THE BAG
- Black and brown construction paper
- White and gray paint
- Clothespin
- Medium pompom
- Small pompom
- Paper plate
- Scissors
- Black Sharpie marker
- Glue stick
- Scraps of black, brown and yellow construction paper
- Half sheet of white construction paper
- 2 large googly eyes
- Pencil (optional)
- Cotton
- Elmer’s glue
This may seem like a longer list for such a simple craft, but the good news is that you already have all of these items on hand if you have taken the time to prep your bag. Just use our FREE printable master list to fill up your bag, and you will be ready to make ANY project on this blog. Every single craft is made from the same master list. This unique approach allows you to actually find the time to craft with your kids with minimal time available, less mess, less prep and waaaaay less stress!
Step 1: Paint the Snowy Owl Craft
- Optional: Roughly draw the head and body of the owl on the black paint (or you can just free-hand paint the owl in the following steps)
- Pinch the medium pompom with the clothespin to make a “paint brush”
- Squeeze some white paint onto the paper plate
- Get some white paint on the pompom and dab in the area of the head and body of the owl. Do not fill the areas too thoroughly so that it looks like a baby owl that is a little bit “fluffy”
- Pinch the smaller pompom with the clothespin and squeeze a little gray paint onto the plate
- Add some gray details onto the owl, such as some dots on the body and a some on the peak of the head
*Allow the paint to thoroughly dry on your owl craft for kids. This shouldn’t take too long since you are putting on a thin layer. While you are waiting for the paint to dry, you can skip ahead to step 3 of this snowy owl craft.
Step 2: Add some Details
- Fold the white construction paper in half and cut a large raindrop shape for the owl’s wings. You can do this free-hand or draw it with a pencil first.
- Add a little bit of gray paint to the wings
- Glue the googly eyes on the yellow paper and cut out (if they aren’t already self-adhesive), leaving a little yellow around each eye
- Fold the scrap of black paper in half and cut a small beak
- Finally, glue the wings, beak and eyes in place
- *Feel free to add other details too if you would like. This is your project. Make it your own!
Step 3: Make the Tree
- Fold the vertical edges of the brown construction paper back approximately 1/2 an inch on each side
- Cut a circle or oval in the middle of the brown paper, big enough to see most of the snowy owl. It may be easier to fold your paper in half to cut the oval out. After you cut the oval, hold it in front of the painted owl and trim it as needed.
- Draw some detail onto the tree with your black Sharpie marker, as much or as little as you want
*For little ones, help as much as you need to with the cutting when making this owl craft preschool. Toddlers can even participate in this craft if you precut the hole. They will love the stamp style painting and the gluing. Leave the scissors to the adults for this more advanced cutting of a shape (not just snipping).
Step 4: Attach the Tree Trunk
- Use the glue stick on the tabs that you folded back to attach the tree trunk to the black paper, forming an 3D arc so that your snowy owl is looking out the hole in the tree trunk. (See the picture)
- Cut a couple of mini branches from the scraps of brown paper and add them to your picture, adhering them with the glue stick
Step 5: Add some snow (Optional)
- Pull a cotton ball apart to make it fluffy
- Put a little Elmer’s glue in the spots where you would like to add some snow
- Place the cotton on the glue
Working with preschoolers can be a challenge, and you may need to make some tweeks in order to complete this snowy owl craft. But it is so worth it because we will be working on so many developmental skills in the process. Most preschoolers will require direct adult supervision and assistance with this activity. Here are some tips and tricks to keep the learning going…
Attending Skills and Sensory Regulation: Preschoolers have a limited attention span, and that is appropriate for their age. Do not expect more than they can give. But we do need to start extending that attention span so that they are ready for the rigors of kindergarten. To help, start with a sensory warm-up like some stretches, deep breaths, seat push ups, deep pressure through the hands and arms. These should all be activities that they can do on their own and learn to use as tools to increase their ability to pay attention. About half way through the craft, take a break, but set a visual timer and make the expectations clear that they will be returning to finish the project when the timer goes off. When returning to complete the snowy owl craft, repeat the sensory warm-up.
Executive Functioning/Motor Planning: Print out the flashcards for this project (which all include pictures) and mix up the order. Before you start crafting, have your preschooler try to put them in the right order. Give little clues and limit the choices for the next step to only 2 choices if they are struggling to get the order right.
Visual Perceptual Skills: Draw the circles for the body and the head of the owl and encourage your child to stay inside the lines as much as possible. Point out the border and even try some hand over hand assistance to start if needed. But as I always say, only help as much as is absolutely needed and NO MORE.
Fine motor skills: You may want to forgo the clothespin and just have your kiddo hold the pompom between his/her index finger and thumb. This is a great way to promote a mature grasp pattern later on when holding a pencil. If they are really struggling with this, work on finger isolation instead and just have you little use his/her index finger to fill in the circles with fingerprints. This is also a great approach for those sensory seekers since they love to get messy.
Bilateral coordination: Some children in your group may be ready to cut simple shapes. If they are, have them help you fold the paper in half (this may be beyond the skills for this age group) and draw the half oval in place. Give them only as much assistance as is needed. This oval opening does not need to be perfect to work for this craft.
Visual Motor Skills: On the log, instead of having your preschooler draw wavy lines, let them draw long vertical lines going from top to bottom. Making a vertical line is a great prewriting activity to get them ready for writing letters sometime in the future. Keep encouraging them to start at the top, just like letters do. This is a great habit to form now.
And while you are crafting with your kids, be sure to give them all kinds of positive affirmation so that they know they can do it! After all, kids learn best when they are DOING, not just watching or hearing. They learn through play and experience, and especially through failing. Really, that is how we all learn. We fall down, and we get back up again…each time stronger than the time before. Encourage your children to keep going, even when it gets a little challenging. Here are some ways to offer them affirmation…