Arctic animals refer to a group of animals found in the world’s northern region. They have adapted to the extreme conditions in the area. Let children explore how amazing these animals are through fun activities.
Here are ten crafts designed to excite children and be interested in this animal group.
These adorable bear cubs can move their heads from side to side. This is a great activity for children to learn about the animal’s life through a science lesson.
Discuss the polar bear’s physical characteristics and unique features. Talk about the animal’s habitat, food, and behavior.
This craft is also great for children to hone their fine motor skills. It also teaches children the circle shape.
Download and print the template on white cardstock from the site. Cut these out and use the marker to add details such as paws and inner ears. Glue the ears on the smaller circle. This will become the cub’s head.
Position the head on the body so that they overlap slightly. Poke a hole to attach the two pieces. Attach a brass fastener to secure both circles. This step will make the head move.
Next, glue the googly eyes and the black pompom on the fastener. Draw the mouth using the black marker. Attach the legs to complete the craft.
For this activity, you will need:
- White cardstock
- Black marker
- Black pompom
- Brass fastener
For more information on this activity, go to KidsCraftRoom.com.
The Arctic fox is an amazing animal that children should know about. One of their special features is their ability to adapt to the Arctic conditions by changing the color of their fur.
Use this activity to further discuss this animal’s different characteristics through a science lesson. Their fine motor skills will improve as children cut and assemble the craft.
To make this fox craft, cut the paper plate in half. Fold one of the half circles in half to create a triangle. Glue or staple this to keep its shape. The triangle will become the head, and the remaining half-circle will be the fox’s body.
Next, cut small squares of white tissue paper. Glue these on the head and body until the paper plate pieces are fully covered. Trim off the excess.
Glue the head to the body. Attach the googly eyes. Cut two triangles and four rectangles from white cardstock to make the ears and legs. Attach these on the fox.
For this activity, you will need:
- Paper plate
- White tissue paper
- White cardstock
- Googly eyes
- Black pompom
- Glue
- Scissors
- Stapler
For more information on this activity, go to IHeartCraftyThings.com.
Turn these amazing burlap triangles into an animal that inspired a Christmas song. These are great to hang as decorations or ornaments on Christmas trees and easy to make, even for young children.
Use this activity for children to learn more about the reindeer and become aware of the differences between other animals, such as moose and deer.
Extend this activity by changing the pompom color to teach children color recognition. Stick small cards or paper with written letters and numbers to teach letter and number recognition skills.
Invert the triangle burlaps so that the pointy part faces downward. Glue the googly eyes on the top part of the triangle. Stick the red pompom on the pointy part of the triangle. Clip the clothespin and glue a short loop of jute twine to the back.
The site recommends using a glittered clothespin. If unavailable, paint the clothespin and sprinkle it with glitter. Another option is to leave the glitter out and paint them brown or leave them in their natural color.
For this activity, you will need:
- Burlap triangle banners
- Googly eyes
- Wooden mini clothespins
- Glitter
- Red pompoms
- Jute twine
- Scissors
- Glue
For more information on this activity, go to TheResourcefulMama.com.
Lacing activities provide the chance for children to practice their eye-hand coordination skills. This craft is full of different tasks to help improve the children’s fine motor skills.
If possible, show pictures or videos of walruses for children to see what they look like in real life. Discuss the animal’s unique characteristics, such as its tusks and flippers.
Cut out the middle part of the paper plate. See the pictures on the site for this step. Punch holes on the paper plate about an inch apart. Take a light brown yarn and use sticky tape to secure one end to the back of the plate.
Lace the yarn by inserting and pulling it repeatedly between the holes. This should create a web-like appearance.
Cut out two small circles from light brown cardstock and two tusks from white cardstock. Stick the tusks on the circle and attach them to the middle part of the paper plate. This part will become the head.
Add a black pompom between the tusks and short yarn for the whiskers. Glue the googly eyes and attach this to the laced body.
Cut out the child’s handprints from light brown cardstock for the flippers. Attach these on each side of the body.
For this activity, you will need:
- Brown paper plate
- Cardstock
- Yarn
- Black pompoms
- Googly eyes
- Scissors
- Hole punchers
- Sticky tape
- Glue
For more information on this activity, go to KidsCraftRoom.com.
These narwhals are a great addition to centers and to use as counters. Reuse egg cartons destined for the bin. For this activity, children will do some cutting and painting. Both of which will help improve their fine motor skills.
Teach children to think critically by letting them observe and figure out the narwhal’s similarities and differences with their whale cousins, such as the sperm, orca, and blue whale.
Explain how its most unique feature, the tusk helps it hunt for prey to survive in the Arctic region.
Cut the egg carton into cups. Two cups are needed for each narwhal. Trim off the excess, so these can be glued together seamlessly. Cut out a tail, a tusk, and two fins from the scrap parts of the egg carton.
Use a glue gun to attach both cups. Paint this and the tail blue. Paint the fins and tusk yellow. Attach these parts to the cups using the hot glue gun. Add the googly eyes and use a black marker to add the mouth.
For this activity, you will need:
- Egg carton
- Paint
- Paintbrush
- Googly eyes
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun
- Marker
For more information on this activity, go to Steamsational.com.
Related: Whale Crafts for Preschoolers
Perched on branches, these friendly-looking owls made from pinecones are perfect as decor to hang for a winter-themed room. These are great to use in centers as counters.
Extend this activity by making them in different sizes for children to compare. Place the owl in a different location to teach positional words.
Use this owl craft to go with the book “A Snowy Owl Story” by Melissa Kim. The book discusses how one owl traveled from its home toward the south in search of food.
Choose pinecones that are intact and have no rotten parts. Clean and dry them under the sun or in the oven. Once ready, insert some cotton between the cone’s scales.
Keep adding until the whole pinecone is covered with cotton and the scales barely show. Use the felt the cut out the wings and head. Refer to the pictures on the site since no templates are provided for this step.
Use the beige felt for the head, white for the background on the eyes and wings, and orange for the beak. Attach this to the pinecone. Finally, add the googly eyes to complete the owl.
For this activity, you will need:
- Pinecones
- White and beige felt
- Cotton
- Googly eyes
- Glue
- Scissors
For more information on this activity, go to EasyPeasyAndFun.com.
Seal pups are adorable baby animals that thrive in the Arctic region. Print the coloring page in a lighter shade or draft for children to trace with a black marker. This will help improve their eye-hand coordination skills.
Use this craft to bring awareness to children about the plight of these animals. Discuss ways to keep them safe, such as ensuring that the areas where they stay are dog-free. Talk about their habitat, behavior, food, and unique features.
To make the fluffy seal pups, head to the site for the link on the coloring page. Download and print the template on white cardstock. Have children use the black marker to color the eyes and nose.
Spread the glue on the seal’s body using a paintbrush. Sprinkle the fake snowflakes generously all over the parts with glue. Press them lightly to compress them and shake off the excess. Let this dry.
The site recommends coloring the sky and the breathing holes as their wait for their mama seals.
For this activity, you will need:
- Seal pup coloring page
- Cardstock
- Black marker
- Paintbrush
- Glue
- Fake snowflakes
- Crayons
For more information on this activity, go to TippyToeCrafts.blogspot.com.
This puffin card is a perfect way to greet someone on any occasion. Children will improve their handwriting skills as they write their greetings. This craft can be used in different ways to teach children.
Make several of these and use them as a memory game to teach colors and shapes. Draw the shape or color of the inner white circle inside the card.
Tell the child to look into each of the puffins. Give the child a crayon or a piece of paper with the shape or color. The child will need to find the correct puffin to match the concepts.
Download and print the free puffin template from the site and cut out the pieces. Trace the body on a black cardstock folded in half before cutting.
This part will become the card. Trace the rest of the pieces onto corresponding colored cardstock and cut these out.
Assemble the puffin by placing the white part of the head on the black. Add the eyes and beak. Stick this on the body. Attach the legs and wings. Attach the antennas and pompoms at the end.
For this activity, you will need:
- Printed puffin template
- Cardstock
- Pompoms
- Scissors
- Glue
For more information on this activity, go to SimpleEverdayMom.com.
Create a textured look that will make this simple craft a masterpiece for the little ones. This activity will introduce children to the art of stamping using a fork. The repeated stamping of white paint on dark paper will create a fluffy-like effect.
This activity will help them improve their fine motor skills. Teach children shapes by changing the circle outline on the animals with different shapes. For example, make a heart-shaped or triangle-shaped polar bear.
Choose which animal to work on- an Arctic fox, a polar bear, a snowshoe hare, or a snowy owl. Download and print the free animal template from the site. Cut these out and color them.
Take dark blue construction paper and outline a large circle. Next, dip the fork in the paint and shake off the excess to prevent drip. Press this lightly on the circle. Repeat this step until the circle is fully covered with white paint.
Once the paint dries, attach the pieces to complete the craft. For example, glue the eyes and beak on the snowy owl. Use the marker to draw its legs.
For this activity, you will need:
- Printed animal template
- Plastic fork
- Paper plate
- White paint
- Blue construction paper
- Markers
- pencil
For more information on this activity, go to MamaOfMinis.com.
Use craft sticks to make these Arctic animals that children will love to play with. Children will need to put the sticks together, stick them, and add details. These tasks will help improve their fine motor skills.
Turn this craft into a learning tool. Make two of the same animal and use them as matching mats. Place a small piece of paper with an uppercase letter on it. Have the children find its lowercase form and place it on the second craft stick animal.
There are three animals to choose from: a fox, a polar bear, and an owl. To make the polar bear, place seven regular-sized craft sticks side by side and glue them.
Place the two mini craft sticks horizontally to support, and glue these on the vertical craft sticks. Next, paint it white and let it dry. Download and print the free animal template from the site.
Cut out the pieces for the polar bear. Use the marker to add the mouth, whisker spots, eyebrows, and inner ears. Glue them onto the craft sticks. The process for other animals is similar but slightly varied.
For this activity, you will need:
- Printed animal template
- Regular and mini craft sticks
- Paint
- Paintbrush
- Construction paper
- Googly eyes
- Pompom
- Marker
- Hot glue gun
For more information on this activity, go to BooksAndGiggles.com.
Conclusion
The Arctic region in the northern part of the world is home to some of the most unusual and wonderful animals. Let the crafts on this list provide an opportunity for children to explore these animals’ lives: how they adapt to survive and the dangers they face.
Consider using these crafts to widen children’s perspectives while improving their different skills.
Thank you for reading! Check out more arctic animal themed activities you and your little ones might like.
