10 Cute Hippo Crafts for Preschool Kids

| Last Updated: June 12, 2023

Hippos are fascinating and adorable animals that often capture the imagination of children. In our list for today, we’ve gathered a collection of fun and easy-to-make hippo crafts that will surely delight your little ones and bring out their creativity. 

Whether it be to introduce the letter H, or get to know animals, you’ll definitely find these activities useful. Let’s dive in!

Great Hippo Crafts for Preschool

Creativity | Fine Motor | Communication

1. Hippo Puppet Printable

Photo credit: easypeasyandfun.com

This hippo puppet craft is a super fun activity that your kids will absolutely adore! You can use it to help develop their creativity and fine motor skills, as they make the craft itself. Once it’s done, you can then use it to hone their communication skills as you chat using the cute puppets. Sounds awesome, right?

To make it, all you need to do is print out the template and color it in. Then, cut out the ears and teeth and fold along the dashed lines. You can use a craft stick to make crisp folds. Afterwards, glue the section with the word “glue” and fold the other side on top of it. Press firmly, wait for everything to dry, and fold along the dashed lines to make an M shape.

To finish it off, stick the ears onto the head and glue the teeth inside the mouth. Now, slip your fingers into the openings, and start chatting away with your new hippo buddy. Enjoy!

Materials Needed:

  • Hippo Puppet Printable Template
  • Heavier Print Paper
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Scoring Tool
  • Coloring Supplies

Want to know more? Go and check out easypeasyandfun.com for more details on this fun activity.

Creativity | Concentration | Fine Motor

2. Cardboard Tube Hippo

Photo credit: creativefamilyfun.net

Looking for a cool craft to keep kids busy during circle time? This cardboard tube craft is a fantastic way to introduce kids to hippos in a very fun way. On top of learning about these creatures, they’ll also be able to develop their creativity and fine motor skills. It’s also easy-peasy for the kids to make!

First off, paint your cardboard tube and a small piece of cardboard dark gray. Then, cut out two circles for the ears and color them black. Paint an oval light gray for the hippo’s snout and add two square teeth painted white. Draw the nostrils using a black marker.

Next, glue your googly eyes above the snout and the ears above the eyes. That’s it! You can either add the hippo to your cardboard tube zoo or use them for pretend play.

Materials Needed:

  • Empty Cardboard Tube
  • Small Piece of Thin Cardboard
  • Gray Craft Paint (one darker and one lighter color)
  • White Craft Paint
  • Glue
  • Googly Eyes
  • Black Marker

Discover more about this cool craft and a whole lot more at creativefamilyfun.net.

Letter Recognition | Creativity | Fine Motor

3. H is for Hippo Craft

Photo credit: kidsactivitiesblog.com

This adorable H is for hippo craft and is a super entertaining way to introduce the letter H to the kids. On top of developing their letter recognition skills, they’ll also be able to bring out their inner artists! Pretty amazing, right? You’ll also need a few common supplies only.

To make it, simply cut out a big letter H. You can do it from scratch or print out a template to serve as a guide. Glue it onto your construction paper. Next, cut out the hippo head, teeth, and mouth then glue them onto the letter H. Don’t forget the googly eyes and the pom poms for the nose. Ta-da! Your hippo craft is all done!

Materials Needed:

  • Letter H Template
  • Hippo Head Template
  • 2 Small White Square Pieces
  • 2  Black Pompoms
  • 2 Googly Eyes
  • Red Construction Paper
  • Glue
  • Scissors

Don’t hesitate to visit kidsactivitiesblog.com to learn more about this meaningful activity.

See more: Letter H Preschool Crafts And Activities
Creativity | Fine Motor | Shape Recognition

4. Heart Hippo Craft

Photo credit: simplemomproject.com

Here’s another adorable hippo craft that’ll surely capture the hearts of your little ones. You can use it to help them improve their shape recognition, too! Plus, it’s also a wonderful way to showcase their creativity and hone their fine motor skills. Way to hit tons of birds with only one stone, right?

It’s also easy-peasy to make even for children! First, cut out all the hearts from the hippo template. Then, glue the ear pieces together and attach them onto the large heart, which will be the hippo’s body.

Next, attach the teeth to the snout and glue it onto the large heart, too. Don’t forget to glue those heart nostril pieces on! Lastly, stick on the eyes, and voila! Your heart hippo craft is complete and ready to be displayed.

Materials Needed:

  • Printable Heart Hippo Template
  • Card Stock Paper or Construction Paper
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Googly Eyes 

Feel free to visit simplemomproject.com to learn more about this lovely craft.

Reading | Creativity | Fine Motor

5. The HICCUPotamus Craft

Photo credit: iheartcraftythings.com

If you’re on the lookout for an awesome activity to pair with a nice story, then definitely check this one out! This craft perfectly complements the book “The HICCUPotamus” by Aaron Zenz. That being said, it’s an excellent opportunity for some reading practice on top of some creative work and fine motor practice.

You can begin this craft by making streaks on your paper with a thick paint brush using purple paint. Then, mix green and yellow paint to create a ground texture with a fork. You can make the fish by gluing red sequins and using orange markers for fins. For the hippo, you can use a purple foam sheet or darker purple cardstock. Simply cut out the pieces and glue them all together.

Next, take the lighter purple and use them for the eyes and mouth, and gray with a thin black line for the eyes. Finally, glue the hippo onto the paper, and add some crinkled blue tissue paper as your water. You can also add some birds in the background if you like. All done!

Materials Needed:

  • Paper
  • Paintbrush
  • Paint (purple, green, yellow)
  • Plastic Fork
  • Blue Tissue Paper
  • Red Sequins
  • Orange Markers
  • Purple Foam Sheet (or cardstock)
  • Scissors
  • Glue

Can’t wait to make this craft with the kids? Then go check out iheartcraftythings.com for more details about this craft.

Creativity | Concentration | Fine Motor

6. Newspaper Hippo Craft

Looking for an easy yet fun craft to recycle those stacks of old newspaper at home? Then, this craft is definitely the way to go! It’ll help you teach the young ones about recycling in a very entertaining and engaging way. This activity will also help develop their concentration and fine motor skills. Plus, it’ll squeeze out your children’s creative juices, too!

To make it, simply paint some newspaper in shades of light purple, dark purple, and black, and let it dry. Then, trace the hippo template onto the colored newspaper and cut out the shapes. Next, glue the mouth onto the head, followed by the eyes, ears, and nostrils. Add a white dot to each eye with a pencil dipped in white paint.

Finally, draw the hippo’s mouth with a black marker and glue on the teeth. Voila, you just made a super adorable hippo craft!

Materials Needed:

  • Newspaper
  • Acrylic Paint – light purple, dark purple, black, white
  • Black Marker
  • White Paper
  • Glue
  • Scissors

For more details about this fun craft, make sure to visit thebestideasforkids.com.

Creativity | Concentration | Fine Motor

7. Recycled CD Hippo

Photo credit: artsycraftsymom.com

Here is yet another quick and fun craft you can use to teach kids about recycling. It’s a fantastic activity to entertain kids and keep them busy. You can also use it to hone your little one’s fine motor skills and improve their concentration. Plus, they’ll be able to showcase their creativity as they make their very own cute little hippo. It’s super easy to make, too!

First off, wipe the old CD clean to get rid of any dust or stains. Then, use the template to cut out the pieces needed, such as nostrils from black felt, eyes and teeth from white foam, then ears and mouth from purple felt.

Next, draw the eyeballs with a black marker and glue the mouth at the center of the CD. Make sure to cover the hole completely. Lastly, attach the ears, teeth, nostrils, and eyes. That’s it, your craft is complete! If you want to use the hippo as a prop, you can also attach a stick or paper straw to the back.

Materials Needed:

  • Hippo Printable Template
  • Old CD
  • Magenta or Purple felt
  • Black Felt
  • White Foam
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Black Marker

Sounds fun, doesn’t it? You can learn more about this amazing activity and a ton more at artsycraftsymom.com.

Creativity | Concentration | Fine Motor

8. Popsicle Stick Hippo

Are you on the lookout for a quick and simple hippo activity for your little ones? This cute popsicle stick hippo is an absolute must-try! It’s a great way to introduce kids to hippos and it also makes an excellent fine motor practice. Plus, it only needs common art supplies and is very easy for kids to make.

To start, heat up your trusty glue gun, then grab your jumbo and mini popsicle sticks to assemble the base of your hippo. Let it dry and repeat if you want to make more hippos. Next, get your craft paint and brush, then paint the sticks gray. While that’s drying, cut out some gray cardstock for the nose and ears, and white cardstock for the teeth.

Finally, glue them all on the popsicle stick. Draw nostrils using a marker, glue on the googly eyes, and any other fun decorations you wish to add. Let it dry completely and display your new hippo friend with pride!

Materials Needed:

  • Jumbo Popsicle Sticks
  • Mini Popsicle Sticks
  • Low Temp Glue Gun
  • Light Gray Craft Paint
  • Foam Paint Brush
  • Small Paper Plate
  • Basic Craft Scissors
  • Dark Gray Cardstock Paper
  • White Cardstock Paper
  • Black Marker
  • Large Googly Eyes

Wanna give it a try? Check out gluedtomycraftsblog.com for more details on this cool craft.

See more: Preschool Popsicle Stick Crafts
Creativity | Concentration | Fine Motor

9. Paper Plate Hippo Craft

Photo credit: dltk-kids.com

This paper plate hippo craft is a cool and enjoyable way to introduce hippos to your young ones. On top of that, it’s an excellent way to practice their fine motor skills and improve their concentration, too! All of that while learning and showcasing their creative talents. Sounds absolutely amazing, doesn’t it?

To make it, start by painting the bottom of a paper plate gray. Then, print out the template and color the pieces. Cut them out and glue them onto the plate to make a hippo face. Add the ears on top of the head, eyes below them, and eyebrows above. You can also use googly eyes for the eyes if you want to.

Last but not the least, glue the snout below the eyes and the teeth just below the mouthline. That’s it! Your super cute hippo face is ready to be displayed.

Materials Needed:

  • Gray Paint
  • Paintbrush
  • Paper Plate
  • Coloring Materials (or color printer)
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Paper
  • Printer
  • Googly Eyes (optional)

Looking for further details about this craft? Visit the dltk-kids.com website and learn more!

Creativity | Concentration | Fine Motor

10. Hippo Snack Box

Photo credit: craftingintherain.com

This cool snack box idea is perfect for National Hippo Day or as a hippo party favor. They’re very easy to make and will surely make snack time even more fun for the kids! Furthermore, it’s also an amazing way to develop various skills such as concentration, fine motor, and creativity. All that while having lots and lots of fun! And don’t worry, it’s also pretty easy to make.

Start off by attaching the small cardstock pieces to the ends of the box. Then, wrap the large piece around the box and attach it to the bottom. Cut out the hippo faces and glue the white cardstock pieces to the face as teeth. Attach the face to one end of the box and voila! You’ve got yourself some cool hippo snack boxes!

Materials Needed:

  • Hippo Faces Template
  • Box of Animal Crackers (string cut off)
  • Pink or Purple Cardstock (one 9 x 5 1/8 inches and two 3/4 x 1 3/4 inches)
  • White Cardstock
  • Glue or Tape

Excited to make it with your kids? Go and check out craftingintherain.com for more information.

Conclusion

There you have it — ten fun-tastic hippo crafts that your kids will absolutely enjoy! Learning and developing your preschoolers’ skills don’t need to be boring. 

Hopefully, through today’s list, you’ll be able to make learning a fun and motivating experience for your children. Enjoy!



Hi, I'm Amanda! Welcome to Education Outside! Im passionate about educating young minds and helping parents/teachers by providing easy and effective teaching resources. Check out all of my teaching resources on my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

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