Finding adorable winter crafts for toddlers and preschoolers is tricky sometimes, but one of my kids’ favorites are paper penguin crafts. Penguins and winter go hand in hand since these little animals love all things cold, snow, and ice!
Little kids adore penguins. In fact, my kids love to read books about penguins. A few of the ones they really love include If You Were a Penguin, Tacky the Penguin, and Little Penguin Gets the Hiccups.
So, if it’s snowing outside and you need something to entertain your child, check out these templates for adorable paper penguin crafts. Your child is sure to love these fun ideas.
Related: Free Printable Winter Snowman Letter Matching
21 Paper Penguin Crafts
1. Handprint Simple Paper Penguin
If you love handprint crafts, you’re sure to love this handprint penguin craft, but you could do without handprints as well. It’s simple to put together; you can have all the construction paper cut out ahead of time for your toddlers. Then, you just need googly eyes and glue to complete this simple project.
Related: Handprint Mother’s Day Gift for Mom and Grandma
2. Cotton Ball Penguin Craft
Mom Brite offers this penguin craft template for free on her website – make sure you check it out. You’ll need cotton balls, construction paper, glue, eyes, and some foam stickers for the orange beak. Easy peasy!
3. Paper Penguin Finger Puppet
Finger puppets are a great way to encourage imaginative play, so why not make a few penguin puppets and have an afternoon of pretend play? You’ll want to use cardstock rather than construction paper for this project to make the puppets more durable.
4. Torn Paper Penguin Craft
Tearing paper is an excellent activity to practice fine motor skills. Start off by having your child tear paper and place the pieces in a muffin tin. Use all those pieces to put together a penguin – your preschooler will love this!
5. Rolled Up Paper Penguin
Instead of using toilet paper rolls for this craft, you make the rolls yourself! It looks like the penguins are standing up on ice with a little platform underneath the rolls. Thick paper like cardstock works best for the platform!
6. Paper Plate Penguin
I love all sorts of paper plate crafts. They’re simple and cheap – perfect for a toddler craft. This paper plate penguin involves painting, cutting, and gluing, so your kids get to do a bit of everything. Best of all, chances are you have all the materials on hand already!
Related: Christmas Tissue Paper Wreathe Fine Motor Activity
7. Paper Plate Yarn Penguin
Here’s another paper plate craft to try with your kids. You’ll want to use the hole punch and punch out the holes before or after painting the plate – that’s up to you. Then, kids weave the yarn through the holes, which requires hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
8. Penguin Hat Craft
These paper penguin hats are so easy to make because Kids Craftroom provides you with a free printable penguin template to follow. You really can’t mess this up! Kids will love creating these little hats and running around the house, pretending to be little penguins.
9. Pop Up Penguin Craft
Here’s another awesome penguin craft from Kids Craftroom that comes with a handy penguin template to make it come to life for your kids. When you push down and let go, the penguin pops back up. Your kids will love playing with this, and it’s so easy to make – you can have a whole waddle to play and enjoy!
10. Paper Roll Penguins with Hats
Save those toilet paper rolls for these adorable crafts. This penguin craft has a bit of everything from painting the paper rolls to cutting strips for the hair and gluing on the eyes. It’s a craft that will take some time, but kids will love it when it’s finished!
11. Toilet Paper Roll Penguin Craft
If you have a lot of toilet paper rolls hanging around your house, then grab this free template. Your kids can use markers or crayons to finish the template and glue it on your toilet paper roll.
12. Handprint Penguin
If you love handprint crafts, here’s another great choice. This is so cute, and kids will love how it looks. They can personalize the background with cotton balls and snowflakes, creating a winter wonderland background.
13. Penguin with a Bowtie
Who doesn’t love a penguin wearing a bowtie? This paper plate craft is adorable, and you more than likely have most of the materials at home.
14. Painted Paper Plate Penguin
This is a simple painted paper plate craft for toddlers and preschoolers. You’ll have to help fold the pieces over, but it’s a unique and quick craft when you need to keep your kids busy!
15. Paper Bag Penguin Craft for Kids
Got some white paper bags hanging around your house? Turn them into paper penguins! All you need is some colored construction paper or cardstock to make the feet, peak, and other small features.
16. Easy Paint Penguin Craft
What little kid doesn’t love the opportunity to paint a penguin? Get a bit messy with your toddlers and make a painted penguin. Check out Messy Little Monster for all the details.
17. PomPom Penguin Paper Plate Wreath
Grab some pompoms, yarn, and paper plates, and make this adorable Christmas penguin wreath. It’ll look adorable hanging on your wall with the rest of your holiday decor.
18. Paper Plate Penguin Wreath
This is another cute paper plate penguin craft that we just adore. We love that you can change the shape of the wings and the head. Add googly eyes for extra cuteness!
19. Paper Cup Penguin Poppers
Aren’t these little guys so adorable? Not only are they a fun craft to make but they also turn into a fun game sure to entertain your kiddos for hours!
20. Paper Penguin Bookmark
This is a fun penguin craft that also has purpose! After you created your masterpiece, slip your adorable little penguin over the corner of your book and voila! Your have a cute bookmark!
21. Paper Plate Cone Penguins
Aren’t paper plate crafts so fun? These paper plate cone penguins are fun and easy to create. Plus, they “wobble” just like real penguins do. How cute!
If you’re looking for some adorable winter crafts, you can’t beat making a paper penguin. Kids love all things penguins, and these crafts will keep them entertained for hours.
