Handprint Giraffe

This handprint giraffe is a simple and easy activity for preschool and school-age children. You only need a few supplies, and it’s great a way to start a conversation about animals. Children can enhance their fine motor skills by using scissors to cut the paper and placing smaller pieces onto their creation. This handprint giraffe could be put on display and then saved as a sweet reminder of this moment in time and growth for the future. Here’s your first handy dandy fact: giraffes make sounds like a snort, hiss, bellow, a flute, and low pitch noises. Can you think of other animals that make these kinds of sounds?

Supplies:

Construction paper (2 yellow, 1 black, and 1 brown)

Scissors

Glue

Pencil or marker

Activity Steps:

Before you begin, make sure you have a clear craft space so you can easily see all of your materials. This activity requires the use of scissors so make sure you ask a parent before using them or get some help.

Step 1 - First, we’re going to start by making the giraffe’s neck and head. Get your yellow paper, and place it on the surface in front of you. Put your hand on the center of the paper with your fingers spread out. Part of your wrist should also be on the page because this will become the giraffe's neck. If you want you can move your hand up on the page to create a longer neck, or down to create a shorter neck.

Step 2 - Next, use your writing utensil and trace around your hand and fingers. Lift your hand up to see the outline. Use scissors to cut around the outline. Don’t worry about the marker showing as you cut. You can just flip it over to the other side and you won’t see any marker lines.

Tip: remember to ask a parent for permission.

Step 3 - Then, grab your other piece of yellow paper and cut a circle about the size of a golf ball. This circle will become the head of the giraffe. Use this same yellow paper to cut 1 small rectangle. This could be about the size of a pink eraser. Then cut the rectangle in half so you have two. These will become the horns.

Step 4 - Then, you will want to grab your black paper, and cut two small black circles. These will be about the size of a quarter. These circles will become part of the horns on the giraffe. Did you know the official name for the horns on a giraffe is ossicones?

Step 5 - Next, take the hand cutout, and lay it on the table so your fingers are facing you, and the wrist part is up. The fingers are the legs and tail on your giraffe. Then, take the yellow circle and glue it to the wrist part. The circle should be off-centered because it will become like the side of the giraffe’s head.

There’s a little extra piece on the neck, just cut it off and round it out. I drew a line to help see where I wanted to cut.

Step 6 - Then, take the two yellow rectangles and glue them onto the circle vertically. Then glue the black circles to the top of the rectangles. We want them to be at the top of the rectangles because horns are at the top of a giraffe’s head!

Step 7 - Then, grab your brown paper, and cut out several small circles. The circles you cut are going to be the spots on your giraffe. These can be about the size of a quarter. If you would like, you can make them a little smaller or bigger. This is your giraffe, so create it to be as spotted as you would like!

Step 8 - Then, take your glue and glue those spots onto the hand cutout of your giraffe. Here’s your fun fact about spots - no two giraffes have the same pattern of spots! Just like no two snowflakes are the same, and every person has different fingerprints. This giraffe is as unique as you are!

Step 9 - Next, take your pencil or marker and draw a face on your giraffe. I made mine with a U-shaped smile, two upside down u’s for the nose, and one circle filled in for the eye. What kind of face will your giraffe have?

Step 10 - Finally, your giraffe is complete! Put it in a place to dry, and once it’s ready you can hang it on the fridge to be displayed, or share with a friend. Pass along the fun facts you learned too!