“Put me in the Zoo” Craft and Snack
Updated: Jun 25, 2021
This activity is designed for school-aged and preschool-aged children, with the help of an adult, that creates an outlet for creativity and imagination! This great craft-and-snack combo is one activity you won’t want to miss out on. Not only is this a fun way to pass the time, but engaging in this activity also promotes cognitive development and motor skills by practicing measuring, cutting, gluing, and spatial awareness!
Supplies:
1. Necessary supplies for the craft:
a. Paper plate
b. Yellow, blue, red, orange, and pink bleeding tissue paper
*Side note: if you have different colors than the ones listed above, that’s okay! These are just the colors this activity was made with. Feel free to adjust the colors to what you have and what you like best!
c. Spray bottle with water (or you can use a cup filled with water and a paintbrush to spread water around)
d. Scissors
e. Glue
f. Black marker
g. Yellow marker and a white piece of paper or a yellow piece of paper
2. Necessary supplies for the snack:
a. Bowl
b. Measuring stick
c. Pretzels
d. M&M’s
Instructions:
Let’s start our activity with the “Put me in the Zoo” plate craft! Gather all the necessary supplies and pull up a chair to a table or hard surface of your choice.
1. First, take your scissors and cut a short, thin strip of the blue, red, orange, and pink bleeding tissue paper (one of each color)! Then, cut those strips into small squares. Set those pieces off to the side.
2. Next, take out the yellow bleeding tissue paper and start by cutting out 10 long, thin strips of the bleeding tissue paper. Then, take those long strips and cut them into small squares. Once you are finished, go ahead and set them to the side of your work space!
3. Now, take out your plate, flip it upside down, and get your spray bottle with water (or the water cup and paint brush) ready!
4. Next, we need to spray (or brush) the paper plate with water! You don’t need much, just lightly spray (or brush) the plate with water so it is covered evenly. This water
5. Now, one-by-one, place a yellow square on the wet surface. Make sure to cover the entire back side of the plate to cover all the white spaces (overlapping the sheets can be helpful for this part)!
*Side note: If a square is not sticking to the plate, go ahead a spray (or brush) over top of the square! The water works like a temporary glue, how cool is that??
6. Next, add a little more water to the plate. Then, take the colorful squares, that you cut out earlier, and spread them out on top of the yellow plate! Once placed on top, give it a little spray (or brush) to make sure it sticks.
7. Now that all of your squares are in place, set the plate off to the side and let it dry out completely.
While we wait for that to dry, let’s make our quick, tasty snack!
8. First, measure out 1 cup of pretzels and pour into bowl.
9. Next, measure out ½ up of M&M’s and pour into bowl with the pretzels.
10. Once all the ingredients are in the bowl, give it a little “shake, shake, shake” so the pretzels and M&M’s mix!
11. Now, it may take a little while for the plate to dry out—but that’s okay! In the meantime, enjoy your snack, take a little break, and then we will move on to the next step!
12. Ready? Okay! Now, take out the white sheet of paper, the yellow marker, and black marker. First, using the black marker, draw two regular sized circles on the top half of the paper. Then, inside those circles, draw a smaller circle (it should look like two donuts!).
13. Once you have those circles, color the small circle that is on the inside, black (now, they should look like eyes!).
14. Next, let’s make some ears! Take your yellow marker and draw two big “rainbow” arches on the bottom half of the paper and color both arches in.
*Side note: if you used yellow paper, you will not need to do this step! Just draw out the “rainbow” arches using your black marker.
15. Now, take your scissors and cut out the ears and eyes. Remember, take your time, be safe, and follow the lines! Once the items are all cut out, set them aside.
16. Once your plate is dry, start taking off all the tissue paper squares and set aside to be thrown away. If it is dry enough, the squares should peel off very easily and leave a pretty color pattern behind!
17. Now, let’s give our plate some character! First, get that glue bottle handy and put some glue down on the back of the eyes and stick them to the plate. Then, take your marker and draw a nose and a mouth (see the example for some inspiration)
18. Next, put a thin line, straight across the bottom of both ears and stick them on the back of the face on the plate.
You are done! Great work, and thanks so much for trying out our tasty snack and fun “Put me in the Zoo” craft!