You can create this cute set of farm animals with the simplest of materials! This is a wonderfully fun arts and crafts activity for children, at preschoolers, kindergarten and elementary age. And read on to the end for some learning possibilities for preschoolers.
I am a recent convert to foam cup crafts!!! prepare for the obsession!!
Foam Cup Crafts – Farm Animals
All you need to create your farm set:
Paint and brushes
Chenille stems or pipe cleaners
Tools: pencil, craft scissors, sticky tape
Just place the styrofoam cups upside down (open end of cup down) on a sheet of newspaper or messy mat and let the kids off to do the rest.
They should start off by painting the cup with the main base colour for the animal, luckily the cow doesn’t need any overall color. If you are using acrylic paint just one coat will generally do, poster paints might need a second coat.
Once dry the kids can first draw on the cup with a pencil if they like or just start painting on the eyes and character details before leaving aside to dry again.
While drying the craft scissors can be put to good use cutting the pipe cleaners to the lengths needed for ears and wiggly tails etc. Foam cups are soft and ideal for kids to push in the pipe cleaners and bend to the shapes they want, so easy, (parents cover over the pointy ends of the pipe cleaners on the inside of the cup with some masking tape or sticky tape to avoid any ouchies later).
So next time you’re at the supermarket pop a packet of foam cups into your trolley – they are the best fun for quick and simple crafting with children.
Possibilities for Pre-School Learning – the gift of curiosity!
You can also continue the fun by using this craft activity as an interactive way to teach kids more about farm animals.
- How to recognize common farm animals
- What the mom, dad and baby names for common farm animal families are (e.g, cow, bull, herd, heifer and calf are all part of the cow family)
- What farm animals eat
- Practice farm animal sounds, always a hit!
- Learn what kinds of food and non-food products that come from chickens, cows, sheep, ducks, and pigs
- ! how milk
- What about the fantastically big farm machinery!
The foam cup characters are the perfect friends for bringing nursery rhymes to life and to use as story starters – here’s my little miss using the cups as hand puppets for an “Oink, Oink, Moo” chat!!- Love it xxxox
Time to get your crafty pants on!!
Oh, and if you are farm-obsessed, check out this set of adorable paper tube farm animals from Crafts by Amanda!
And come back soon for the next “Jungle” and “Family Pet” themed set of foam cups (I’m gonna need more cups!!)