If there is one thing that my kiddos love, it is animals. Especially when we can sing and craft about them! This week I am so excited to announce that I have teamed up with Rozelle from Mimi’s Playtime to share some fun activities to go along with her wonderful song! She created the sweetest bedtime song about baby mammals at night, and I was fortunate enough to get to create a craft and activity to go along with it! Check out her song here, it is the sweetest!
First up, the animal popsicle stick craft! I’m sure you’ve seen some variation of this on Pinterest or Instagram, but I’ve put a sweet twist on it to go along with Rozelle’s song. My adorable mammals get tucked into a DIY bed covered (literally!) with learning possibilities! Let me walk you through how these cuties are made.
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Materials
*There are individual material lists for each animal below, this list is what you will collectively need for the entire project.
- 6 Popsicle sticks (the wider crafting sticks are easier to use)
- Paint (I chose to use a kid-friendly paint so my littles could help out, but you can use acrylic for more vibrant colors) – colors listed below
- Markers
- 7 Cotton ball
- 2 Buttons – black and pink (not necessary if you want to draw in the details)
- 12 Googly eyes
- Paint markers
- Cardboard (a flap from an old box works great!)
- White cardstock
- Hot glue gun
- Animal Parts Page – colored and cut out
*Children should be supervised during this activity. There are small parts and potential hazards with paint and hot glue. Please, do not leave children unattended with these materials.
How To
This is a great craft to let the kiddos help with if you don’t mind a little paint play! However, there are some small details and hot glue, so be sure to take over on those items.
1. Gather all of your materials and find a large, safe surface to work on.
2. Paint your popsicle sticks the base color of each animal – front and back:
- Lion – yellow
- Puppy – brown (can choose a different color, if desired)
- Cow calf – white
- Kitten – orange (can choose a different color, if desired)
- Lamb – white
- Piglet – pink
3. Print out the Animal Parts page and color each piece according to the key. Heat up your glue gun as you cut out the parts and get ready to assemble!
4. See the How To section below for directions on completing each individual animal.
Lion Directions:
Materials
- Yellow popsicle stick
- Pair of googly eye
- Lion parts
- Black and gold (or pink) paint markers
1. Hot glue your googly eyes on to the yellow popsicle stick
2. Hot glue the mane and ears
3. Draw a nose and mouth using your paint markers
Puppy Directions:
Materials
- Brown popsicle stick (or desired color)
- Pair of googly eye
- Puppy parts
- Black, white, and pink paint markers
1. Use the white paint marker and draw spots (if desired) on to your puppy
2. Hot glue your googly eyes on to the brown popsicle stick
3. Hot glue the puppy ears to the back of the popsicle stick
4. Draw a nose and mouth using your pink and black paint markers
Cow Calf Directions:
Materials
- White popsicle stick
- Pair of googly eye
- Cow Calf parts
- Black button (for nose)
- Black and white paint markers
1. Use your black paint marker to draw spots on your cow calf
2. Hot glue your googly eyes on to the white popsicle stick
3. Hot glue the cow ears to the back of the popsicle stick
4. Hot glue your black button nose beneath the eyes
5. Use your white paint marker to draw a mouth
Kitten Directions:
Materials
- Orange popsicle stick
- Pair of googly eye
- Kitten parts
- Black and pink paint markers
1. Hot glue your googly eyes on to the kitten
2. Hot glue your ears to the back of the popsicle stick
3. Use your black and pink paint markers to draw a nose, mouth, and whiskers
Lamb Directions:
Materials
- White popsicle stick
- Pair of googly eye
- Lamb parts
- Cotton ball
- Black and pink paint markers
1. Hot glue your googly eyes on to the lamb
2. Hot glue your ears to the back of the popsicle stick
3. Use your black and pink paint markers to draw a nose and mouth
4. Rip a small piece of the cotton ball off and hot glue it at the top of the popsicle stick, above the eyes
Piglet Directions:
Materials
- Pink popsicle stick
- Pair of googly eye
- Piglet parts
- Pink button (for nose)
- Black paint markers
1. Hot glue your googly eyes on to the piglet
2. Hot glue your ears to the back of the popsicle stick
3. Hot glue your pink button beneath the eyes for a nose
4. Use your black paint marker to draw a mouth
Bed Directions:
1. Cut a piece of cardboard large enough for all 6 animals to lay on without overlapping. Your cardstock should be at least as large as the cardboard (if not larger).
2. Draw your desired design on the cardstock using markers. This sheet will become your bedspread. I chose to cover my ‘bedspread’ in shapes to add a learning element. Now when my kiddos play with it, we can talk about shapes and the colors of each. You may want to write the alphabet on yours, draw animals or simply let your child decorate it to their liking. It is completely up to you!
3. Hot glue your bedspread to the cardboard. Be sure to make the top a little looser so all of the animals can slide in and out more easily. Cut off any excess bedspread that hangs over the cardboard.
4. Pull all 6 cotton balls a bit to make them a bit wider and more fluffy. Now glue them across the top of the cardboard to form the pillows.
5. Insert your animals and let your little enjoy playing with them while listening to Mimi’s Playtime!
Sleepy Baby Mammals Sensory Bin
Check out this next activity! A sensory bin themed to match the sweet baby mammals lullaby from Mimi’s Playtime. Your littles will really get into this bin as they tuck each animal in for bedtime.
This activity was so much fun to create, and my kiddos absolutely loved playing with it! Since Rozelle’s song talks about baby mammals going to bed, I figured it was a great opportunity for my littles to create beds for them! Here is what you will need to get started:
Materials
- Sensory Bin (not sure how to set one up? Check out my post here)
- Baby Animals
- A box (or other container) for your animals to sleep in. We used the box from this toy
- Easter grass (or rice dyed green if you’d prefer)
- Crushed Oreos or chocolate sandwich cookies
- Long pasta broken into small pieces
- Moon and Stars confetti
- Tongs
How To
1. Start by pulling that sensory bin out and gathering all of your base materials.
2. Crush your oreos – I used a small food processor, but if you don’t have one a large Ziploc bag and a rolling pin works too!
3. Break up your long pasta into small pieces.
4. Place your box – or other container – in the center of the bin.
5. Lay the Easter grass along one side of the box.
6. Pile the crushed Oreos and broken pasta on the other side of the box, separated from one another.
7. Place the moon and stars confetti on the crushed Oreos.
8. Add an animal to each slot (or as many as you’d like to your container.
9. Invite your littles to come and create a bed for each animal!
We had fun talking about the type of bed each animal might sleep in. A pig definitely needed mud (Oreos) according to my 4 year old. And the lamb probably liked the grass. It was super cute to see what the kiddos thought each animal might need. Most definitely a learning opportunity!
My kiddos played with this bin for hours! Filling each ‘bed’ and then pouring it out and starting again. And, after listening to the sleepy baby mammals lullaby from Mimi’s Playtime, my kids played with much more intension and purpose. The imaginative play here was fabulous! And, what a great learning opportunity – fine motor skills, animal habitats, cooperative play, imaginative play – and a Mommy Break, wink wink. You deserve it!
Please, check out the amazing Mimi’s Playtime YouTube Channel full of educational songs for your littles as well as her website. You can find her hanging out on Instagram as well @mimis.playtime! There is so much to learn and engage in during Mimi’s Playtime. My kiddos love it!
Looking for some more indoor fun during these long days of work at home/school at home/stay at home? Check out our Top 12 Indoor Activities to Keep Toddlers Busy!
