What kid doesn’t like elephants? I remember the days our daughter would stomp around the living room, trumpeting like an elephant. She put her little arm up to her nose and raised it up as she made the sound. We made this easy elephant paper craft for kids on World Elephant Day. It only took about 10 minutes to make and you can use supplies you likely already have at home.
This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission, at no cost to you. We only recommend products we use and like. We hope you like them, too! Happy Shopping!
Supplies List
***DISCLAIMER: Parental supervision is required with all projects. I hope you enjoy the quality time creating memories together!***
- Gray and white cardstock OR print the free printable at the bottom of this page (preferably on white cardstock)
- Black marker
- Scissors
- Glue
- Googly eyes (optional)
- Craft stick (optional)
- Straw (optional)
How to Make Your Easy Elephant Paper Craft
- Cut one large circle for the head and two smaller circles for the ears out of the gray cardstock. I used my scrapbook tools to cut the circles, but you can just use scissors if you do not have any tools. Next, cut out a long rectangle for the trunk out of the gray cardstock. **Alternate option: Print the free printable below, preferably on white cardstock, and cut the shapes out for this craft.**
- Cut two small tusks out of the white cardstock, or use the free printable below.
- Glue the two ears on each side of the elephant’s head, gluing the the underside of the head.
- Use the black marker to draw a smile on the elephant’s head. Either draw eyes on the head or stick on the googly eyes.
- Take the long rectangle trunk and fold back and forth like an accordion. Glue onto the elephant’s head. Glue the two tusks just behind the top of the elephant’s trunk.
- Optional: Glue a craft stick to the bottom, backside of the elephant’s head. My daughter loves to carry her paper animals crafts by the craft stick.
- Optional: Cut/punch a hole near the bottom of the elephant’s head. We did ours near the top of the craft stick, right by the elephant’s mouth. This can be used to put a straw through the hole from the backside of the elephant’s head to blow into and make the elephant’s trunk blow up as he trumpets.
Fun Elephant Pairings
While making your elephant craft tell your kids about some fun elephant facts. The WWF website has a great Top 10 Elephant Facts article. Facts include the differences between Asian and African elephants, how many muscles are in a trunk, and how often elephants give birth. It is a great idea to sneak in facts during hands on activities!
We also love pairing books with crafts and activities. This one is especially perfect to pair with the story, “How the Elephant Got His Trunk.” This story is part of the “Just So Stories for Little Children” collection book, which we love reading for bedtime. This is a cute story about how elephants used to have short, little noses and something happened that caused the nose to become the long trunk we all know today.
If you have any fun elephant pairing ideas, share them on our Facebook page to help inspire other moms! I hope you find this quick and easy elephant paper craft for kids a nice little activity to add to your day.
Happy Crafting!
