Finger painting fun!
This activity is a fun way to get your child interested in learning more about giraffes and how they live. It’s simple and easy — just cut out the shapes of a giraffe, glue them together and let your child finger paint on the spots with brown paint. This is a great opportunity for your child to use their fine motor skills and regulate their behavior, all while learning about different shapes and sizes.
🎨 Messy alert! This activity can get on the messy side of things so it’s probably best to have a cloth ready and place a mat down.
📚 Books to explore: Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae; Yours Sincerely, Giraffe by Megumi Iwasa; and A Giraffe and a Half by Shel Silverstein.
🔀 Change it up. See if your child wants to try making other animals using this technique.
Materials
For this activity you will need:
Yellow construction paper
Brown pipe cleaners OR Brown String
Tape
Glue
Scissors
Brown paint
Googly eyes OR a marker to draw them on
Learning Outcomes
Domain
Emotional
Skills
Self-regulation
Indicators:
Focusing attention, making choices and avoiding distraction
Instructions
Step 1:
Cut out a long neck, ears, horns and face of the giraffe out of the construction paper.
Step 2:
Glue down the paper together to form the top of the giraffe.
Step 3:
Cut the pipe cleaner to smaller pieces and tape them to stick out the side of the neck to form their fur.
Step 4:
Glue on or draw on the eyes.
Step 5:
Get your child to dip their fingers in the brown paint and make dots on all over the giraffe.
Step 6:
Set aside to dry.
Step 7:
Hang and enjoy.
⬆️ For older preschoolers: Have your child do the cutting and gluing to experience the whole activity.
⬇️ For younger toddlers: You will probably have to cut and glue the pieces for them and have a cloth ready for when they are done painting
Playful Questions
What do giraffes eat?
Why do they have long necks?
Where do they live?
What is the sound a giraffe makes?
Is (animal) bigger or smaller than a giraffe?
