Easy Paper Plate Groundhog Craft
This paper plate groundhog craft hits the sweet spot for in-home childcare activities—fun, simple, and packed with developmental perks. Between tiny hands gluing wiggly eyes and little voices proudly showing off their creations, it’s a win all around. Two-year-olds get to build motor skills, explore their imaginations, and even practice patience (a big deal at this age).
If you’re looking for an activity that keeps the kiddos engaged and learning, this is it. Grab some paintbrushes, embrace the mess, and let those creative sparks fly.
Love paper plate crafts? Check out these fun crafts to do with your kiddos!!
Prepping Your Space
Creating a toddler-friendly crafting zone is key to making this project stress-free. Start by setting up a table or floor space that’s easy to clean—hello, plastic tablecloth or flat amazon box!
Keeping the workspace simple helps toddlers focus on the task at hand (and keeps your cleanup to a minimum).
- Cover your space. I recommend large pieces of flattened cardboard or kraft paper. Dollar store table cloths are great too, they wipe up easy or if the mess is a little extra, fold it up and throw it out.
- Cover your child. I love using an old t shirt cut up the sides for easy on and off over their heads, but whatever you have, smocks, bibs, aprons. Use it!!
- Get your clean up kit ready. I would have a washcloth ready for each child as well as some wet wipes for little spills and clean up during the project.
- Completely set up the project. One area I have found to have success with messy art and groups of toddlers and preschoolers is to have everything set up before I call them to the table.
What You Need
Before diving into the fun of creating your paper plate groundhog, you’ll need to gather all the supplies. Don’t worry—this craft keeps it simple with items that are either easy to find around the house or available at any craft store.
Materials:
- Paperplates
- Black Construction Paper
- Brown Paint
- Google Eyes (or use black paper for eyes)
- Scissors (and optional straight edge paper cutter)
- Glue (with cotton swab and shallow dish)
Learn More About The Free Little Learners Activity Bundle HERE
What We Did
Pre-cut all the construction paper elements. While I completely support teaching two-year-olds how to handle scissors, this project is a little advanced for their current cutting skills. Cut out:
- Thin strips of paper a few inches long for the whiskers (black).
- A little triangle or circle for the nose (black).
- Big toothy rectangles for the teeth (white).
Here’s where things get real (and possibly messy). Have your toddlers paint the entire paper plate brown—it’s going to be the base for their groundhog masterpiece. Provide brushes that are easy for little hands to hold. They don’t need to be perfect; just let them cover the plate as much as their hearts desire.
Once the paint has dried, it’s time to put it all together!! First, I created a template with an extra paper plate to get the shape of the big fluffy cheeks.
Don’t throw out the part you cut off, use that to cut out little ears.
Now it’s time to help your toddlers turn their plates into actual groundhog faces.
While I am a huge fan of putting out the supplies and letting my kiddos go at it, I also enjoy a directed craft project from time to time.
For this project I sat with my toddlers and we assembled our groundhogs together. We talked about placement of the pieces, counted the whiskers, fixed ears that were at the chin.
- Nose and whiskers: With a cotton swab and a small dish of glue, have your toddler add glue to the nose piece. Next show them how to add the whiskers to the edge, 3 on each side. It will not be perfect, I was surprised how well my littles handled this part. Now stick the nose on your plate.
- Googly Eyes: This is a great opportunity to talk abound above and below, or if those terms are a bit too much for your kiddos, up or down. Do your eyes go up from your nose or down from your nose?
- TIP: cotton swab and glue not quite enough for your eyes to stick? Once your little has placed their eyes, carefully pick up the corner and squeeze some extra glue under and place right back where they chose.
- Ears: Help them glue the ear shapes onto the top rim of the plate. If they need a little guidance, show them where their own ears are—it’s a cute connection and helpful reminder!
- Teeth: Finally your little groundhog needs some teeth and there you have it!
Don’t stress if things aren’t perfectly aligned. Remember, this isn’t about precision; it’s about letting your toddlers make something they’re proud of.
Beyond the Craft: Extending the Learning
Arts and crafts aren’t just about creating something cute—they’re packed with ways to sneak in learning while still having fun. The best part? Kids don’t even realize they’re learning because they’re too busy enjoying themselves! This paper plate groundhog craft doubles as a mini-classroom, offering chances to explore topics like animals, shapes, and even following directions.
- This is a great opportunity to learn about groundhogs .
- Talk about what color you are painting, so often we focus on our ROYGBIV colors, don’t forget ones like black, white, pink, grey, and today, brown.
- Talk about placement of features. Where are your eyes? Where is your nose.
- Count the ears, eyes, whiskers, teeth, and nose as you add them. Do you have 3 eyes? No, how many eyes do you have?
- Count to 5 every time you glue something. Hold down the piece 1-2-3-4-5.
Get prepped for February with this fun Cut and Paste Valentine counting activity!
The Finished Paper Plate Groundhogs
I am as excited as can be at the amazing job these kiddos did. My current group of two-year-olds love love love to create. Get paint or glue in their hands and they are here for it.
You may not have a group right away that want to follow along, maybe they want to put their eyes where their ears go and their ears where their teeth go.
Decide how you want to handle that and what you are all hoping to get out of the project.
Takeaway
Let’s be real—at two years old, those little hands have a lot of learning to do. Crafts are like a workout for their tiny fingers! Holding a paintbrush strengthens their grip, which will eventually help with writing. Picking up small decorations like paper ears or whiskers hones their pincer grasp. And don’t even get me started on gluing pieces together—talk about coordination! Every swipe of the brush and squeeze of the glue bottle is teaching hand-eye coordination and muscle control.
Not perfect? That’s okay. (Nobody’s here for a Picasso production.) It’s about progress, not perfection. By practicing these motions over time, toddlers build confidence and skills they’ll use for everything from holding a spoon to tying shoes. And honestly, who doesn’t love watching those proud little faces light up when they see what they’ve accomplished?
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