Art and craft are very important for children and playing while learning about the world’s most valuable resource can be a great deal of fun!  Preschoolers and early elementary kids love to get messy and do crafts, and they are a great way to fine tune those fine motor skills and let your kid’s creativity shine while learning something along the way.

Lion fork painting

If you're looking for an easy paper plate craft or lion craft for kids, this is it! This Lion Fork Painting is cheap, easy, and makes the perfect activity for kids of all ages!
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You’ll Need:

• Brown, orange, yellow craft paint
• Brown, black, pink, white paint pens or markers
• Paper plates
• Forks – we used compostable forks so that they’ll break down well without harming the environment
• Paint brushes
• Paint pens or markers

​Here's how:
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Step 1: Paint the centre circle of the plate orange for the face of the lion as shown.

Step 2: Add ears in the same colour on top of the circle.

Step 3: Begin the fun of fork painting! Starting with the brown paint, use a fork to paint lines from the face all the way out to the edge of the plate to create fur, let dry.

Step 4: Repeat this process with the orange paint, then the yellow paint, drying in between layers.
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Step 5: Use the paint pens or markers to outline the face and ears and create the eyes, nose, mouth, and whiskers.

Paperchain jungle snake

Paper chain snakes are so easy and turn out really cute!

You’ll Need:

• Construction paper: yellow, green and red (but choose your own colours if you wish)
• Scissors
• Glue Stick
• Googly Eyes

Here's how:
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​Step 1: Holding the paper in landscape orientation, cut the paper into strips. Start with one, then layer onto the other sheets so that you only need cut once.  You should get 4 strips from each sheet.

Step 2: Make one complete circle out of one strip and use the glue to hold the ends together.

Step 3: Thread another strip of paper through the first circle and glue the ends together. This is the start of the chain.

Step 4: Repeat until all the strips have been used.

Step 5: Glue on the googly eyes.
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Step 6: Cut out a ‘tongue’ from the red construction paper and glue down.
 
And that’s it- your very own special jungle snake!

Paper plate cheeky monkey

This super simple monkey craft is great for any jungle lovers or the kiddo who loves Curious George! It's super simple and can be made with just a few basic supplies you probably already have.
 
You’ll Need:

• Paper plates
• Scissors
• Brown paint (or marker)
• Construction paper scraps or cardstock in beige or light brown
• Markers, crayons or paint
• Googly eyes, or you can draw them on.
• Gluestick

Here's how:

Step 1: Begin by painting or colouring a plate brown. If you’re wanting this to be a faster craft you can use markers, crayons or coloured pencils. You could also pre-paint plates too and have them ready for your grandchild to pick from. 

Step 2: Cut out and glue two medium sized circles from the light brown construction paper to the back of the paper plate.

Step 3: Cut out two small circles and an oval from the light brown construction paper. Glue the small circles down first and then the larger oval to make the monkey face.
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Step 4: Glue on the googly eyes and draw on a nose and smiley face. You can also make eyes from other paper or draw them on.