paper plate lions

How cute are these lions? Our paper plate lions are a preschool craft project that gathers the kiddos into a group to work on skills such as cutting, glueing, and following instructions. I want to add that this is not an everyday deal that I do in my classroom. Most of the time we are mixing paint and creating our own art experiences. Sometimes we gather around so I can quickly assess who may need encouragment or who may need a new challenge. We never push and if a child has other plans or really does not want to do the project then that's okay. There a multitude of other ways to see where they are at. A craft such as this is cute and is a fun take home for parents to display. I mean, who wouldn't want a three-eyed lion on their fridge?

Paper plates are a fun and inexpensive resource for kiddo to create with. They are sturdy enough to hold ALL the paint, and have an interesting texture to them. Childre ncan cut them to create other tings, and they are happy to have paint, glue, crayon, marker, pencil, and even play dough spread over them.

Here we have a blue lion, a pink lions, a four-eyed lion, and a classic one or two in the mix. Once the paint dried, the kiddos added mouths or mustaches or design using the much coveted sharpie.

Sometimes though, I have to admit, it;s the paint messy brushes I swoon over.