Valentine's Day Paper Plate Penguins

Looking for an adorable Valentine’s Day craft that kids will love? This Paper Plate Penguin craft is the perfect winter-to-Valentine crossover! With heart details and a painted paper plate, this craft is easy enough for preschoolers while still fun for elementary-aged kids. Plus, it uses basic supplies you probably already have on hand.

To begin paint a paper plate, allow your child to select the color. It would be fun to use red, pink or even purple for Valentine's Day, however allow your child to choose the color of their penguins. Some kids may want to make their penguin look realistic. After painting allow the paint to dry completely before moving on to the next step.

Now you will create the penguin body. To do this fold both sides of the paper plates in. Be sure to leave a little bit of white space in the middle and a larger space at the bottom. Now add glue and press the plate down to glue the plate down.

To create the penguin's head, fold the top of the plate down and again apply glue. Press and hold the plate to make sure the glue holds.

You can add details to your penguin's belly by drawing hearts on the white space at the bottom of the penguin's body. Alternately, you can glue on paper hearts or apply stickers.

Finally, add eyes, the beak and feet. Simply print out the template provided or create these on your own. You can also add googly eyes to the penguin.

This penguin is a great addition to any Valentine's Day craft activity. Make a few to create your own colony of penguins. You can also read and fiction or nonfiction book about penguins to extend your child's learning.