Little kids will have so much fun making this Paper Cup Penguin Craft. It’s a fun activity to do on a snow day or during the holiday season. Easy enough for toddlers and preschoolers, but fun for kids of all ages. Learn how to make this adorable penguin craft with your children this Winter.
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More Winter Themed Crafts for Kids
I love doing a little project like this during the winter season with my young kids. Doing a fun craft is a great way to spend time together when the weather turns cold. If you’re feeling inspired, then here are some more of my most popular Winter themed kids art ideas to try.
- Northern Lights Art for Kids
- Snowman Art for Kids
- Snowflake Art for Kids
- Snowy Forest – Winter Art for Kids
- Marble Painted Snowflakes
- Handprint Penguin Craft
For more ideas, take a look at these 25 Winter Arts and Crafts for Kids.
Materials Needed
- Paper cups
- Black Paint
- Orange Paint
- Black Sharpie
- Googly eyes (optional)
How to Make a Paper Cup Penguin Craft
Step 1. Draw your penguin.
There are a couple of different ways to draw a penguin. Depending on if you would like to draw a baby penguin or an adult penguin.
For the baby penguin, I started with a heart shape at the top, which instead of meeting at the bottom, the two sides flared out in a vase shape. I then drew two eyes underneath the heart shape, with a beak in the middle.
For an adult penguin, start by drawing a simple oval shape at the bottom of the paper cup for the penguin body. Then draw two eyes above the oval, with a beak on the border between the eyes and the top of the oval.
2. Paint it black.
But be careful to not paint over the eyes with black paint. However, if you do, don’t worry too much. You can always glue googly eyes onto your cute penguin craft instead.
3. Paint the beak with orange paint
4. Let it dry
5. Add extra details for older kids.
I kept these paper cup penguins very simple intentionally. I wanted a super easy craft that you could do with a class full of toddlers. However, if you’re interested in doing this great craft with older children, there are a few extra steps to make it more engaging for them.
Idea 1. Make some feet out of orange paper. Then stick these to the bottom of the cup.
Idea 2. Use white tissue paper or cotton balls to make a snowy scene for your penguin to live.
All you’d need to do is use a glue stick to attach some soft cotton wool to a sheet of white paper and place your little penguins in the middle.
Idea 3. Make flippers out of black construction paper. Just draw an elongated oval shape onto the paper, cut them out and finally glue them onto the side of your paper cup.
Are you going to make a Paper Cup Penguin Craft with your kids?
Don’t forget to pin the idea for later.
Over 90+ pages of Winter themed play based learning activities and craft templates. Perfect for preschool and kindergarten.
