Break out your craft supplies because your kids are going to love this Paper Plate Dolphin Craft. It’s perfect for young children to make over the Summer break, or to use in the classroom to help teach your students about marine life. All you need are some simple materials and your imagination to make easy dolphin crafts.
To learn how to make a dolphin out of paper plates, just read the simple instructions below or watch the video tutorial.
Disclosure: Adult supervision is required for all activities at all times. Some of the links provided in this blog are affiliate links. I will be paid a small commission if you use this link to make a purchase.
More Ocean Animals to Try
There are so many cute crafts you can make with both younger and older kids. Here are some of the easiest craft ideas that explore the ocean world and the amazing animals that live there.
- Jellyfish Salt Painting
- Rainbow Fish Printable
- Under the Sea Silhouette Art
- 3D Paper Dolphin Craft
- Dolphins in the Ocean Art
For more ideas, take a look at these 42 Sea Animal Craft Ideas for Kids.
Materials Needed
- Paper Plate
- Grey/blue paint
- Scissors
- Paintbrush
- Glue stick
- White and black paint pen
How to Make A Paper Plate Dolphin Craft
1. Draw a dolphin shape and fins on a paper plate.
You’re going to need to make a basic crescent shape on the paper plate and a few triangle shape fins. I started off by drawing mine in pencil so that it was easy to correct, and then going over it in pen so that I could still see the lines through the paint.
2. Paint it blue or grey.
Use acrylic paint to color your dolphin template. While I chose the classical blue/grey color, this is a great time to get a little bit creative and try different colors.
Painting your paper plate animals bright pink, or rainbow is a fun way to get younger kids engaged in this easy craft.
You can also try different materials if you don’t want to paint. For example, you can glue tissue paper or construction paper to your paper plate instead.
3. Cut out the pieces.
Use a pair of scissors to cut out each of the individual pieces.
Using scissors is a great way to help kids develop fine motor skills (like hand-eye coordination) and getting their little hands and fingers ready for writing at school.
4. Glue the dorsal fin.
Use school glue or double sided adhesive tape to attach the dorsal fin to the top of the dolphin.
5. Glue on the pectoral fin.
The arm (pectoral fin) goes on the underside of the dolphin. I only made one pectoral fin for this craft, but you can always make both of them if you would like to.
6. Glue on the tail.
Finally, glue on the tail fin.
7. Draw on the eye.
I used a white and black paint pen to draw an eye on my dolphin. If you don’t have any paint pens or a permanent marker on hand, you can also use googly eyes, or circles of white paper instead.
8. Let it dry.
Once you’ve finished, let your cute dolphin dry.
Turn it into a puppet.
One more idea, which I didn’t try this time. Would be to turn your craft into a dolphin puppet.
All you would need to do is to glue some popsicle sticks to the back of the paper plate. Then your little kids can pretend that their dolphins are swimming and jumping through ocean waves.
Are you going to try this Paper Plate Dolphin Craft with your kids?
Don’t forget to pin the idea for later.
