How to Make a Leopard's Face From Paper Bags

The leopard is an endangered species in Asia and Africa.

Creating paper bag puppets is a favorite activity among preschoolers and kindergarteners. Making paper bag puppets is inexpensive and allows young children to practice drawing, cutting and gluing, all-important skills that should be mastered before entering first grade. Finished leopard puppets can join other endangered animal puppets in a kid-produced show about protecting wildlife.

Things You'll Need

• Yellow, pink, black and brown construction paper
• Black pipe cleaners
• Scissors
• Glue
• Paper lunch sacks

Instructions

1. Make the leopard's eyes. Draw and cut out two football shapes about 1 inch long on the black construction paper. Draw and cut out two slightly smaller football shapes on the yellow construction paper and glue these to the middle of the black shapes. Cut out two small black circles for the pupils and glue them to the center of the eyes.

2. Place the closed paper sack in front of you with the bottom facing up and the opening pointing toward you. Glue the eyes to the bottom of the sack, about an inch down from the top edge.

3. Draw and cut out a triangle on pink construction paper for the leopard's nose. Glue it, point down, to the bottom of the sack below the eyes, just above the edge of the bottom.

4. Cut three pipe cleaners in half for the whiskers. Glue three whiskers on the right side of the nose and three on the left side.

5. Draw and cut out a 2-inch U-shape for the tongue using the pink construction paper. Glue it to the underside of the bottom of the bag.

6. Draw and cut out of brown construction paper two 1.5-inch triangles for the ears. Glue the lower portion of the ears to the back side of the sack above the eyes.

7. Cut out of black construction paper 25 small uneven circles for the spots. Cut out of brown construction paper the same number of smaller, uneven circles. Glue the brown shapes to the black shapes, then glue the spots to the body, face and ears of the leopard.

8. Gently insert your hand into the sack without folding open the bottom. Hook your fingers over the folded bottom and move them up and down to make the leopard "talk."

Tips & Warnings

• Have damp paper towels handy to keep fingers and surfaces free of glue.

References

• First School: Leopard Theme Preschool Lesson Plan Printable Activities and Crafts

Resources

• DLTK Kids: Paper Bag Crafts for Kids