Embark on a creative journey filled with delightful Arctic animal art projects that are sure to capture the imagination of both children and adults alike. From crafting a mesmerizing tissue paper polar bear silhouette to painting playful penguins, these Arctic animal art projects will be an inspiration to enjoy the process of art. So, gather your art supplies and join us as we celebrate the beauty of the Arctic through the magic of art!
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Polar Animals Lesson Plans
Polar Bear Silhouettes
Arctic Animal Art Projects
My kiddos learned a new word: Modge Podge.
It’s one of those *magical* crafting supplies that I always have on hand. It was perfect for seamlessly pulling together this polar bear art project!
We created tissue paper backgrounds with, you guessed it, Modge Podge before adding a polar bear silhouette to the forefront of our Arctic scene.
Tip: Print the polar bear outline on one piece of black paper and then cut several polar bears out at one time.
Then, we sealed the tissue paper and polar bear to create a beautiful silhouette. My littlest even added in some balls of snowflake fun!
Materials:
Narwhal paper plate craft
Arctic Animal Process Art
My husband asked, “Are narwhals real? They’re like unicorns, right?”
Well, apparently, narwhals seem magical even to a 36-year-old man. He was even more mindblown when I told him the narwhal’s tusk is actually a tooth!
That little tidbit of information makes me think the tusk is a little less magical… but at the end of the day, I (and my husband) still think of narwhals like I do unicorns – fun, unique, and magical. Just like our narwhal art project!
For this craft, your preschoolers will add magic to two paper plates with drops of watercolors.
Cut out a flipper and tail from the second paper plate (think curvy triangle and wonky heart). Then, staple the tusk, tail, and flipper to the circular paper plate and glue on an eyeball to complete this fun narwhal craft!
Materials:
- small paper plates
- yellow glitter foam (cut into skinny triangles)
- large white circles
- small black circles
- stapler
Penguin Ice painting
Penguin Craft for Preschoolers
Ice, ice, baby! Bring the Arctic chill to your little ones with an icy penguin craft!
Literally – icy! Freeze your watercolors in an ice cube tray with mini popsicle sticks attached so your toddlers can create a vibrant background.
Pop penguins on top (use di-cut or hole punches to premake circles and hearts), and your little artists will be proud to display these Arctic masterpieces on their lockers, bulletin boards, or in the hallway.
Materials:
- watercolor paper
- ice cube tray
- popsicle sticks
- liquid watercolors
- black paper
- white paper
- orange paper
- heart hole punch
Polar Animal Directed Drawings
Arctic Animal Art Projects
I’m a rule follower to a T (Enneagram #1 here, people). If there’s a set of directions, it’s the first thing I grab, which my husband secretly loves when we put together furniture. I don’t want to waste time guessing at how to assemble a new toy or taking apart what we thought was right.
When it comes to drawing, I am the exact same way! I happily follow the step-by-step directions to create recognizable animals and objects.
I love including step-by-step drawings of each preschool theme. They build confidence in your tots’ artistic abilities.
Include our step-by-step drawings in your Arctic animal theme to teach your preschoolers to draw a polar bear, igloo, and a puffin!
Once your budding artists have learned to draw each of our polar animal drawings, they can add them to any Arctic scene they create.
Materials:
- Directed Drawings
- black markers
- crayons
Arctic Scrape Painting
Arctic Process Art for Kids
Do we dare ask Mom for a ride to high school? Not only was it embarrassing (think full-size army green van we called Hank the Tank with my mom still half-asleep in her pajamas), but it was also dangerous.
In the winter, we would ask for a ride at the last minute, desperately trying to avoid this type of mortifying situation. So my mom would squint out of a 4-inch defrosted circle to drive us through the drop-off lane. Yikes!
I guess we should have worked on our ice-scraping techniques, as we did with this next Arctic painting.
But instead of an ice scraper, we just used old gift cards.
Add some drops of tempera paint onto a piece of watercolor paper, then let the scraping begin, swirling the icy colors together and pushing them around the page.
Complete this icy art project with Epsom salt glittered on top to create a glimpse into the icy world, just like that 4-inch circle of defrosted window did for my mom.
Materials:
- watercolor paper
- blue, purple, and white paint
- old gift cards
- Epsom salt
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MORE Polar Animal Activities for Preschoolers
Spark your little artists’ creativity with polar bear silhouettes, penguin paintings, and more. Through these polar animal art projects, explore the process of art and get lost in the expansive tundra of your imagination. And don’t forget to join in the fun with your preschoolers!
