Fast and Fun: 5 Minute Simple Grasshopper Craft for Preschool
Kids will have so much fun making this adorable grasshopper craft. Grasshoppers are such interesting insects and preschoolers will love depicting them with this craft.
Spring is here and that means bugs are coming out along with the beautiful flowers. Parents may not be huge fans of insects, but boy do kids love them! Take advantage of that interest and bring the bug study inside for a super quick grasshopper craft for preschool.
Moms love crafts. Kids love crafts. Everyone loves crafts! Why not make one that replicates one of your child’s favorite bugs?
There are many benefits to doing quick and easy crafts with preschoolers
When it comes to crafting with preschoolers, quick and easy is the way to go! Here are some benefits of making a craft with your little one that is simple and fast:
- Kids can keep their attention during a quick activity
- Moms can easily fit this craft into the short pockets of time throughout the day
- Since it’s easy, children can be more independent
- There aren’t many steps, so it’s easy to follow directions
The grasshopper craft is perfect for spring and summer but check out this awesome art activity for fall!
Are you planning to homeschool your preschooler? Get my FREE Essential Homeschool Preschool Supplies Guide!
Find out how to make crafting easy for kids!
In this post, we will learn:
- The materials needed to make the grasshopper craft
- Step-by-step simple instructions
- Tips for keeping it simple for preschoolers
- Fine motor skills used during the creation of the grasshopper craft
- Ways to customize your grasshopper to make it your own
- Books that will interest grasshopper loving preschoolers
Materials needed for the simple grasshopper craft
Required materials:
- Popsicle stick
- 2 green fuzzy sticks (pipe cleaners)
- 2 googly eyes
- Green marker
- Glue
Optional materials:
- Hot glue gun and glue stick
- Construction paper
- Tissue paper
- Green floral wire
- Glitter
- Other colors of markers
So how do we actually make the grasshopper craft?
When I say this craft is quick and easy, I mean it! This thing only needs 5 materials and it literally takes maybe 5 minutes to make!
Grasshopper craft for preschool step-by-step instructions:
- Get everything set out and ready to use
- Take the green marker and color all over the popsicle stick, even the little edges
- Cut off a quarter of each fuzzy stick and set them aside.
- With the remaining ¾ of the fuzzy sticks, bend them into the shape of a grasshopper back legs. Glue them to either side of the popsicle stick toward the back.
- Take the smaller parts of the fuzzy sticks and put a small bend in each one to make the grasshopper’s front legs and feet. Glue them onto either side of the popsicle stick toward the front.
- Finish off the simple grasshopper craft by gluing on the eyes in front of the small legs on the front of your grasshopper.
Tips for engaging preschoolers in their grasshopper craft
Your child will be much more engaged in the craft if you let them do the work! Of course, you should help them if they need it.
Part of what makes this craft so simple for preschoolers is that all of the materials are familiar to them. Give your child some time to explore the materials. If they come up with their own ideas of what the craft should look like, encourage them!
Use washable markers and glue to make cleaning up a breeze.
Advantages of doing the preschool grasshopper craft
The grasshopper craft can spark interest in learning more about grasshoppers, or it can be an extension activity for children who have already been investigating the insects.
Another benefit is that children work on sustaining their attention on a task that needs their full concentration, even if it’s only for 5 minutes. This craft gets kids off the screens and interacting with family members and materials around them.
Encourage the little ones in your life to study more bugs and track their observations with our Bug Journal which is perfect for preschoolers and kindergarteners! Just sign up below and it is yours for FREE!
Fine motor development
One of the greatest benefits of this craft is the fine motor skills that preschoolers will work on developing.
Children will work on their tripod or quadrupod grip when using the marker. Encourage your child to get a good grip.
When cutting the fuzzy sticks, kids will develop the open and close motion with their scissors. Precision with their tiny little pinchers will grow as your preschooler pinches the fuzzy sticks and googly eyes and places them on their grasshopper.
Small children can never get enough fine motor skills practice! Even in the short 5-minute pockets of time in your day, your child can strengthen their tiny hand and finger muscles.
Optional variations of this simple grasshopper craft
If you would like to make your grasshopper a tad more lifelike, you can give it some wings and antennae.
For the wings, cut out the desired shape from construction or tissue paper and glue them on the sides of your grasshopper’s body. Antennae can be made by using small pieces of green floral wire and gluing them near the eyes.
A tip that I’ve discovered is that the materials (particularly the fuzzy sticks) will stay better secured with hot glue rather than bottled glue. I use a low temp hot glue gun so I can still have my child use it to make their grasshopper. I, of course, keep a close eye on them while using the hot glue gun.
Have fun with your grasshopper craft and BE CREATIVE!
There are a thousand different ways to make a grasshopper craft. Use your imagination and create a grasshopper that matches your personality! You can add glitter, more colors, give your grasshopper a habitat, etc. The possibilities are endless, so have fun!!
Children’s books about grasshoppers
I’ve said it a million times, but I love children’s books and can’t stress enough how important they are for language and reading development in young children! I can connect anything to a good book, and that is still true for grasshoppers.
Books about grasshoppers for kids:
- Are You a Grasshopper? By Judy Allen
- The Life of a Grasshopper by Charlotte E. Moore
- Grasshoppers by Lisa J. Amstutz
- Hungry Hoppers: Grasshoppers in Your Backyard by Nancy Loewen
- The Ants and the Grasshopper by Aesop
- Chicken Said, “Cluck!” by Judyann Ackerman Grant
- Grasshopper on the Road by Arnold Lobel
While you’re at it, check out this list of the best books for preschoolers!
This grasshopper craft is seriously the easiest!
The grasshopper craft is so simple with only 5 required materials and taking only 5 minutes to complete. The cleanup is almost non-existent and everything is washable.
Your child will have so much fun creating their grasshopper and playing with it when it’s completed! Encourage them to create a habitat and some other bug friends for your little one’s grasshopper! We have the perfect QUICK ladybug craft for your preschooler to make as a friend for their grasshopper.
What do you want to see from Learning from Littles?
Comment below about your experience and let me know what other kinds of crafts you’d like to see!
Do you have questions or want to learn more about something else? Let me know in an email to [email protected]
Thanks so much friends for reading and commenting! Please share my post on Pinterest and social media. Here are some other posts that I know you would enjoy:
