Paper Plate Jack-O’-Lanterns with Felt Shapes
This Paper Plate Jack-O’-Lantern craft is perfect for younger toddlers who are still developing their coordination. By using pre-cut felt shapes, this activity becomes a mess-free, reusable puzzle. Toddlers can experiment with placement, arranging the eyes, nose, and mouth in various combinations to create different expressions—happy, scared, silly, or sleepy. This is an excellent opportunity to talk about emotions and facial features in a playful, interactive way.
Paint a paper plate with bright orange washable paint and let it dry completely. Cut out various geometric shapes from black felt—triangles for eyes and noses, and curved shapes, zig-zags, or toothy grins for mouths. Because felt naturally clings slightly to painted paper or can be secured with a simple glue stick, toddlers can easily place and adjust the facial features on their orange plate. If you choose not to glue the pieces down, this craft can be used over and over again as a quiet-time matching game on a felt board.