I wanted to make something fun with the girls for fall and we came up with this easy Squirrel Acorn Craft for Kids. It’s simple, fun and probably the most “fall” craft we’ve made in a while and that uses things found in nature!
Of all the art projects we’ve done in the last few months, our eyes haven’t really moved to fun fall ideas yet. It’s been the world’s longest summer (for real!) and we just haven’t had the inspiration to make any fall decor.
But the weather has finally turned and we’ve been debating what to make.
There weren’t enough acorns yet to make an acorn wreath or enough fall leaves for even a decoupaged leaf pumpkin. Of course, we could make paper acorns or something fun like an acorn cap on a paper plate, maybe even handprint acorns or healthy nutter butter acorn cookies. But, the girls wanted to make something with real acorns not printed acorns, because there are so many of them laying around.
And so they picked up lots of little acorns and that’s how we came up with this adorable squirrel acorn craft.
Maybe next time I’ll tackle making painted acorn necklaces or adorable acorn popcorn bags from paper bags or some other craft idea, but once I came up with this absolutely adorable idea for an acorn squirrel, our minds were made up!
We were making it.
Easy Squirrel Acorn Craft for Kids
This is a seriously easy craft that anyone can do, but it’s especially fun for kids because they can make this almost all by themselves.
They do need to be supervised, because, no matter what glue they’re using, you don’t want them eating it, yuck! But if you’re using an ultra low-temp hot glue gun, then they can actually do this pretty much on their own.
Which gives them two reasons to be proud and two reasons for you to be into the idea of letting them do it on their own:
- Because they DID IT by themselves – which teaches them independence and creativity, natural consequences and engineering skills.
- Because they MADE something – which gives them a sense of ownership and a level of “what it takes to make a toy,” as well as a sense of accomplishment from an artistic perspective.
So, despite this easy acorn craft for kids being a not-engineered-to-be-STEAM intent, it’s actually, quite frankly, a STEAM activity.
It’s funny how just about anything can become a STEAM activity when you let the kids be in charge.
Let’s get to making our easy squirrel acorn craft!
What You Need to Make This Simple Acorn Squirrel STEM Craft
Here’s the basic supply list, but you could always change it up to be your own thing. So, if you wanted to paint the acorns pretty colors or do a different color tail, you can. I just wanted a little squirrel that looked exactly like the ones we see in the trees outside.
- Scrap of Brown Craft Fur – if you have an old stuffed animal that’s taken a beaten, cut it up and use it for this part
- 4-inch length of Floral Wire
- 2 Large Acorns with Caps
- 4 Small Acorn Buds (I think they’re acorn buds – they are on the stem, like little nubs, but you could use sticks, if you wanted)
- Hot Glue Gun (I like this ultra low-temp hot glue gun so the girls can use it with supervision)
- Permanent Marker
How to Make This Squirrel Acorn STEAM Craft
Start by cleaning your acorns and trim any stems or leaves off; you don’t want those to get in the way.
Remove the cap from the larger of your acorns, if you can. Mine came off easily.
Glue two acorn buds on the bottom of your larger acorn, positioned to help the acorn stand up steady. This is part of the STEM engineering element where the kiddos have to help figure out how to balance the acorns and use the buds to help stabilize it.
Glue the other acorn on top of the one with the feet, balanced on it’s tip on top of the bottom acorn.
Cut the craft fur to be about 1 1/2 inches by 4 inches long.
Fold the floral wire in half and glue it on one side of the craft fur.
Fold the edges of the craft fur over and glue those in place.
Fold the top of the craft fur over and glue that in place.
Glue the tail onto the back of the squirrel.
Add two more buds on either side of the body for arms.
Draw on a face with the permanent marker.
Enjoy!
If you loved this easy squirrel acorn craft for kids, be sure to pin it to your favorite kid’s crafts board on Pinterest!
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