Preschool Crafts

3 Elephant Crafts for Preschoolers (Easy Ideas)

3 elephant crafts for preschoolers, each with a picture and simple steps. Easy ideas for ages 3 to 5 using paper, paint, and glue.

Kindergarten Prep Team
Oct 14, 2026

Grey paint, two big ears and a trunk, and a child knows what it is before the face goes on. Here are three elephant crafts: the toilet paper roll elephant craft preschool classes make in zoo week, a letter E elephant, and handprint zoo animals, each with a picture, supplies, and steps.

A three-year-old paints the tube and presses the handprint while you cut the ears. A five-year-old folds the trunk out of the tube and draws the eyes alone. The tube elephant lives on a shelf for a month.

Start here: three elephant crafts that always work

Toilet paper roll elephant, an easy elephant craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5Toilet paper roll elephantPaint a tube, add ears, doneLetter E elephant, an easy elephant craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5Letter E elephantLetter E and an elephant in one sittingHandprint zoo animals, an easy elephant craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5Handprint zoo animalsOne set of handprints becomes three zoo animals

3 elephant crafts for preschoolers, with pictures

Handprint zoo animals, an easy elephant craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5

1. Handprint zoo animals

The child stamps handprints and turns each one into a zoo animal such as a lion, elephant or giraffe with a marker.

You need: grey paint, yellow paint, black marker, orange marker, 2 googly eyes, 1 sheet of white paper, glue

How to make it
  1. Paint your child's hand grey. Press it on the left of the paper, four fingers pointing down and the thumb sticking out to the side. Wash the hand.
  2. Paint the hand yellow and press it on the right the same way. Let both dry.
  3. Elephant: glue one googly eye above the thumb trunk, then draw a big ear and a short tail in black.
  4. Lion: glue one googly eye on the thumb head, scribble an orange mane around it and draw a black tail.
Toilet paper roll elephant, an easy elephant craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5

2. Toilet paper roll elephant

The child paints a cardboard tube, and ears and a trunk are cut and folded out of the tube itself or added in paper.

You need: 1 toilet paper roll, grey paint, grey construction paper, 2 googly eyes, glue

How to make it
  1. Your child paints the roll grey. Let it dry, then stand it upright.
  2. You cut 2 large rounded ears and a trunk strip from grey paper. Curl the end of the trunk.
  3. Glue one ear on each side of the roll.
  4. Glue 2 googly eyes on the front near the top.
  5. Glue the trunk below the eyes, hanging down the front.
Letter E elephant, an easy elephant craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5

3. Letter E elephant

The child glues a grey E to paper and adds a big ear, a curling trunk and an eye to turn it into an elephant.

You need: grey construction paper, pink construction paper, 1 large googly eye, 1 sheet of light green paper, glue stick

How to make it
  1. You cut a large capital E from grey paper and glue it upright on the green sheet.
  2. Cut a big rounded grey ear with a smaller pink shape inside. Your child glues it on the upper part of the E, overlapping the straight side.
  3. Cut a long grey strip, curl its end, and glue it on the tip of the top bar as a trunk.
  4. Stick the large eye on the top bar beside the ear.
Free · 30 questions · about 4 minutes Is your child on track for kindergarten? Answer 30 questions about what your child does today, and you get a report like this one: Every area at a glance: strong, on track, or worth a little time The one or two areas to focus on first Simple things to do at home for each area How many months you have until kindergarten starts Get my child's free report → Example kindergarten readiness report with a bar for each area: language, social-emotional, math, thinking, fine motor and literacy

Doing an elephant craft with a 3 year old

Paint first, build later. Let the tube dry fully before you fold out the ears, or the gray rubs off on small hands. A paper plate under the tube catches the drips.

Cutting the trunk and ears is the hard part. Cut them yourself for a three year old and hand over the glue. A four or five year old can cut a rough ear shape from a folded piece of paper so both ears match.

The letter E elephant works best when you say the sound, not the letter name. 'Eh, eh, elephant' as the ear goes on is enough.

Stand the tube elephants in a row on a shelf, or clip the letter E page onto the fridge next to any other letter animals you have made.

Free · 30 questions · about 4 minutes Before you go: see where your child is for kindergarten A report with every area at a glance, what to focus on first, and things to do at home. Get my child's free report →

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