Lion Mask Craft

💡 About this activity

🎯 Learning objectives

• Color the lion using chosen colors.
• Curl at least one strip around a pencil, with help if needed.
• Help assemble the mask and use it in pretend play.

🧺 What you need

• Printed activity sheet
• Crayons or colored pencils
• Thick pencil
• Blunt-tip scissors for adult use
• Glue stick
• Tape
• Wide, sturdy craft stick without sharp ends

👣 How to do it

1. Print the sheet and gather the materials.
2. Show your child the lion and invite them to choose colors.
3. Let your child color the lion and the strips.
4. Cut out the lion's face and the strips for your child.
5. Show your child how to wrap a strip around the pencil and let it go. Then invite them to try.
6. Help your child glue one end of each strip around the face to make a mane.
7. Tape the stick to the back of the mask. Hold it beside the face and pretend to be a lion together.

🍎 Teaching suggestions

• Say, “Let's wrap it and let it go. What happened to the strip?”
• Hold the pencil while your child wraps the paper around it, if needed.
• Praise the effort: “You found a way to curl it!”
• In a group, give each child a sheet and share the materials.

🔀 Variations

💬 Talk about it

• What would you like your lion's mane to look like?
• What happened when you let the strip go?
• What does your lion like to do?

👀 What to look for

• Notice how your child chooses colors and takes part in coloring.
• Watch for attempts to curl or position a strip, with or without help.
• Notice whether your child uses the mask to pretend or tell a story.