DIY Animal Print Roller Stamps for Preschoolers

8/3/2023

DIY Animal Print Roller Stamps for Preschoolers

These zoo animal print rollers will have your preschoolers using new tools and and getting them thinking about the unique patterns and characteristics of animals.

We love to find new crafts, activities, and ideas that are simple and easy to do. DIY animal print rollers are no exception, they are unique and fun for preschoolers to create new patterns that look just like some of their favorite animals. This is also a great activity to bring into your zoo theme. Follow along below for a quick and easy tutorial on making your own animal rollers using a few simple supplies.

Supplies:

This fun activity is one of 200 hands on preschool activities featured in our Pre-K Play Ideas eBook! Purchase our eBook to have all of these activity pages at your fingertips.

Lint rollers
Paint
Heavy paper, assorted colors
Glue stick, if needed
Thin foam paper sheets, assorted colors
Scissors

*Teacher Tip: With the nature of a lint roller being sticky the foam paper typically sticks to it, you can use a glue stick in case you need extra stickiness! You can also try using the strips made of felt.

*Ask for classroom donations of different items for preschoolers to explore with such as rubber bands, bubble-wrap, or any other fun textures. If learning at home be sure to explore the recycling bin as a fun and low-cost source of texture.

Let's Get Rollin'

Before beginning this activity, start out with an animal themed book to encourage preschoolers to think about different types of animal prints. As you begin to do this project, talk to preschoolers about their prints and compare them to the ones they saw in the books.

To start you will use the foam paper to cut out animal stripes or spots. In this example we did a giraffe and zebra print so we cut out both stripes and circles. LiWe did our best to cut them to be similar sizes but like each animal all the patterns are a bit unique.

Next, simply stick the foam pieces to the lint roller. This is a great part of the process to assign to your preschooler as it is fantastic for those fine-motor skills.

*If you have an extra lint roller around practicing having them take off the little pieces of foam paper, too! Another simple way to build up fine-motor skills.

Next, place the paint in a shallow plate or dish. You can also use a foil pan for easier clean-up.

Finally, coat the roller in paint and roll onto the paper making patterns similar to the beautiful skin of zebras and giraffes. Explore with different colors and different shapes on the lint roller to extend this activity.
Creating realistic patterns is fun and so is fun and made up patterns!

Compare and contrast to photographs of zoo animals. Yours might be more colorful, bolder, or less busy...they are all sure to be beautiful.

After rolling the lint rollers onto paper, let them dry and explore with more patterns and colors for added fun.
We hope you enjoyed this simple craft that resembles the beautiful animals we admire at the zoo. You can also create one big animal pattern by using butcher paper or allow preschoolers to make individual pictures, whatever works for your classroom needs.

Buy the eBook!

Save time planning your hands on preschool activities! Find detailed directions for this activity + 199 more in our Pre-K Play Ideas eBook! Print each activity page, or access them digitally!