Handprint Cow Craft (Free Printable Template!)
This handprint cow craft is a fun and creative craft to keep kids engaged while learning about farm animals. Using just a few simple materials like paper and markers, children can bring a cute, spotted cow to life using their own handprint as the base!
If you’re looking for a hands-on activity that’s both fun and educational, this handprint cow craft is a perfect choice. It’s an easy and engaging project that lets kids practice tracing, cutting, and gluing while learning about cows and farm life.
This craft is great for farm-themed lessons, animal studies, or just as a creative afternoon activity. Plus, the handprint makes it a special keepsake!
If you love this handprint craft, you’ll definitely want to check out some of our other fun handprint projects!
Try the Handprint Fox Craft for a cute woodland animal, or create a buzzing Handprint Bee Craft to explore the world of insects.
For something more unique, our Handprint Cactus Craft offers a fun desert theme, and the Handprint Lion Craft is perfect for a jungle adventure! Each of these crafts is easy to make and great for imaginative play.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Craft
- Simple and fun: Kids love seeing their handprint turn into a playful cow.
- Personalized: Using their own handprint adds a personal touch to this adorable project.
- Great for farm themes: Perfect for farm unit studies or animal-themed activities.
- Fine motor skills practice: Helps improve cutting, tracing, and gluing skills.
Materials
Colored craft papers: Use white for the cow’s body and black or pink for spots, ears, and other details. Any type of sturdy paper works well.
Pencil: For tracing the handprint and template pieces.
Craft glue: A glue stick or liquid glue will work perfectly.
A pair of scissors: Make sure they are safe for kids but sharp enough to cut cleanly.
Sharpies: Black for drawing spots, eyes, nose, and mouth. You can also add some fun color for extra personality.
Free Printable Cow Template: You can grab at the bottom of this post.
The Printable
We’ve provided a handy template to make your handprint cow even easier! The template includes all the pieces you need to trace and cut out, like the head, horns, ears, and tail. Simply download, print the PDF file, and get crafting!
Instructions
Prepare the pieces: Print and cut out the template. Trace the head, handprint body, horns, inner ears, tail tip, and lower face on your selected colored craft papers. Cut out each piece.
Assemble the face: Glue the lower face cutout onto the bottom part of the head. Next, attach the inner ear cutouts to the ear parts of the head.
Add the horns: Glue the horns between the ears at the top of the head.
Details on the face: Use a black marker to draw the nose and mouth on the lower face, then draw the eyes on the head.
Tail and body: Attach the tail tip to the thumb section of the handprint.
Add Spots: Use a pencil to draw spot outlines on the handprint and head, and fill them in with a black sharpie to give your cow its spots.
Final assembly: Attach the head to the palm side of the handprint, positioning it near the pinky finger. Let the glue dry, and your handprint cow is ready!
Top Tips
- Pre-cut the pieces: If younger children are participating, pre-cut the smaller pieces like the horns and inner ears to make it easier for them.
- Use googly eyes: If drawing the eyes is tricky, stick on some googly eyes for extra fun!
- Try different colors: Let kids use different colors for the cow’s spots or even make a rainbow cow!
- Personalize with textures: Add cotton for a soft tail or use felt for the ears for some added texture.
Educational Uses
Animal study: Use this craft to teach kids about cows, their habitat, and their role on the farm.
Fine motor skills: Tracing, cutting, and gluing are great ways to improve fine motor skills in young children.
Creative expression: Let kids use their creativity to add different colors or patterns to their cow.
Counting practice: Encourage kids to count the number of spots they’ve drawn on their cow.
Grab the Free Printable
To grab the free printable, put your name and email in the pink box below.
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This is for personal or classroom use only—no commercial use, please. Thank you!
This handprint cow craft is a fun and easy way to engage kids in a creative activity while learning about farm animals. Whether you’re using it for a farm-themed lesson or just for a fun afternoon, kids will love making and personalizing their own handprint cow.