At a Glance
This Build a Chipmunk craft has preschool, kindergarten and other young learners cutting out the pieces and sticking them together to create their very own woodland animal friend. The hands-on activity strengthens scissor skills, fine motor control and concentration, while opening up some conversations about chipmunks and how they prepare for winter. Color and black-and-white templates are both included.
If you’re planning a woodland, forest, or cute animal-themed week, this Build a Chipmunk Craft is a lovely hands-on activity for your little learners.
Your children will need to cut out the chipmunk’s body parts, piece them together, and create their very own adorable forest friend.
As your children build their chipmunks, it’s a great moment to share a fun nature fact: chipmunks have special cheek pouches that can stretch to hold large amounts of food – sometimes as much as their own head size! They use these clever pouches to carry seeds back to their burrows, especially when preparing for colder months.
This simple activity is great for developing your child’s cutting and sticking skills, and an awesome chance to practice some pencil control and fine motor skills as well!
And this lovely cut and paste craft is brilliant for young children to use because it’s so simple for them to put together!
There’s a color and a plain template – so your little ones can choose the colors and decorate their cute little squirrel as they wish.
If you’re a teacher, this simple craft could also make an brilliant animal themed activity for the classroom!
Other cut and paste crafts you may want to check out:
Or you can browse all the other printable cut and paste crafts here.
What Skills Can Your Children Learn And Practice?
When making this chubby chipmunk, your children will have the chance to practice and develop some skills such as:
- Cutting Skills – if you feel they’re ready, you can let them have a go at cutting out the pieces all by themselves – they’ll need to be careful and have good scissor control if they want to cut out the pieces neatly
- Fine Motor Skills – when they’re sticking and picking up and moving the parts and placing them where they need to go
- Pencil Control – if you print off the black and white version they can practice their pencil control and develop hand strength through coloring.
This simple craft will also give them a chance to practice their concentration and perseverance skills as they may find it tricky to place the pieces exactly where they want them to go.
How To Prepare This Simple Chipmunk Craft
First you’re going to want to download the chipmunk templates by clicking on the download button at the bottom of the page – I’ve made a color and a black and white version.
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Other materials you’ll need:
- Safety scissors
- Card stock or Craft paper
- Some good glue
- Some coloring pencils or pens or other artsy materials
Once you’ve downloaded the templates, you’ll need to print them off onto paper or card.
Then, you can cut them out. Or if you’d like your children to get some cutting practice, you can let them have a go.
Then you can stick all the pieces together to make the chipmunk.
It can be really nice to let your kids have a bit of free rein here and see if they can work it out – kind of like a puzzle.
They’ll really have to think ahead about the order they’re sticking things in with this one, but if they’re struggling, the order I’d do it in is:
- Stick the ears to the back of the head
- Stick the head onto the body
- Stick the rear legs on
- Stick the tail onto the back of all this
- Stick on the front paws
(I expect you could have worked that out but I do like to be thorough…)
The finished one should look something like this:
If you want to, you could always laminate the pieces before putting them together and use them as a puzzle. That way, the different parts would be kept nice and they can use them again and again.
After that you’re all done!
Let your kids practice their cutting and sticking skills in a simple and fun way!
But Wait… There’s Also A Black And White Chipmunk Template!
I’ve also made a black and white version which would be an awesome way for your little ones to practice their coloring skills and personalize their squirrel in their own way!
So why not crack out the pens, crayons, paints or collage (or all of them if you’re feeling adventurous) and let your kids get creative!
Some Other Ways You Could Use This Chipmunk Craft
Woodland Animal Unit
Use the groundhog craft as part of a broader “Woodland Creatures” display with other animal crafts (foxes, owls, squirrels, etc.). Talk about where each animal lives and what they eat.
Fall or Seasonal Learning
Chipmunks are especially active in fall as they gather food. Pair this craft with discussions about seasons, changing weather, and how animals prepare for the winter.
Storytelling Prompt
Invite your children to name their chipmunk and make up a short story. Where is it going? What food has it collected? This supports early language and imagination.
Fine Motor Station
Set this up as a cut-and-stick activity at a fine motor table. Add crayons, glue sticks, and safety scissors for a fun, focused task.
Nature & Habitat Link
Pair the craft with photos or books about woodland habitats. Ask your learners what they notice about the chipmunk’s body and tail, and why those features might be useful. What part of the woods does the chipmunk live in? Where does it sleep and what does it eat?
I hope your little learners enjoy cutting, building, and creating their own cheerful chipmunks while learning a little more about life in the forest.
I’d love to hear about what they create!
And you can check out more awesome animal activities here!
Enjoy and let’s nurture those neurons!
