At a Glance
This Build a Red Cardinal craft has preschool, kindergarten and other young learners cutting out the pieces and pasting them together to create their own winter bird. The hands-on activity strengthens scissor skills, bilateral coordination and fine motor control. It is a perfect addition to a winter wildlife theme, with both color and black-and-white templates included for your little ones.
Looking for a colourful craft that’s bursting with winter charm? This Build a Red Cardinal Craft is a bright and cheerful printable that your little learners will love!
With its bold feathers and sweet song, the Northern Cardinal is one of North America’s most beloved backyard birds and is also the state bird of seven U.S. states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia!
And here’s a little fun fact for you – male cardinals get their brilliant red colour from the food they eat, berries packed with carotenoids (the same pigments that make carrots orange!). The better their diet, the brighter their feathers.
So whether you’re studying birds, working on a state symbols unit, or just want a fun cut-and-paste craft craft to brighten up a cold day, this red cardinal printable is sure to bring some colour to your classroom or home.
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 colorful cardinal as they wish.
If you’re a teacher, this simple craft could also make an brilliant bird 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 cute little cardinal bird, 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 Red Cardinal Craft
First you’re going to want to download the northern cardinal 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 cardinal.
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.
If they’re struggling, the order I’d do it in is:
- Stick on the crest
- Stick the face to the head
- Stick the wings to the body
- Stick the legs on to the back of the body
(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 Northern Cardinal Craft 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 cardinal 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 Red Cardinal Craft
Winter Nature Display
Add your finished cardinals to a snowy classroom scene. They look stunning perched on white paper branches or cotton “snow.”
Christmas Craft
Turn your cardinals into ornaments! Add string or ribbon to hang them on a tree.
Writing Prompt
Ask your learners to write a short story titled “The Cardinal’s Winter Adventure.” It’s a lovely way to connect literacy with creativity.
Bird Study Extension
Use this craft as part of a “Birds of North America” unit. Talk about what makes the cardinal unique and where it lives throughout the year..
Bird Watching
Why not grab some binoculars and lookout for a northern cardinal in the wild. This will allow your little ones to get a great idea of the colors to use for their cardinal craft.
Colour Mixing Fun:
If you’re using the black-and-white version, print off some pictures of cardinals and encourage children to blend reds to get that realistic look. Great for a bit of color identification and theory.
I hope your little learners have a wonderful time building their own red cardinals.
I’d love to hear about what they create!
And you can check out more awesome animal activities here!
Enjoy!
