At a Glance
This Build an American Goldfinch craft invites preschool, kindergarten and other young learners to cut out the pieces and glue them together to create a lovely little bird. This hands-on activity is fantastic for strengthening scissor skills, bilateral coordination and fine motor control. Complete with both color and black-and-white templates, it is a perfect craft for your little ones during a spring, bird or wildlife theme.
Here’s a craft that’s sure to brighten up your classroom or craft table! This Build an American Goldfinch craft is a cheerful, hands-on activity that lets your little learners create their very own version of America’s official state bird of New Jersey, Iowa, and Washington and one of the most eye-catching songbirds around!
With their vibrant yellow feathers and happy twittering song, goldfinches are often called “the wild canaries of North America.” They love open fields, meadows, and gardens – basically anywhere they can find tasty seeds and sunshine!
So whether you’re after a simple spring craft, doing a bird study unit, or just looking for a fun cut-and-paste craft, this goldfinch printable is sweet way to bring a little nature into your day.
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 gorgeous goldfinch 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 goldfinch, 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 Goldfinch Craft
First you’re going to want to download the goldfinch 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 goldfinch.
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 head feathers
- Stick the eyes 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 American Goldfinch 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 goldfinch 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 Goldfinch Craft
Spring or Summer Display
Add your finished goldfinches to a class mural with flowers, trees, and blue skies for a colourful seasonal scene.
Bird Study Extension
Compare the American goldfinch to other local birds – talk about what they eat, where they live, and why they change colour with the seasons.
Storytelling Prompt
Invite your little learners to name their goldfinch and make up a short story about its adventures. Maybe it’s building a nest, meeting friends, or searching for that perfect sunflower!
Bird Watching
Why not grab some binoculars and lookout for an American goldfinch in the wild. This will allow your little ones to get a great idea of the colors to use for their goldfinch craft.
Colour Mixing Fun:
If you’re using the black-and-white version, print off some pictures of American goldfinches and encourage children to blend yellows and oranges 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 American goldfinches.
I’d love to hear about what they create!
And you can check out more awesome animal activities here!
Enjoy!
