At a Glance
This printable koala mask is a simple make-and-play craft for preschool and kindergarten children. It builds cutting skills, fine motor control and creativity. There's a pre-colored version for quick prep and a black-and-white template for children to color and decorate themselves. Perfect for animal themes, Australian topics, or imaginative play.
A cute, fuzzy-eared koala, ready to wear in minutes – what’s not to love?
This printable koala mask comes in two versions- a pre-colored template for those days when you just need something quick and a black-and-white one your little learners can color and decorate as they like!
Either way, they’ll be practicing their cutting skills and fine motor control without even realizing it. And here’s a fun fact to share while they’re snipping away: the word “koala” comes from an Aboriginal word meaning “no drink” because koalas get almost all the water they need from munching eucalyptus leaves.
And a super thing about these types of crafts is not only are they great fun to make and your children can practice lots of skills when doing so, but then they have a toy they can play with at the end – and play is just such a great way for children to learn!
Win win!
If your little ones enjoyed this, they might also like this build a koala craft too.
Time to get crafting!
What Skills Can Your Children Learn And Practice?
When making these cute koala masks, 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
- Pencil Control – if you print off the black and white templates they can practice their pencil control and develop hand strength through decorating.
- Observation and color awareness – For children coloring the black-and-white version, looking closely at the real-life koalas and thinking about which colors go where.
And when they’re done, they’ll also be able to use their imagination, storytelling, confidence and social / communication skills when going on adventures with friends and family!
How To Prepare These Printable Koala Masks
First you’re going to want to download the mask 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 coloring pencils or pens / other artsy materials for decorating
- Some elastic or string to keep them on your little one’s head
- Or you could add a popsicle stick if you’d like the masks to have a more ‘masked ball’ feel
These masks are fairly simple to make but your little ones will probably need a bit of help with attaching the elastic if you go down that route (*always be careful with little ones and string – keep an eye on them to ensure they’re safe while playing*).
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. If you’re going with the plain templates it’ll probably be a good idea to decorate them first.
The next two steps will probably require some grown-up support:
The first is to carefully cut out the eyes holes.
Then, if you want to add elastic, simply make a couple holes near the edge (either with scissors or a hole punch). It’s a good idea to add a little clear tape on the area you’re making the holes for some added support.
Thread the elastic through the hole and tie a knot on the face side to stop it slipping back through.
Then loop around with enough elastic so it’s not too loose or tight, do the same on the other side and you’re good to go!
Some Other Ways You Could Use This Koala Mask Craft
Don’t put it away just yet – there’s plenty more you can do with this one.
Eucalyptus Tree Small World Scene
Set up a small world tray with some twigs, green paper leaves and toy animals. Your little learners can pop on their mask and join in with an Australian animal habitat scene. This kind of play builds vocabulary, storytelling skills and helps foster an early understanding of habitats and environments.
Koala Says… (Movement Game)
Play a version of “Simon Says” but make it “Koala Says.” Call out koala-inspired actions: climb a tree, munch some leaves, curl up and sleep, scratch your big fluffy ears etc. It’s a fun way to get some gross motor movement in and practice listening skills at the same time.
Puppet Show Time
Tape a popsicle stick to the back instead of elastic and use the mask as a puppet. Children can act out a koala adventure or retell a story they know. Brilliant for building confidence with speaking and listening.
Decorate with Texture
If you’ve printed the black-and-white version, try going beyond crayons. Cotton balls for fluffy ears, tissue paper scrunched up for a textured nose, or even a little felt for the inner ears. This takes the craft further and brings in a bit of lovely sensory exploration.
Story Starter
Once the mask is on, ask your little learner a question to get a story going: “Where is your koala going today?” or “What did your koala have for breakfast?” Great for some oral language practice.
Koala Counting
Use the mask as a little opportunity to get in a bit of math. How many koalas are in the room? If three koalas are already in a tree and two more arrive, how many are there now?
However you use this koala mask, I hope you and your little ones have a super time with it!
Enjoy and let’s nurture those neurons!
