Not only do I have a craft for you, but I also have 6 more Australian Animal craft ideas to add to your unit studies. Also, look at this Hands-On Geography: Australia Awesome and Deadly Animal Art.
I love an elaborate, involved, detailed craft as much as the next mom now and again but paper bag crafts like this adorable platypus prove that you don’t always need expensive or complicated supplies.
A platypus is an easily identifiable animal with fur.
It has webbed feet, and a duck-like bill.
It’s like some kind of odd Frankenstein creation of a beaver, otter, and duck.
Luckily even though it’s unusual looking it is still a very basic shape and easy to replicate with a few craft supplies.
With this very simple craft, you are still able to teach about the strange physical characteristics of the Australian platypus and talk about where it makes its home, how it reproduces and so much more.
Let’s start by learning a little bit more about the platypus. Of course, I have more Australian animal craft ideas to do and finally, we will put together that paper bag platypus
Kids’ Books Set In or About Australia
Next, I like to add books to our learning day and I lean toward living books first.
Then I add reference books to round out our learning day.
You may love to add one or two of these books to your home library.
14 Australia Books and Resources for Kids Who Love Reading and Being Read To
Add some of these fun books about Australia to your home library or use them in your unit studies.
Meet Ned, Lily, Zoe, Kirra and Matilda ― Australian children representing a multicultural blend of culture and race that typifies our beautiful country. They are taking you through a year in the life of Australian kids, from celebrations to traditions to events, to our everyday way of life. They are Australia.An Aussie Year is a picture book bursting with national pride. It is a snapshot of who we are as a nation, and covers our modern day culture, lifestyle and traditions. Its pages feature trailing, meandering text, dates and gorgeous illustrations showing our five Aussie children at play, at school, at home, and enjoying their parts of Australia ― from the tropical north out to our rugged west and beautiful Tassie.
What country holds the title as the world's smallest continent and yet the world's largest island? I stands for island, but one that's not too small. Our island is enormous. Just try to see it all! There's no place else quite like it; that is clearly true. Australia is a continent, but it's an island, too. Originally founded as a penal colony, Australia has long been known for its contrasts (think: wild outback and sophisticated Sydney Opera House). Accompanied by vibrant colorful artwork, D is for Down Under: An Australia Alphabet captures the spirit of this proud country and its many treasures, natural and man-made. Visit spectacular Sydney Harbor, try your hand as a jackaroo working a sheep station, or just sit back and enjoy a Vegemite sandwich. Below the starry night glitter of the Southern Cross constellation, Australia's "down under" wonders shine brightly. Devin Scillian is an award-winning author and Emmy-award-winning broadcast journalist. His books with Sleeping Bear Press include the national bestseller A is for America: An American Alphabet. Devin lives in Michigan and anchors the news for WDIV-TV in Detroit. Geoff Cook has been illustrating for 35 years. His career began as a graphic designer, after graduating from Prahran College in Melbourne. Soon realizing he wanted to be an illustrator, he became a partner in the illustration studio All Australian Graffiti. He lives in Australia.
Grace recounts how she, her parents, and her brothers spent an entire winter travelling completely around Australia in a camper.
Like the other Sasek classics, these are facsimile editions of his original books. The brilliant, vibrant illustrations have been meticulously preserved, remaining true to his vision more than forty years later and, where applicable, facts have been updated for the twenty-first century, appearing on a "This is . . . Today" page at the back of each book. The stylish, charming illustrations, coupled with Sasek’s witty, playful narrative, make these books a perfect souvenir that will delight both children and their parents, many of whom will remember them from their own childhood. In This is Australia, first published in 1970, Sasek swings down under, winging his readers into Sydney, with its famous bridge and space-age Opera House; bustling, modern Melbourne; colonial Adelaide; semitropical Brisbane; the garden city of Canberra; mineral-rich Perth; and Alice Springs, Australia’s most famous outback town.
When Ernie leaves the city and goes to live in Arnhem Land in the Australian outback, he sends letters to his old classmates--Rosie, Frank, Tessa, Nicky, Clive, and Celeste--describing the activities of his new friends.
"Nearly all the sheep ranchers in Blue Gum Valley rode horses or drove jeeps to check on their sheep. But Joshua Summerhayes liked to run...with Yellow Dog trailing behind him." So it's no surprise when Joshua decides to enter a race from Melbourne to Sydney. People laugh when old Joshua shows up in his overalls and gumboots, calmly nibbling a slice of pumpkin for energy. But then he pulls into the lead, and folks are forced to sit up and take notice. Inspired by a true event (and just in time for fall's pumpkin harvest!) a talented team introduces a humble and generous hero who knows that winning isn't always the reason to run a race. Marsha Diane Arnold made "an impressive debut" (School Library Journal) with the multi-award-winning Heart of a Tiger (Dial). Brad Sneed most recently illustrated Smoky Mountain Rose (Dial), an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists that Publishers Weekly said will "make readers 'happy as a pig in a peanut patch.' " Marsha Diane Arnold lives in Sebastopol, California. Brad Sneed lives in Prairie Village, Kansas.
Grandma Poss uses her best bush magic to make Hush invisible. But when Hush longs to be able to see herself again, the two possums must make their way across Australia to find the magic food that will make Hush visible once more. “Another treat from Mem Fox that is sure to be treasured. The whimsical illustrations are a wonderful complement.
Depicts life in Australia at different times in its development by viewing one place in different years while moving backwards from 1988 to 1788.
When Joe discovers that his friend David’s grandfather used to train hawks just like in the book he’s reading he wants to try it for himself. After convincing Grandfather Mannering to teach them the art of falconry they set off to capture a juvenile Peregrine Falcon and learn the ancient art. Set in Australia, but relevant everywhere Peregrine Falcons are found, Thunderbolt the Falcon is a fascinating and humorous read. C.K. Thompson weaves many facts about birds and nature seamlessly within the narrative with many events inspired by real life
A powerful and moving story about true mateship. Dreaming Soldiers weaves tales of childhood adventures and battlefield challenges with gentle Dreaming themes.This is a touching friendship story about Jimmy and Johnno, two young Australian boys in the 1900s; mates who do everything together, sharing adventures and growing up side by side in the dusty cattle yards of an Outback South Australian station and later on the muddy WWI battlefields of the Western Front.
Matthew Flinders and his beloved cat, Trim, circumnavigate and map Australia, travel the oceans, end up shipwrecked, saved, then captured and imprisoned on the Ile de France where Trim is separated from his beloved master. Will they ever meet again?
Captain Matthew Flinders was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his time. He sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia, survived shipwreck and disaster only to be imprisoned for violating the terms of his scientific passport by changing ships and carrying prohibited papers. From an early age, it was his desire to be an explorer. He realised that the ability to make the best use of equipment at hand was a necessary skill of an explorer.
The miniature animal figurines playset includes Kangaroo, Koala, Frilled Lizard, Ostrich, Cockatoo, Crocodile, Platypus, African Wild Dog, Oxyuranus scutellatus, Tasmanian devil, Wombat. Totally 11 PCS mini north American animals figurine
Weird and Wonderful Facts About The Platypus
- Platypus are only found in eastern Australia from the steamy tropics of far north Queensland down to the freezing snows in Tasmania.
- The only place you will see a platypus in America is in a zoo, and currently, the only two platypus outside of Australia are at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
- The male platypus is one of the very few venomous mammals in the world.
- Rather than giving birth to live young, like most mammals, the platypus lays eggs underwater, and then they hatch 10 days later. They will stick around for another four months to nurse.
- Platypus are nocturnal animals and spend up to half the time in the water feeding and about 14 hours sleeping in the nesting boxes along their burrows near river banks.
You can also check out one of my favorite children’s educational shows that features animal life all over the planet, Wild Kratts. This episode is about this duck-billed wonder, Platypus Cafe.
6 Australian Animal Craft Ideas
- For preschoolers learn How To Make A Kangaroo Pocket with my Letter K Craft Preschool Australia Theme.
- The 4 species of echidna are the only other mammals that lay eggs and make an adorable Paper Plate Echidna.
- Make a Paper Plate Cassowary craft to highlight this very unusual Australian bird.
- Check out these 9 Australian Animals Art Ideas and Fun Koala Handprint Craft for another cuddly Australian friend.
- This sweet little felt Kookaburra Craft idea includes the lyrics to the old campfire song-Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.
- Create a cute and cuddly Koala Newspaper Craft with easy supplies and a free template.
Be sure to grab a set of these Australian animals to use in dioramas, sensory bins, sensory trays, with Play-Doh, in the block center, and anywhere else to spark your child’s imagination and see Australian animal replicas up close.
Easy Paper Bag Platypus
You will need:
- Two paper bags.
- Black craft foam.
- Large Googly eyes.
- Craft glue
- Scissors
- Black marker
Flip your paper bag over so the side with no fold over is facing down on the table. Bend the four corners in about an inch and glue them down into place through both layers.
Next, flip your bag over and open it up.
Stuff the second paper bag crumpled up inside of it to give a little bit of dimension to the body.
Run a line of hot glue inside the opening end of the bag and press it together to seal it closed.
On a large sheet of black craft foam draw two bills, a tail, and four webbed feet. Platypuses have five digits on each foot.
Cut out your foam shapes and use a black marker to make nostrils on the end of one of the bills, and to create Vs for toes and webbing on the feet.
Flip your paper bag back over and glue the Google eyes.
Glue close to the end with the opening leaving enough room to attach the bill.
Use craft glue.
For older children hot glue works well and dries quickly to attach the bills on the top and bottom of the end with the opening below the eyes.
Glue the 4 feet inside the side folds of the bag.
Then add the tail on the back.
Finally, use the black marker to add a little bit of fur detail to the bag.
I promised you it was easy and cute, didn’t I?
