Today, I have some fun ideas for easy Arctic animal crafts. Too, you’ll love my Arctic and Inuit Unit Study. Free Lapbook – Hands-On Ideas and my Arctic Region pages.
If you are studying the Arctic with your little one these peg doll animals are a great craft project to do together.
They can be used in sensory bins, for small-world dramatic play, or as part of a simple diorama and can be kept as simple or as elaborate as you would like.
You can make an entire family of polar bears. Or craft a village of all different arctic creatures to round out a nice keepsake collection using the variety of sizes and shapes that unfinished peg dolls come in.
A wonderful resource to add to your study is Ocean Anatomy, besides the gorgeous illustrations it offers a treasure trove of information on icebergs, polar bears, narwhals, seals, and more arctic animals.
Next, look at some facts about animals of the Arctic.
10 Arctic Animal Facts
- Snowy owls hunt during the daytime instead of at night like other owls.
- Male snowy owls are easy to distinguish from females as they are almost completely white and female snowy owls have black and brown markings.
- Polar bears can smell a seal 3 feet below the snow.
- An Arctic Fox’s fur is not always white, sometimes during the summer months it can be gray or brown.
- Beluga whales start gray or brown when born but eventually turn white as they grow up.
- A Narwhal tusk is not a horn, rather it is a large tooth that can grow up to 10 feet long.
- Both the male and female walruses have large tusks that are used for things like pulling themselves out of the water onto the ice.
- Polar bears are the largest living carnivores on land at about 8 feet long and nearly 800 pounds.
- Arctic Hare’s eyes are set on the side of their heads so they can look forward, backward, and sideways without needing to move their head so that they can avoid predators.
- Learn why there are not penguins in the Arctic.
As you make your peg dolls together you will find lots of opportunities to talk about topics like camouflage in the white snow, predator vs. prey, and different adaptations like fur-covered feet to help them survive the extreme cold.
Use some of the facts from above as conversation starters as you work on each animal.
More Easy Arctic Animal Crafts
- How to Paint Peg Dolls to Look Like Farm Animals is perfect if you are learning about the farm theme and would make a great handmade gift.
- Julie of the Wolves Free Hands-on Arctic Unit Study
- DIY Peg Doll Woodland Animals, find out how to make adorable woodland creatures like a fox and raccoon as well as their babies.
- Inuit of the Arctic: How Animals Survive Harsh Winters Fun Blubber Activity
- Free Arctic Ground Squirrel Lapbook & Unit Study Resources
Also, look at these books about the Arctic.
12 Arctic Books about People & Animals of the Arctic
Studying about the region of the Arctic is a fascinating topic. Grab some of these books about life in the Arctic and animals of the Arctic.
How do snow crystals form? What shapes can they take? Are no two snow crystals alike? These questions and more are answered inside this exploration of the science of snow, featuring photos of real snow crystals in all their beautiful diversity. Perfect for reading on winter days, this book by a nature photographer and a snow scientist will inspire wonder and curiosity about the marvels of snow. Snowflake-catching instructions are also included for aspiring young snow scientists!
This arctic adaptation of “This is the House that Jack Built” follows polar bears, walruses, seals, narwhals and beluga whales as they chase each other around “the ice that floats in the Arctic waters.” Not only is the rhythmic, cumulative prose good for early readers; it is a pure delight to read aloud. The “For Creative Minds” section helps children learn how these animals live in the cold, icy arctic region.
This Incredible Planet series provides young readers with interesting information about the Earth’s most fascinating creatures.
Beautiful color photography makes each animal come to life. Learn about the Arctic fox’s habitat, diet, breeding, lifespan, behavior, threats, and so much more!
A wonderful winter book for kids from the author and illustrator of the beloved Over and Under series, now in paperback! Part of the acclaimed nature book series that includes Over and Under the Pond, Over and Under the Rainforest, and Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt, this volume takes readers on a cross country ski trip through the winter woods to discover the secret world of animals living under the snow.
Read and find out about how animals cope with winter in this colorfully illustrated nonfiction picture book.
This is a clear and appealing book for early elementary age kids, both at home and in the classroom. Introduce kids to basic science ideas as part of discussions about the seasons and animals.
Have you ever seen a butterfly in the snow? Probably not. Butterflies can't survive cold weather, so when winter comes, many butterflies fly to warmer places. They migrate. Woodchucks don't like cold weather either, but they don't migrate; they hibernate. Woodchucks sleep in their dens all winter long. How do these and other animals handle the cold and snow of winter?
Read and find out in the proven winner Animals in Winter!
This is a Level 1 Let's-Read-and-Find-Out, which means the book explores introductory concepts perfect for children in the primary grades.
Today’s Arctic communities have all the comforts of modern living. Yet the Inuit survived in this harsh landscape for hundreds of years with nothing but the land and their own ingenuity. Join authors Alootook Ipellie and David MacDonald as they explore the amazing innovations of traditional Inuit and how their ideas continue to echo around the world. Some inventions are still familiar to us: the one-person watercraft known as a kayak still retains its Inuit name. Other innovations have been replaced by modern technology: slitted snow goggles protected Inuit eyes long before sunglasses arrived on the scene. Andother ideas were surprisingly inspired: using human-shaped stone stacks (Inunnguat) to trick and trap caribou. Many more Inuit innovations are explored here, including: • Dog sleds • Shelter • Clothing • Kids’ stuff • Food preservation • Medicine. In all, more than 40 Inuit items and ideas are showcased through dramatic photos and captivating language. From how these objects were made, to their impact on contemporary culture, The Inuit Thought of It is a remarkable catalogue of Inuit invention.
Tiny Animals Figures Party: 18 PCS Package include orca, walrus, white owl, reindeer, husky, 2pcs seal, 2pcs beluga whale, 2pcs arctic wolf, 2pcs arctic fox, 2pcs arctic rabbit, 2pcs polar bear figurines and igloo model.
Who Are The Eskimos is perfect for early to middle elementary students and makes a great addition to your library.
“A treat for middle-graders of an ecological bent.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review) At the top of our world is a huge wild place called the Arctic. In the winter, it is a cold and barren land, where few animals can survive. But when spring comes, it attracts animals from every corner of the earth. This lushly illustrated picture book celebrates the resilient wildlife and barren, beautiful landscapes of the Arctic Circle, tracing the awe-inspiring spring migration of millions of creatures to the Arctic and reminding the reader of the hardships and harmony of life in the wild.Back matter includes additional information about the arctic, a glossary, and an index.
When you live in the Arctic in winter, everything is a shade of white. A young girl looks around her home in the Arctic and sees only white, white, white...but one day her grandfather takes her on a journey through the tundra. And at the end of their cold walk across the ice, they find something special that brings color into their world.
In 1893, Fridjtof Nansen set sail in the Fram, a ship specially designed and built to be frozen into the polar ice cap, withstand its crushing pressures, and travel with the sea’s drift closer to the North Pole than anyone had ever gone before. Experts said such a ship couldn't be built and that the voyage was tantamount to suicide. This brilliant first-person account, originally published in 1897, marks the beginning of the modern age of exploration. Nansen vividly describes the dangerous voyage and his 15-month-long dash to the North Pole by sledge. Farthest North is an unforgettable tale and a must-read for any armchair explorer.
Can you imaging living in a place where it's so cold your breath turns instantly into tiny ice crystals that glitter in the sun? Where temperatures can drop fifty degrees below zero and even lower and the sun only comes out for a few hours per day? In This Place Is Cold readers will learn how people and animals survive in Alaska's ferocious cold, and how because of global warming this region is now in trouble. Vicki Cobb and Barbara Lavallee travelled the world together to research this groundbreaking geography series, that is now updated and redesigned to appeal to today's readers.
More Arctic Region Unit Study Ideas
- The Inuit & Arctic Circle Hands-On Activities
- Inuit Art, Arctic Circle + 10 Notebooking Pages & Free Resources
- Arctic Region Salt Dough Map + Free Map Flag Printable
Finally, look how to make these adorable easy Arctic animal crafts.
How to Make Peg Doll Animals of the Arctic
You will need:
- Peg dolls
- Craft paint
- Paint pens
- Small wood beads
- Air dry clay
- Hot glue gun/sticks
- Paint brushes
First, I like to add my details to the peg dolls using beads or air-dry clay.
Small wooden beads make the work go quicker as hot glue dries fast but I like the detail and shape that I can get with air dry clay.
For ears, muzzles, and wings you want to pinch off a small bit of clay and press it into the wood. Heavier pieces like ears or muzzles you want to glue in place.
I made a polar bear using beads and one with clay for ears so you can see the difference and choose for yourself.
For the snowy owl, we just smoothed some clay over the sides for wings.
To make a narwhal roll out a little piece of clay into the horn shape and twist gently, hot glue to the top of the peg doll head.
Allow it to dry for 24 hours.
Animals of the Arctic Craft Ideas
Then paint all your peg dolls white, including any clay you added.
Even though some of our animals aren’t white or at least not all white it gives you a good prep base to work from and it will be the majority of your animal’s fur color.
Now, here is where those paint pens will come in handy.
You can do the details with a tiny brush dipped in paint, but it is so much easier to get crisp lines and details with a fine-tipped paint brush.
Use the paintbrush to draw on some basic details like eyes, noses, and outlines.
Allow to dry, these dry quickly faster than a coat of brushed-on paint.
Now layer on more detailing like whiskers, spots, etc. to make your creatures a little more realistic.
If you want to give them a little bit more life and durability you can either seal them with a clear coat or give them a mod podge seal coat or two.
Add some fake snow or even cotton batting to your animals to spark your child’s imagination.
