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You are here: Home / By Age / Elementary / Clay Narwhal Art Project for Kids

November 27, 2017 By Chelsey 2 Comments

Clay Narwhal Art Project for Kids

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Use clay to make your very own narwhals! This narwhal art project for kids is a great hands-on way to create a really cool and unique ocean animal craft and also makes a fun addition to a unit on arctic animals or sea life. This art project is perfect for kindergarten, first grade and on up!

*This activity meets Next Generation Science Standard Kindergarten: NGSS K-ESS3-1.

Follow our Ocean and Sea Life Pinterest board!

 

clay narwhal art project for kids inspired by the book Not Quite Narwhal

This post contains affiliate links.

 

Recently, we used art, science, and literature to learn all about Narwhals in my kindergarten enrichment class!

We started by reading the picture book, Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima. We discussed the main lessons the kids took away from the book after the first reading- to appreciate what makes you special and to accept and value the differences of others. After looking at it again, we also compared and contrasted the different animals in the book, focusing on their various body parts. (I don’t want to spoil it for you, but I love the surprise animal at the end!)

not quite narwhal picture book by jessie sima

 

Later we read a nonfiction book about narwhals, Narwhal by Katie Marsico, to learn even more facts about them. We again focused on the body parts of the narwhal- what each body part looked like and how the various body parts help the narwhal.narwhal by katie marisco

 

After learning all about narwhals, we were ready to put all we learned to use by creating our own narwhals out of clay! Below is the method we used to make clay narwhals.

 

clay narwhal art project for kids inspired by the book Not Quite Narwhal

Clay Narwhal Art Project for Kids: Fun ocean and arctic animal craft for kids

Clay Narwhal Art Project

Materials for Clay Narwhals

  • Air-dry clay
  • Regular straws
  • Cocktail straws
  • Scissors
  • Toothpicks
  • Optional: Drop cloth to cover your work area, paper plates to keep your narwhal on while it dries

 

clay narwhal art project for kids inspired by the book Not Quite Narwhal

Directions for Making Clay Narwhals

1. Cover your work area. I like using these drop cloths since they can be used over and over. The clay also doesn’t stick to the drop cloth. You can also use newspaper to cover your work surface.

 

2. Take a large chunk of clay. Use your hands to form the basic shape of a narwhal. Gently use your fingers to form a tail and two flippers. Gently smooth the clay with your fingers as you work. (If you create your sculpture all in one piece, rather than attaching the flippers and tail separately, your narwhal is less likely to fall apart once it dries.)

 

3. Use a toothpick to draw a face on your narwhal.

 

clay narwhal art project for kids

 

4. Now it’s time to make the narwhal’s tusk. To do this use scissors to cut a thin cocktail straw to the desired length for your narwhal’s tusk.

Wrap some clay around the tusk. Gently squeeze and twist the clay around the straw until it’s the thickness you want. Use a toothpick to draw grooves in the tusk. (Leave a bit of the straw sticking out from the clay to press into the head of your narwhal.)

 

5. Firmly press the tusk into your narwhal. Use your fingers to smooth out where the tusk has joined the head.

 

clay narwhal art project for kids

 

6. Use the end of a straw and gently press it into the body of your narwhal to give it texture.

 

clay narwhal art project for kids

 

7. Place your narwhal onto a paper plate to dry. Depending on the thickness of your narwhal, it will take about 2-4 days.

 

Here’s a few of the narwhals created by my kindergarteners!

clay narwhal art project for kids

 

Tips

  • If you’ve never cut a block of clay before, the easiest way is to take a strong piece of string or twine and hold it from both ends. Use it to slice the clay into pieces.
  •  Some children might struggle with forming the tail and flippers. Show them how to press and pull the clay out from the body. They can then gently smooth and shape the pulled out clay.

 

clay narwhal art project for kids inspired by the book Not Quite Narwhal

 



 

Love using children’s books to encourage a love of learning and creating? Be sure to check out our book, Exploring Books Through Play!

exploring books through play
 
Clay Narwhal Art Project for Kids: Fun ocean and arctic animal craft for kids
 

Filed Under: Art Projects, Children's Books & Activities, Elementary, Ocean Tagged With: arctic, clay, narwhal, ocean

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Comments

  1. Sierra Dallas says

    February 12, 2018 at 11:16 am

    wow!such a clever idea. This fun art project develops kids creativity and helps kids mantel growth. Thanks for sharing really nice and amazing thought.

    Reply

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  1. 30+ Arctic animal crafts - Gift of Curiosity says:
    December 13, 2017 at 3:06 am

    […] Clay narwhal from Buggy and Buddy […]

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Welcome to Buggy and Buddy! I'm Chelsey, a former teacher and parent living on the central coast of California. I love sharing crafts, science, STEM and STEAM activities, free printables and more! Read More…

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