• About
    • All About Us
    • Contact
    • Disclosures
    • Privacy
    • Giveaway Rules
    • Sponsor
    • Features
  • Favorite Supplies
  • Gift Ideas for Kids
  • Our Books
  • By Age
    • Tweens
    • Elementary
    • Kindergarten
    • Preschool
    • Toddler
    • For Parents
    • For Teachers

Buggy and Buddy

Meaningful Activities for Learning & Creating

  • Create
    • Art Projects for Kids
    • Crafts for Kids
    • Recipes for Playing & Creating
  • Learn
    • Literacy
      • Book Sets
      • The Alphabet
      • Reading
      • Children’s Books with Activities
    • Math
    • Science
    • NGSS Science
  • Holidays
    • Fall
    • Winter
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • 4th of July
    • Chinese New Year
    • Christmas
    • Earth Day
    • Easter
    • Father’s Day
    • Halloween
    • Mother’s Day
    • New Year’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentine’s Day
    • School Days
    • Birthdays
    • Tooth Fairy
  • Books Activities
  • Science
  • Printables
  • SHOP
You are here: Home / Create / Art Projects / Sponge Painted Elmer the Elephant

May 27, 2014 By Chelsey 17 Comments

Sponge Painted Elmer the Elephant

Share
Pin4.3K
Tweet
4.3KShares

Our latest art project for kids is inspired by Elmer the Elephant! Kids will use sponges to stamp patterns and colors and then turn their artwork into an elephant!

Follow our Art for Kids Pinterest board!

 

Sponge Painted Elmer the Elephant: Art for Kids~ Buggy and Buddy

 

We’re back again this week with our final post in the Preschool Book Club Series. This week’s book is Elmer by David McKee! After reading about our colorful art project inspired by the story, be sure to check out all the other creative activities to go with this book linked up at the end of this post! (This post contains affiliate links.)

 

 

Sponge Painted Elmer the Elephant

Have you been introduced to the world of Elmer yet? We just started reading Elmer books this year and have really enjoyed them! This week’s book is the first written and is titled Elmer.

In this story the main character, Elmer, is a patchwork elephant, not gray like all the others. He doesn’t like being different so he decides to hide his colors and blend in with the herd.  As the story progresses, Elmer learns to appreciate his uniqueness and discovers he’s happy just being himself!

 

Sponge Painted Elmer the Elephant: Art for Kids~ Buggy and Buddy

 

We loved the message of the story and all the colorful and fun illustrations. I was so inspired by the beautiful patchwork design that I created this art project for kids using one of Theo’s favorite art methods- stamping with sponges! (We used sponges to stamp our Very Hungry Caterpillar, our Easter Egg Art and our Shape Christmas Tree in past posts. Be sure to check them out!)

Materials for Sponge Painted Elmer the Elephant

  •  Art paper
  • Regular kitchen sponges
  • Scissors
  • Tempera paint
  • Paper plates
  • Pencil
  • Googly eyes and liquid glue
  • Free Elmer the Elephant Pattern Printable

Elmer the Elephant Printable

(The Elmer the Elephant pattern can also be used as a coloring sheet!)

Directions for Creating Sponge Painted Elmer

1. Cut your sponges into squares. You’ll need one for each color of paint you’ll be using.

2. Place some tempera paint onto your paper plates.

 

prepare paint

 

Place a square sponge with each color.

 

stamping with sponges

 

3. Dip the sponges into the paint and use them to stamp rows of squares on your paper.

 

sponge stamp rows of colors

 

Children can create all kinds of patterns and use various color combinations!

 

stamp different patterns with colors

 

4. Let the paint dry.

5. Once the paint has dried, it’s time to make your elephant. Print out the Elmer the Elephant pattern on a sheet of thick paper like card stock. Cut him out.

6. Turn your painting over and trace Elmer onto the back.

 

e4

 

7. Cut out your elephant shape.

elmer the elephant sponge painted art

 

8. Glue an eye onto your elephant.

 

glue on a googly eye

 

You’re done! You can leave him as is, or mount him onto some construction paper to display!

 

Sponge Painted Elmer the Elephant: Art for Kids~ Buggy and Buddy

This was such a fun art project to make! I love how all the different variations turned out~ so fun and colorful!

Sponge Painted Art Activity for Kids: Elmer the Elephant~ Buggy and Buddy

More Elmer the Elephant Activities

Be sure to check out all the creative Elmer activities created by the other members of The Preschool Book Club Series:

Elmer the Elephant Activities

Elmer Face Painting Party from Meri Cherry

Patchwork People Inspired by Elmer from Homegrown Friends

Color Learning Visual Perception Activity from Sugar Aunts

Elephant Stick Puppets from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Patchwork Canvas Tote Bag from Mama Papa Bubba

 

 

sponge painted elmer the elephant art project for kids



 
Elmer the Elephant Sponge Painting Art Activity for Preschool and Kindergarten ~ BuggyandBuddy.com
 

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
 

Filed Under: Art Projects, Children's Books & Activities, Kindergarten, Printables Tagged With: art for kids, children's books, sponge painting

« The Mixed Up Chameleon Felt Set (Free Pattern)
9 Pretend Play Ideas Inspired by Nature »

Comments

  1. Kristina @ School Time Snippets says

    May 28, 2014 at 12:55 pm

    This craft makes me want to get “Elmer” ASAP!! So beautiful!!

    Reply
  2. JDaniel4's Mom says

    June 2, 2014 at 7:05 pm

    This is such a cute painting project.

    Reply
  3. swapna says

    March 31, 2016 at 6:49 am

    These are SO CUTE!!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Animal crafts & learning activities {Weekly Kids' Co-op} - Gift of Curiosity says:
    June 4, 2014 at 9:01 pm

    […] Sponge painted Elmer the elphant from Buggy and Buddy […]

    Reply
  2. Show-and-Share Saturday Link Up! - I Can Teach My Child! says:
    June 7, 2014 at 4:01 am

    […] Sponge Painted Elmer from Buggy and Buddy is so […]

    Reply
  3. Story Book Crafts on Mom's Library - From ABCs to ACTs says:
    July 8, 2014 at 6:15 pm

    […] Sponge Painted Elmer the Elephant from Buggy and Buddy […]

    Reply
  4. The Grouchy Ladybug Craft for Kids (with Free Printable) - Buggy and Buddy says:
    July 23, 2014 at 8:34 am

    […] Sponge Painted Elmer the Elephant […]

    Reply
  5. 14 Art Projects for Kids Using Sponges - Buggy and Buddy says:
    September 21, 2014 at 6:00 pm

    […] Sponge Painted Elmer the Elephant from Buggy and Buddy […]

    Reply
  6. Squirrel Craft Inspired by Nuts to You! - Buggy and Buddy says:
    October 15, 2014 at 4:01 pm

    […] Sponge Painted Elmer the Elephant […]

    Reply
  7. Fun with Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni (and a free printable) says:
    October 24, 2014 at 10:35 pm

    […] Sponge Painted Elmer the Elephant […]

    Reply
  8. Elephant Stick Puppets Inspired by Elmer | FSPDT says:
    December 1, 2014 at 2:06 am

    […] to you by: Homegrown Friends Sugar Aunts Buggy and Buddy Mama Papa Bubba Meri Cherry Please do come and visit us again. We would love to have […]

    Reply
  9. Art Projects for Kids Using Shapes - Buggy and Buddy says:
    February 11, 2015 at 9:40 am

    […] 11. Elmer the Sponge Painted Elephant from Buggy and Buddy […]

    Reply
  10. Elmer the Elephant Story Time | Librarian Stina says:
    February 12, 2015 at 10:15 am

    […] I got the coloring sheet from this page: https://buggyandbuddy.com/sponge-painting-elmer-elephant/ […]

    Reply
  11. Sponge Painted Train Craft Inspired by Freight Train - Buggy and Buddy says:
    April 6, 2015 at 8:41 pm

    […] such a fan of sponge painting (we’ve sponge stamped caterpillars, eggs, triangles, and even Elmer the Elephant), we just had to create sponge painted trains based on the story! Theo was thrilled to make trains […]

    Reply
  12. Paper Car Craft for Kids - Buggy and Buddy says:
    April 18, 2015 at 11:00 pm

    […] for my 3 year old, I remembered how much Theo loves sponge painting. (We made these caterpillars, elephants, and Christmas trees with sponges!) His love of sponge painting helped inspire this sponge painted […]

    Reply
  13. Yarn Art Inspired by Harold and the Purple Crayon - Buggy and Buddy says:
    June 29, 2015 at 10:32 am

    […] Elmer […]

    Reply
  14. 15 Elmer the Elephant Activities for Kids - Buggy and Buddy says:
    January 24, 2016 at 3:42 pm

    […] Sponge Painted Elmer from Buggy and Buddy […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

New? Start here…

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…

Popular This Week

  • Straw Rockets- fun science activity for kids! (w/ Free Rocket Template) ~ BuggyandBuddy.com STEM for Kids: Straw Rockets (with Free Rocket Template)
  • STEAM / Science for Kids: How to Make a Kaleidoscope- explore reflections , light, and symmetry! (Meets NGSS- Next Generation Science Standards) ~ BuggyandBuddy.com Science for Kids: How to Make a Kaleidoscope
  • How to Make a Kite~ buggyandbuddy.com How to Make a Kite
  • Chromatography experiment for kids Science for Kids: Chromatography Butterfly Craft
  • defy gravity with magnets and paperclips Easy Science Experiments for Kids: Gravity Activity with Paperclips
  • Over 30 Free Printable Scavenger Hunts for Kids 30+ Free Printable Scavenger Hunts for Kids

Copyright © 2021 Buggy and Buddy. All rights reserved. You may not take images or content from this site without written permission.