Celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday with this fun Horton the Elephant craft using cotton balls and paint!
One of my favorite things to do as a kid was to sit on my dad’s lap as he read Dr. Seuss books. We had quite the collection! But it wasn’t until I had kids that I first met Horton the Elephant. Somewhere we picked up the DVD Horton Hears A Who and my kids love it. I’ll admit that Horton has become one of my favorite Dr. Seuss characters and I enjoy the movie just as much as they do.
In honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday on March 2nd, gather the kids and paint a Horton masterpiece. Kids love absolutely anything to do with paint. And unlike this watercolor flower craft, they use acrylic paint for this one.
Take the Dr. Seuss Reading Challenge!
Horton the Elephant & His Clover Cotton Ball Painting
Horton Cotton Ball Painting Supplies:
- White and gray paper
- Craft paints in Pink, Yellow, Blue, Orange, Red, Black
- Paper straw or popsicle stick
- Glue
- Scissors
- Cotton Balls
Horton Cottonball Painting Directions:
Begin by making Horton. You can paint Horton onto the paper, but cutting him out of paper is more dimensional. Cut two ovals and an elephant trunk from the gray paper.
Glue one oval on the edge of the white paper, this is Horton’s head. Glue the trunk to his head and then glue the second oval slightly over the first. This is his ear. Glue a paper straw over his trunk.
I set the paint out on a paper plate for each kid – like a painter’s pallet. To make the clovers, dab cotton balls into paint and then onto the paper. The texture of the cotton ball will come through on the paper and make them look fluffy! I love lots of colors and the finished project with all the paint is beautiful.
Use the paint in other colors to create a colorful painting and clover field. Use black paint to paint stems on the clover and add stripes to the stems.
To frame the painting, just glue the painting onto construction paper. Display prominently for Dr. Seuss’s birthday month.