Crafts: Alligator

As a former zoo educator, I love being able to share my knowledge of animals with my children.  As we were studying the letter A, it was the perfect time to discuss alligators (and crocodiles).

In this craft, we created our own alligator.

Materials 

• toilet paper rolls
• paper towel rolls 
• green and brown paint
• paintbrushes
• googly eyes
• glue 
• scissors
• green and white construction paper 
• markers 
• Popsicle sticks 
• paper fasteners 
• sequins 
• tape 

Steps 

1. Gather materials. (Don't forget glue and tape and any last minute things like sequins.)

2. Paint the toilet paper and paper towel rolls.  Paint or color the tail.

3. After the paint has dried, attach your pieces. I used a hole punch and paper fasteners to attach the rolls together.  If you have a long, thing stapler, you could attack them that way.

4. Glue or tape on the legs to the Popsicle sticks.

5. Glue the eyes and the teeth to the head.

6. Add last minute color touches with the markers to create scales. Color and attach the tale. If you have sequins, you can add those for scales, too.

7.  Attach the legs.  I taped them to the inside and the outside of the alligator.  If you have more time, you can glue them.

8. Play with your alligators.

For a more realistic look, keep the top of the alligator a greenish-black color and the bottom a cream-white color.  This coloration helps the alligators camouflage themselves from birds above them in the sky, because they blend in with the water, and from fish below by blending in with the sky.

Here you can see how the dark coloration of the top of the alligator lets them blend in with the swampy water.

Other Alligator Resources and Activities

Books

Zack's Alligator by Shirley Mozelle with pictures by James Watt
Zack's Alligator Goes to School by Shirley Mozelle with pictures by James Watt
What's the Difference Between an Alligator and a Crocodile? by Lisa Bullard with illustrations by Bandelin-Dacey
Alberto the Dancing Alligator by Richard Waring with illustrations by Holly Swain

Crafts 

A is for Alligator 

Clay Play 

Materials for clay play like toy alligators, pipe cleaners, rocks, etc.