owl puppet craft

Paper Bag Owl Puppet Craft for Kids

Make a Stuffed Great Horned Owl Puppet for Ages 4 and Up

Hoot hoot! One of nature’s most mysterious and magnificent birds is the Great Horned Owl with its enormous eyes, rotating head, feathery ear tufts, and silent wings. In this paper bag owl puppet craft for kids, your child will bring their very own Great Horned Owl to life using a paper bag, paper shred stuffing, feathers, cupcake liners, and googly eyes. The result is an adorable, squishy stuffed owl they’ll want to carry everywhere!

This paper bag owl craft is perfect for ages 4 and up and makes a wonderful at-home nature craft or classroom project. It’s a great way to spark curiosity about owls and nocturnal animals while building fine motor skills through drawing, gluing, tracing, and stuffing. Let’s get building!

VOCABULARY

  • Nocturnal: Animals that sleep during the day and are active at night are called nocturnal. Owls, bats, and raccoons are all nocturnal animals!

  • Adaptations: The special features an animal is born with that help it survive in its environment, like an owl’s huge eyes for seeing in the dark or its sharp talons for catching prey.

  • Ear Tufts: The feathery “horns” on top of a Great Horned Owl’s head. Despite looking like ears, they’re actually feathers used for communication and camouflage!

GUIDING QUESTIONS

  • Why do you think owls are awake at night instead of during the day?

  • What special features does your owl have? What do you think each one helps it do?

  • What sound does your owl make? Can you hoot like one?

MATERIALS

  • 1 large paper lunch bag

  • Paper shred or crumpled newspaper (for stuffing)

  • Markers or crayons (for drawing feathers on the bag)

  • Construction paper or foam sheet (for wings and feet)

  • 2 cupcake liners (for the owl’s eye discs)

  • 2 googly eyes

  • Craft feathers

  • Glue stick or tacky glue

  • Scissors

  • Pencil (for tracing hands)

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1

Lay your paper bag flat with the opening facing up. Using markers or crayons, draw feather patterns all over the body of the bag.

Draw feather patterns on the paper bag

STEP 2

Fold a piece of construction paper in half. With a grown-up’s help, place your hand on the folded paper with your pinky finger against the fold and trace around it. Cut out the hand shape, and then cut down the middle to separate the two traced hands! Glue feathers onto the wings or draw feather details with markers. Set the wings aside to dry.

Trace your hand for the owl's wings

STEP 3

Open the paper bag and stuff it halfway full with paper shred or crumpled newspaper. You want your owl to look round, like a real owl perched on a branch! Once stuffed, fold the open end of the bag inward from both sides toward the center to create a pointed beak shape. Glue or tape the beak down to hold it in place.

Stuff the paper bag with recycled newspaper

STEP 4

Now it’s time to bring your owl to life! Glue two cupcake liners onto the front of the bag as the owl’s large eye discs, then glue a googly eye in the center of each one. Glue your paper wings to the sides of the bag. Cut two small talon feet from construction paper or foam and glue them to the bottom of the stuffed bag so your owl can perch.

Add the details to your owl puppet

STEP 5

Finally, add your owl’s signature ear tufts! Glue two small feathers to the top of the bag on either side of the center to create those distinctive Great Horned Owl “horns.” Give your owl a name and get ready to hoot!

Finished owl puppet craft