I had my very first encounter with a wild turkey not too long ago. I knew that they lived down here in the South, but I had yet to lay eyes on one.

Turns out – they’re huge! In fact, I initially thought that the one I saw was a vulture until we got right up on it. It was not a vulture. It was an enormous turkey and I was terrified. (Okay, I was in my car, but terrified nonetheless.)

So it’s clear that I have a lot more to learn about turkeys. And that’s why I thought the next one of our coffee filter crafts for kids should be a coffee filter turkey craft!

This was such a fun project to make. It’ll be perfect for kids to create this fall! And it’d go well with some of our other farm-themed crafts, including our farm paper bag puppets and our coffee filter pig craft!

If you like this craft, check out our list of farm books to share with the kids too!

Coffee Filter Crafts for Kids: Coffee Filter Turkey Craft

To make this coffee filter turkey craft, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links provided here for convenience. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

• White basket coffee filter
• Construction paper
• Glue stick
• Child-safe scissors
• Crayons

To start, flatten out the coffee filter as best you can.

Fold the bottom fourth edge of the filter under to make a sharp crease.

Cut the bottom fold off so that the coffee filter has a flat bottom edge. This will be the turkey’s “feathers”.

Use a brown crayon to color a kind of sunburst design. The goal is to have alternating brown and red feathers. So leave enough space between the brown lines to add red next.

Like so. When you’re finished, you can color in the rest of the bottom with a solid red. You could also use yellow or orange colors if you wanted.

Fold the brown piece of construction paper in half, then fold it in half again to make fourths. Cut out one of the fourths. You’ll cut the turkey “body” from this piece of paper.

Place the colored coffee filter in the center of the large piece of construction paper and glue it down. Cut a rounded cylinder shape (like a silo) out of the small brown piece of construction paper. Glue it on the center of the coffee filter, lining up the flat edges of both the filter and the paper.

Time to give our turkey a face! Cut two small circles out of white paper. Use a black crayon to draw eyes on them. Glue them to the top of the turkey’s “body”.

Cut out a small triangle-shaped piece of paper and color it orange. Glue it onto the turkey’s face to form the beak. Then use a black crayon to add a smile.

Something seemed to be missing, so we added the turkey’s “waddle” by cutting out a teardrop-shaped piece of paper and coloring it red. Then we just glued it next to the beak.

All our turkey needs is some feet and he’s good to go!

And we’re done! He’s definitely a lot nicer than the wild turkey I met that day.

Do you think your kids would like this coffee filter turkey craft? If so, don’t miss these other crafts for fall!

See more easy crafts the kids can make on my Simple Crafts for Kids Pinterest board!

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Whenever I take my kids to the zoo, one of the first animal exhibits they want to see is the elephant pit. At our local zoo, there are three elephants and, over the years, we’ve spent hours standing there watching them as they eat, walk, bathe, and perform…uh…other bodily functions. (It’s nature!)

As we were thinking about some new coffee filter crafts for kids we could make, we hit upon a coffee filter elephant craft! So that’s what we made. And it was such a fun project I wanted to share it!

This would be a perfect craft to make when you’re learning about zoo animals, the African savannah, or even Asia! Plus, kids can make their own wild animal collection by adding our coffee filter moose craft or our coffee filter owl craft! Read on to see how we made this cute elephant craft.

If you want to teach the kids about zoo animals, be sure to check our our printable zoo animal flashcards too!

Coffee Filter Crafts for Kids: Coffee Filter Elephant Craft

To make this coffee filter elephant craft, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links are provided for convenience. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

• Two white basket coffee filters
• Crayons
• Construction paper
• Glue stick
• Child-safe scissors

As you can see, this craft only takes a few supplies, so you won’t need to make a store run. Unless, of course, you’re actually out of coffee. 😉

Color one of the filters gray and then glue it to the center of a piece of construction paper. We used yellow, but any light color will work. (You want the details you add with the gray crayon later to show up well.)

Use a black crayon to draw two eyes at the top center of the filter.

Now we’re going to pause to make the trunk. Use the gray crayon to color in half of the other coffee filter.

Cut the gray half off of the filter and discard the uncolored part. Now use the scissors to cut the center half-circle out of the gray filter. Keep the outer crimped ring.

Glue one end of the crimped ring to the center of the filter you glued down. Now your elephant has a trunk!

Lift up the trunk to draw a smile on the elephant’s face. Ours is a happy elephant, of course. You can draw the smile on first and then glue on the trunk, but I prefer to glue the trunk on first because it helps me center the smile. Either way. 🙂

Now use the gray crayon to outline a large ear on either side of the elephant’s face.

Use a pink crayon to color in a smaller half-circle on the ears, then color the rest in with the gray crayon. At this point, I felt we were done. But then I remembered that the elephants we always see at the zoo have very, very long eyelashes.

So we added some of our own!

And now we’re done with our coffee filter elephant craft!

This was a blast to make! And the kids will love picking up the picture and making the trunk “wiggle”.

Let your children try some of these other coffee filter animal crafts!

Plus, see more fun craft projects on my Simple Crafts for Kids Pinterest board!

A few years ago, we took our kids to a live birds of prey show. During the performance, we got to see several kinds of owls swoop right over our heads! It was my first time being up close to these animals and it was incredible. I had no idea that owls could be that big! Or that beautiful!

Since then, we’ve been learning more about these amazing animals. So I thought that it would be fun to add a new project to our collection of coffee filter crafts for kids: a coffee filter owl craft!

This craft is really easy and simple to customize. Kids can use any color they want and add the details they like: feathers, beak, wings – even horned tufts!

If the kids enjoy this project, learn more about these animals with our list of beautiful owl books for kids!

Coffee Filter Crafts for Kids: Coffee Filter Owl Craft

To make this coffee filter owl craft, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links are provided here for convenience. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

• One white basket coffee filter
• Construction paper
• Glue stick
• Crayons

Start by outlining two eyes toward the top of the coffee filter. Be sure to leave the whites uncolored.

Use a tan crayon to outline two half-circles on either side of the coffee filter. These will be the folded “wings”.

Draw a triangle in the center below the yes using the bright yellow crayon. Then color in the rest of the filter with a brown crayon.

When you’re finished coloring, the wings are all you’ll have left to do.

Now use the tan crayon to color in the wings.

Let’s add a few details: We used a black crayon to draw plumage on the belly. Then I used the same brown crayon that I used to color in the body to add talons and horned tufts.

Add a few other birds flying in the distance and you’re done!

You can practically hear him saying “Hoot!”

Oh, that’s just me? Okay.

Don’t miss these other learning ideas and activities for kids!

Share more fall fun with the ideas on my Fall Activities for Kids Pinterest board!

Do you remember the first time you ever visited a farm? I went to a dairy farm on a class field trip in first grade and I was so disappointed. Cows are cool and all, but I wanted to see the pigs!

Kids are huge fans of pigs. I think it has something to do with the fact that they’re allowed to be as messy as they want to be. They don’t have to wipe their faces after eating. They don’t have to take a bath – at least not with soap and water. And they always look blissfully content. (Actually, I think I might envy them a little as an adult!)

So I wanted to make another one of our coffee filter crafts for kids – a coffee filter pig craft!

This is a really fun and simple craft to make, so it’s perfect for younger children.

If the kids like this one, they might also enjoy our Coffee Filter Cat Craft or our Coffee Filter Moose Craft!

Coffee Filter Crafts for Kids: Coffee Filter Pig Craft

To make this coffee filter pig craft, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links are provided here for convenience. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

• One white basket coffee filter
• Construction paper (I used brown)
• Crayons
• Glue stick
• Pink marker (I like Mr. Sketch. Kids love the scents!)

One of the reasons this is a good craft for littles is because there’s no cutting involved. They can use the construction paper and coffee filter as is. Simple!

Start by drawing the pig’s eyes. Leave the whites uncolored so they’ll show up well later.

Then color the entire filter pink and glue it onto the center of the construction paper.

Draw an oval nose with two black slits. I used a brown crayon to lightly draw the oval (just to make sure the shape was right) and then traced over it with a black crayon.

Give the pig a smile. Pigs are happy!

At the top corners, use a black crayon to outline the ears. Use the pink marker to color them in. (The pink crayon doesn’t really show up on brown construction paper.)

Add a few polka-dots and you’re done!

“That’s all, folks!”

Okay, that was really corny.

Want to try more easy crafts? Take a look at these projects!

Get more ideas for easy craft projects on my Simple Crafts for Kids Pinterest board!

When the boys were younger, one of their favorite episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine was “James and the Red Balloon”. This was one of the episodes in the classic series. The one with the toy trains.

They used to say that they wanted to fly in a hot air balloon. And I’d say, “Yeah, maybe one day.”

Well, until then, I thought they’d like to make another one of our coffee filter crafts for kids – a fun hot air balloon craft! That way, they can get a tiny version of their flying-in-a-hot-air-balloon fix and I won’t have a heart attack worrying about them. Sounds like a fair deal to me.

This was a really fun craft to make. Kids may need a little help shaping their balloons, but after that, they’re good to go!

Looking for more simple projects kids can make? Don’t miss our coffee filter sailboat craft or our coffee filter inside out umbrella craft!

Coffee Filter Crafts for Kids: Coffee Filter Hot Air Balloon Craft

To make this coffee filter hot air balloon craft, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links are provided for convenience. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

• One white basket coffee filter
• One piece of blue construction paper
• Glue stick
• Crayons
• Kids’ safety scissors

To get started, use your hands to flatten out the coffee filter as best you can. Then decide what colors you’d like to use to color it.

I wanted to make a cheery balloon, so I went with yellow and red-violet for contrast. But the kids can use any colors they like.

Take your contrasting color and draw a design on the coffee filter.

Then color it in.

Color the rest of the filter with your main color crayon.

Now it’s time to shape the balloon! Take the safety scissors and, starting from the bottom center, cut a modified funnel shape.

What you’re looking for is a small opening at the bottom that widens to the full dome shape at the top. It might take a few tries to get this right, but it’s okay. We’re just crafting here. 🙂 To make it easier, flip the filter over and trace this shape in pencil for the kids to cut out.

Now, use a brown crayon to draw the passenger basket hanging from the bottom.

Use a white crayon to add a few puffy white clouds in the sky and you’re done!

Take a look at these other easy crafts for kids!

Get even more easy crafting ideas on my Simple Crafts for Kids Pinterest board!