Brown Bear Paper Plate Craft
Cute and easy Brown Bear Paper Plate Craft is the perfect activity for young kids. This easy craft pairs great with that favorite children’s book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?.

Do your kids love the book Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.? Then they’re going to get so excited about this super fun craft! This really easy brown bear paper plate craft is just the cutest thing. All you need is basic crafting supplies and about a half hour to make this adorable little brown bear creation. It really helps bring the joy of this book to life!
I love crafts that are inspired by children’s books. This fun brown bear craft is one of them, and the cute rainbow fish craft is another great one! You can make this as an after-school craft, summer time activity, or even a craft in a classroom setting. It’s great for kids of any age too! Older kids can use their imaginations and make these extra decorated, while little ones can just follow the simple steps. You’ll love this easy craft.
Why You’ll Love this Paper Plate Bear Craft
- Painting and gluing are great activities to help refine fine motor skills. If you have littles who need some motor skills practice, crafts are a great way to make that practice extra fun.
- This is a very affordable craft since many of these materials are staples for other crafts. You may have many things on hand already and others you can just re-use for different craft ideas!
- Theming crafts with books makes reading exciting. There’s an artistic element added into the mix and it makes reading a book extra fun.



Supplies Needed
- 2 Large white paper plates – You will need one plate for the craft and another to hold the craft pain.
- Brown washable craft paint – Grab a bottle of affordable brown acrylic craft paint at your local hobby store or Walmart.
- Plastic fork – It is best to use a plastic fork so that you can just throw it in the trash when you’re finished and you won’t have to clean anything.
- Two large googly eyes – These can be found in the craft aisle at Walmart or at your local hobby store.
- Brown construction paper – You can also use brown cardstock!
- Small cup – Use a small cup to trace circle shapes that will become the ears and snout of your brown bear craft. If you don’t have a small cup on hand, you can free hand the circles.
- Pencil – Any writing utensil will work, but I prefer to use pencil when I’m making crafts.
- Black marker – If you are making this brown bear paper plate craft with younger children, I suggest using a washable black marker.
- Scissors – Safety scissors are always the best idea when you are making crafts with kiddos.
- Glue – You can use liquid glue or a glue stick, both will work. You can even use glue dots if that’s easier!
- Brown Bear Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr. – This craft is based on this classic children’s book! It’s not essential for the craft, but I promise you’ll want to read it.
How to Make this Brown Bear Paper Plate Craft
- Pour brown paint in the center of one of the white paper plates. Then press a fork, curved side down, into the paint.
- Use this paint covered fork as a sort of paint brush and press it down onto the other paper plate. Continue this until the paper plate has brown paint all over it. Then set it aside to dry.
- Place a cup onto a sheet of brown construction paper and trace the bottom twice to make two circles. Cut out the circles and then draw a circle in the middle of each. Color them in with the black marker to create the bears ears.
- Trace another circle and cut it out. Then use the black marker to draw a nose and mouth.
- Once the paper plate is dry, glue the ears to the top and then glue the nose in the middle. Add the googly eyes too!
- Allow the glue to fully dry and then your brown bear paper plate craft is ready to go.




Can I just use a brown plate instead of painting one?
The fun of the brown paint on a white plate is because it makes it kind of look like fur, especially when using a fork to paint. You can absolutely just use a brown plate if you need to save some time. Just keep in mind that you’re taking out a motor skills activity and that your paper plate bear craft may not look as “furry”.
Pro Tips for the Best Brown Bear Paper Plate Craft
- Lay down some craft paper or a disposable plastic table cloth before painting. This makes clean-up really easy and keeps your work space from getting splattered in paint.
- Feel free to customize this brown bear craft however you want. You can add some brown glitter, decorate with glitter glue, add stickers, pom poms, and anything else you want.
- If you are making this craft with a large group of kids, give them some glue dots instead of regular glue. You’ll end up with less messes and the kids likely won’t need as much help as the y may with a glue stick or liquid glue.

This paper plate bear is just the cutest thing! I can’t wait to see how your turns out.
More Paper Plate Crafts You’ll Love
- Make these adorable Paper Plate Penguins around the winter-time!
- If you are learning about deep sea creatures, add in this adorable Paper Plate Octopus.
- Help littles feel involved in NYE celebrations by making this Paper Plate Fork Fireworks craft.
- Does your kiddo love sharks? Then make this adorable Paper Plate Shark Craft!

Brown Bear Paper Plate Craft
Ingredients
- 2 Large white paper plates (one for paint, one for the bear)
- Brown washable craft paint
- Plastic fork
- Two large googly eyes
- Brown construction paper
- Small cup
- Pencil
- Black marker
- Scissors
- Glue
- Book: Brown Bear Brown Bear
Instructions
- Pour some paint into the center of a plate.
- Press the fork into the paint (curved side down). Press the fork with the brown paint onto the other paper plate. This will be the brown bear’s head.
- Continue the step above around the paper plate until the paper plate has brown paint all around it.
- Set the paper plate aside to dry.
- On the brown construction paper, trace the bottom of a cup two different times to make two different circles. These will be the brown bear’s ears.
- Cut out the two circles. Draw two circles in the ears and color them in black.
- Trace one more circle and cut the circle out. Using the black marker, draw a nose and mouth for the bear in this brown circle.
- Glue the ears to the top of the paper plate.
- Glue the googly eyes, then glue the nose and mouth.