During this time of year Halloween crafts are a blast to do with toddlers and young children. It’s a great time of year for kids to have fun with spooky activities. I love a good, DIY craft that you typically already have the supplies for. This Halloween fun project is great for ages 2 and up, younger toddlers will need some adult help.   

Educate your children on bats before getting started. They are a super cool animal to learn about. Here is a great National Geographic Kids’ video about bat facts. In addition, here is a great book about bats that we LOVE, “I am Bat,” by Morag Hood.  

Halloween Fun Project Materials

  • Wooden clothespins 
  • Round white coffee filter (brown works too) 
  • Googly eyes 
  • Washable markers: black, purple, blue 
  • Elmers glue 
  • Black, washable paint 
  • Black paper 
  • Scissors 
  • White, washable paint OR white gel pen 
  • Paintbrush and water 

Step 1 

Have your child decorate the coffee filter with the black, blue, and purple washable markers. They can color in circles or make cool designs, but make sure they cover as much space as possible. This is a great opportunity to practice drawing shapes and lines. 

Step 2 

Have your child take a paint brush and paint the coffee filter with the water. The washable markers will all start to blend looking like watercolor paint. Once it’s all blended let it dry. I suggest doing this on a plastic placemat or cookie sheet to protect your table from too much water.

Step 3 

Ask your child what color a bat’s body is after learning about them and have him paint the clothespin that color. He can do this on a paper plate, or you can clip the clothespin to cardboard and have your child hold the cardboard while painting the clothespin. Let the clothespin dry when it’s fully covered. 

Step 4 

Fold the coffee filter in fourths and create scalloped edges using scissors. For older children working on scissor skills, you can draw a line in black for them to cut along. Younger children will need help with this step; you can try hand over hand. Now, open it up and pinch it in the middle, using the clothespin to clip it. There is your bat! Are you having some Halloween fun yet? 

Step 5 

At this time set out googly eyes and small black triangular ears for the child to glue on where they wish. And of course we can’t forget his sharp teeth! Your child can use white paint or a gel pen to create the teeth. 

Have fun with this project; maybe you can make a whole bat family to decorate your house! Encourage your child to be creative with this project and make it his own. For more halloween fun, put together a festive sensory bin with plastic spiders and more or try these halloween crafts. 

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About The Author

Jaclyn Capilli has over 10 years experience working with children. After graduating from Curry College with her Bachelor Degree she worked as a paraprofessional in a special need’s classroom. Then while in Graduate school at Cambridge College she nannied for a local family for 3 years. After moving back to the South Shore she worked for Head Start for 5 plus years while nannying for a local family. She is now a mother of two and is working for Boston Baby Nurse & Nanny. She owns Jaclyn Nicole Photography, a photography business in the South Shore. In her free time she likes reading, going for hikes and making memories with her daughters.