What if a craft didn’t stop being fun once the paint dried? Our Flexible Wooden Animal Craft Kits combine creativity with movement, giving kids a project they can decorate, bend, wiggle, slither, and play with long after craft time is over.
Made from cleverly notched wood, these animals bend and flex with simple movements of the hand. Snakes can slither, crocodiles can wiggle, lizards can scurry, and sharks can appear to swim through the air. The flexible construction gives each finished project an almost lifelike quality that makes these crafts especially fun to show off and play with.
With six different animal kits plus a convenient easy pack, there’s a flexible wooden friend for just about every animal lover.
More Than a Painting Project
Part craft and part movable toy, flexible wooden animals offer several ways to keep hands and imaginations busy.
Kids can start by deciding exactly what their animal should look like. They can use realistic colors and patterns inspired by animals in nature or forget the rules completely and create a rainbow snake, spotted shark, striped crocodile, or any other design they can dream up. Paint, brushes, and instructions are included, making it easy to turn the activity into a ready-to-go group craft.
Once the paint dries, the fun changes from creating to moving and playing. Manipulating the flexible wooden bodies from side to side encourages kids to use their hands and fingers in different ways. These small movements can help support fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, dexterity, and hand control.
The movement also adds a sensory and tactile element that you don’t get with a traditional wooden craft. There’s something especially fun about watching these animals bend with the movement of your hand.
Flexible Wooden Animal Craft Kits
Flexible Wooden Crocodile Craft Kit
This croc can really wiggle! The Flexible Wooden Crocodile features a hinged, flexible spine that bends from side to side for movement that mimics the real animal.
Each kit makes 12 crocodiles and includes paint and brushes for decorating. The finished crocodiles measure approximately 7″L x 1-1/2″W.
Try classic crocodile greens, experiment with patterns and textures, or let kids create colorful crocs straight from their imaginations.
Flexible Wooden Lizard Craft Kit
Reptile fans will love watching this wooden lizard come to life. Its flexible 12-inch-long body bends and moves to create a realistic slithering motion.
The Flexible Wooden Lizard Craft Kit includes 12 lizards plus paint, brushes, and instructions. Kids can study real lizard markings for inspiration or use unexpected colors to create their own one-of-a-kind creatures.
After decorating, the flexible design transforms the finished craft into something kids can continue manipulating and playing with.
Flexible Wooden Shark Craft Kit
Who says sharks can’t swim on land? Notched wooden construction gives the Flexible Wooden Shark a wiggling, swimming-like motion when moved from side to side.
Best of all, the sharks come fully assembled, so kids can jump right into the creative part: painting! The kit makes 12 projects and includes paint and brushes. Finished sharks measure approximately 4-1/2″ x 1-1/4″.
From classic gray and blue sharks to colorful fantasy creations, there are plenty of ways to make each one different.
Flexible Wooden Snake Craft Kit
Slither into craft time with a Flexible Wooden Snake that moves with just a twist of the wrist! The Flexible Wooden Snake allows kids to experiment with colors, stripes, spots, patterns, and other details.
The snakes come fully assembled with their slithery tongues already attached. Each pack includes 12 wooden snakes, paint, and brushes, so kids can paint them in realistic designs or invent an entirely new species.
Once finished, gently moving the snake from side to side sends the flexible body into a slithering motion. Great for imaginative play!
Flexible Wooden Dinosaur Craft Kit
Take the flexible fun prehistoric! The Flexible Wooden Dinosaur Craft Kit gives dinosaur fans the chance to create their own colorful creature and then enjoy the movement of its bendable wooden body.
Go for natural earth tones, bold prehistoric patterns, or imagine what dinosaurs might have looked like and get creative. After painting, the arms and legs will need to be attached to complete the dinosaur. Glue is ncluded with the kit to help with assembly.
Like the other flexible wooden animal projects, the movable construction makes the finished craft especially engaging for imaginative play.
Flexible Wooden Squirrel Craft Kit
The Flexible Wooden Squirrel adds something a little different to the collection. Instead of a reptile, sea creature, or prehistoric animal, kids get to create an adorable woodland friend, complete with its own acorn!
This project also adds an assembly component. The ears, legs, arms, tail, and acorn will all need to be attached to the flexible wooden squirrel body after decorating. The kit includes all squirrel parts, glue, paint, brushes, and instructions and makes 12 projects. Finished squirrels measure approximately 5 inches tall.
Assembly adds another opportunity for kids to practice working with smaller pieces and following steps. For large groups or younger children, the instructions recommend having an adult hot-glue the pieces ahead of time.
Need Crafts for a Bigger Group? Try the Flexible Wooden Critters Easy Pack
Can’t choose just one animal? The Flexible Wooden Critters Easy Pack makes 48 projects and includes four different flexible wooden animals:
- 12 Flexible Wooden Lizards
- 12 Flexible Wooden Snakes
- 12 Flexible Wooden Crocodiles
- 12 Flexible Wooden Sharks
Paint, brushes, and instructions are included, so you can offer a variety of animal crafts without purchasing all four kits separately. It’s a great option for camps, afterschool programs, recreation programs, classrooms, community events, senior living activities, and other larger groups where participants may enjoy choosing their favorite animal.
Turn Them Into a Themed Craft Activity
These flexible wooden animals are also easy to mix and match for a themed craft day or activity unit. Pair the snake, crocodile, and lizard for a reptile theme, bring in the shark for an animal or wildlife theme, or add the dinosaur for a prehistoric twist. You could even create a week of animal-themed crafts, letting participants paint a different creature each day while learning a little about the real animals along the way.
Creative Fun for Kids – and Grown-Ups, Too
Although these crafts are an easy win with kids, there’s no reason adults can’t join in. Painting the detailed wooden shapes can be a relaxing creative activity, while the flexible finished animals are just plain fun to move.
Flexible wooden crafts can encourage:
- Fine motor skills through painting, manipulating, bending, and moving the animals
- Hand-eye coordination while adding painted details and patterns
- Creativity and self-expression through open-ended color and design choices
- Sensory and tactile exploration through the feel and movement of the notched wooden bodies
- Imaginative play and storytelling once the finished animals are ready to wiggle into action
- Animal and nature exploration by using real reptiles, sharks, dinosaurs, and woodland animals as inspiration for colors and markings
- A sense of accomplishment as participants turn an unfinished wooden animal into something uniquely their own
Paint It. Bend It. Make It Your Own.
The best part about these wooden animal crafts may be that there’s no single “right” way to make them. Paint a lifelike crocodile. Create a rainbow lizard. Give a shark polka dots. Turn a snake into a completely imaginary species.
Then, once the brushes are put away, bend, wiggle, slither, and move your creation to see what it can do.
With 12 projects in each individual craft kit and supplies included, thsee craft kits make it easy to bring an activity to your group that combines art, movement, creativity, and play, all in one project.
