This quick craft activity teaches kids about diversity and pairs perfectly with our book Meet Maya Cat. Once kids complete the activity, they'll each have a unique mask. No two will be alike! That's because we're all different — and different is awesome. It makes for a wonderful lesson!
What you'll need:
1. Paper plates
2. Tissue paper (variety of colors)
3. Scissors
4. Construction paper (dark colored)
5. Glue stick
How to prep:
1. Cut paper plates in half.
One half-plate, per kid! This will be your cat's face!
2. Cut triangles out of your remaining plates.
These are for your cat's ears! Two per kid — or as many as they might want! Sometimes, it's easier to attach these before the activity begins.
3. Cut eye holes out of each mask.
You could leave this up to your kids, but then you'd need scissors for everyone. We recommend doing it ahead of time!
4. Cut your tissue paper.
Cut them into shapes big enough for your kids to hold, but small enough that many will fit on a mask. You can cut them into squares, triangles, or all kinds of shapes! The less perfect, the better. We recommend putting the pieces in a few bowls on the table for kids to choose from.
5. Cut your construction paper.
Cut one piece of paper into small strips. These will be the whiskers your kids add at the end! At least 6 whiskers per kid.
The activity:
1. Read Meet Maya Cat.
Talk about how everyone's different, and how different is awesome!
2. Set up.
One paper plate, some ears, a bowl of cut tissue paper, the whiskers, and a glue stick for everyone!
3. Glue the paper plate.
Get it nice and sticky so the tissue paper can stick! Add the ears, if you haven't already.
4. Add color.
Add as many tissue paper pieces as you want to decorate your mask! Cover the ears and all gluey parts of the plate.
5. Add whiskers.
Glue on the whiskers! You can even add a nose with the tissue paper if you want!
6. That's it!
Once masks are complete, look around. Notice how everybody's masks are different. That's because all of us are different! And all of us are awesome.
