Looking for a cute and easy paper plate scarecrow craft for fall? This cheerful little scarecrow is a fun way to turn an ordinary paper plate into an adorable fall decoration using simple supplies you probably already have at home or in the classroom.
The printable template makes prep much easier because the hat, straw hair, sunflower, facial features, shirt, and overalls are already designed for you. The craft includes both full-color and blackline template pieces, so children can either cut and assemble the ready-to-use version or color their own.
This is a fun choice for a fall preschool theme, harvest unit, farm theme, scarecrow week, or Thanksgiving season. It also makes a sweet classroom display when every child creates their own slightly different scarecrow.
Paper Plate Scarecrow Craft
One of my favorite things about paper plate crafts is how simple they are to prepare. For this scarecrow, the paper plate becomes the entire face, while the printable pieces transform it into a friendly fall character.
The finished scarecrow has a big brown hat decorated with a sunflower, yellow straw hair, rosy cheeks, a stitched orange nose, a plaid shirt, and blue overalls. You can even add real buttons to the overall straps for a little extra dimension.
The template was designed to work with a 9- or 10-inch paper plate.
What’s Included in the Scarecrow Craft Template?
The printable includes the pieces children need to assemble their scarecrow, including:
- Scarecrow hat
- Sunflower
- Straw hair pieces
- Eyes
- Cheeks
- Triangle nose
- Plaid shirt and overalls
- Full-color craft pieces
- Blackline craft pieces for children to color
The color and blackline versions are especially handy for classrooms. Use the color template when you need a quicker, low-prep activity, or print the blackline version when you want children to spend more time coloring and personalizing their scarecrows.
Supplies You’ll Need
Supplies You’ll Need
- 9- or 10-inch paper plate
- Scarecrow craft template
- Tan or light brown paint
- Paintbrush
- Cardstock
- Scissors
- Glue
- Black marker
- Optional: buttons for the overalls
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How to Make a Paper Plate Scarecrow
Start by painting or coloring the paper plate tan or light brown. If you use paint, allow the plate to dry completely before assembling your scarecrow.
Next, print the scarecrow template. If you’re using the blackline version, let children color the pieces before cutting them out.
Glue the yellow straw hair around the top and upper sides of the plate. Don’t worry about making every piece perfectly straight. A slightly wonky straw haircut gives this little fellow some personality.
Place the large scarecrow hat over the hair and glue it into position. Add the sunflower to the hat.
Next, glue the eyes, orange triangle nose, and pink cheeks onto the center of the paper plate. Use a black marker to draw a large curved smile with little stitch marks across it.
Finally, glue the plaid shirt and blue overall piece along the bottom edge of the plate. Keeping this piece low leaves plenty of room for the scarecrow’s face. You can finish the overalls by gluing on two real buttons or simply drawing buttons with a marker.
And your paper plate scarecrow is ready for fall!
Easy Ways to Customize Your Scarecrow
This craft is easy to personalize, which can be especially fun when you’re making it with a whole class. Children could choose their own colors for the hat, shirt, overalls, sunflower, and hair.
You could also provide yarn for the straw hair, patterned scrapbook paper for the shirt, or real buttons for the overalls. For an extra writing activity, have children give their scarecrow a name and write one or two sentences about it.
You could even line up everyone’s finished scarecrows on a bulletin board with a simple “Happy Fall!” or “Our Patch of Scarecrows” heading.
Picture Books to Pair with This Scarecrow Craft
The Little Scarecrow Boy by Margaret Wise Brown
A classic story about a little scarecrow who wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and learn how to frighten crows. It’s an especially fun choice before completing the scarecrow activities.
The Scarecrow’s Hat by Ken Brown
This story follows Chicken as she works through a chain of trades to get the scarecrow’s hat. The story also lends itself well to activities involving the Letter S, patterns, vocabulary, and fine motor practice.
Otis and the Scarecrow by Loren Long
This is another fall-themed choice featuring a scarecrow, with a story that can open conversations about friendship and empathy.
Hopefully the Scarecrow by Michelle Houts
This story follows a scarecrow who develops a friendship with a young girl who regularly comes to the garden to read to him.
You could read one before craft time and then talk about what scarecrows look like, where we might find one, and why farmers traditionally use them.
How to Print the Scarecrow Template
For sturdier craft pieces, I recommend printing the template on cardstock. The printable itself also recommends cardstock for children or students.
When printing, choose Actual Size or 100% scale rather than “Fit to Page.” This will help preserve the template proportions so the large hat and clothing pieces fit the paper plate correctly.
Choose the full-color pages for a quicker craft, or print the blackline pages if children would like to color their own scarecrow pieces.
Pin It for Later
Save this paper plate scarecrow craft with template to your favorite fall crafts, preschool activities, classroom crafts, or paper plate crafts Pinterest board so it’s ready when fall rolls around.
Get the Paper Plate Scarecrow Template
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A Fun and Easy Fall Craft for Kids
This paper plate scarecrow combines cutting, coloring, gluing, and a little creativity in one easy fall activity. The printable pieces keep prep manageable while still giving children plenty of opportunities to make the craft their own.
Use it during a scarecrow theme, farm unit, fall party, harvest lesson, homeschool activity, or simply for an afternoon of crafting at home.
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