If your kids or students love Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, this Pete the Cat craft is a fun way to bring the story off the page and into a simple hands-on activity. I created this free printable craft so children can color Pete, cut out his shoes, and recreate the different shoe colors from the story.
This activity is especially fun for preschool and kindergarten students because it combines a favorite read-aloud with coloring, cutting, color recognition, sequencing, and fine motor practice. It can easily be used for a Pete the Cat theme, book companion activity, literacy center, or just a fun craft after reading the story.
Free Printable Pete the Cat Craft
This printable Pete the Cat craft was inspired by the changing colors of Pete’s shoes throughout I Love My White Shoes.
Instead of simply coloring a picture of Pete, children get to create their own Pete and add four different colored shoes to his feet.
The printable includes:
- A large Pete the Cat craft piece
- Four individual shoes
- Easy-to-follow cutting lines
- A simple color-and-cut format
- Space for children to choose their own background
- Directions for completing the craft
The craft is designed to be printed on cardstock for a sturdier finished project.
What Kids Can Learn With This Pete the Cat Craft
I love creating crafts that are fun but can also sneak a little learning into the activity. This one works especially well as a book extension because children are interacting with an important part of the story while they create.
Color Recognition
Children will color Pete blue and then color the four shoes:
- One red
- One blue
- One brown
- One white
These colors connect directly to Pete’s colorful shoe adventure and make it easy to talk about the story while children work.
Story Recall
Before children begin coloring, ask them if they can remember what happened to Pete’s white shoes.
Which color came first?
Why did his shoes change colors?
What happened at the end?
You can also place the shoes in story order before gluing them to Pete. This turns a simple craft into an easy story-retelling activity.
Fine Motor Skills
Coloring, cutting around Pete, cutting out the individual shoes, and gluing everything together all provide practice with important fine motor skills.
For younger children who aren’t ready to cut around the more detailed areas independently, an adult can help with Pete while allowing the child to cut out the larger shoe pieces.
Supplies for Your Pete the Cat Craft
You only need a few basic supplies for this activity:
- Free printable Pete the Cat craft template
- White cardstock
- Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
- Child-safe scissors
- Glue
- Construction paper or cardstock for the background
I recommend cardstock for Pete because it helps the finished craft hold its shape, especially after children add the shoes.
For the background, you can let children choose their favorite color. This is also an easy way to make every finished Pete look a little different.
How to Make This Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes Craft
Step 1: Print the Craft
Print one copy of the Pete the Cat craft template for each child.
White cardstock works especially well for this project because children will be coloring Pete and each of his shoes.
Step 2: Color Pete
Have children color Pete blue.
They can use crayons, markers, or colored pencils depending on the supplies you have available.
Step 3: Color the Shoes
Next, color the four shoes.
Children should color:
- One shoe red
- One shoe blue
- One shoe brown
- Leave one shoe white
This is a great point to pause and see if children remember why Pete’s shoes changed to each color in the story.
Step 4: Cut Out Pete and His Shoes
Carefully cut around Pete using the dashed cutting lines included on the printable.
Then cut out all four shoes.
Younger students may need help cutting around Pete’s tail and legs.
Step 5: Glue on Pete’s Shoes
Glue the four colored shoes onto Pete’s feet.
One fun option is to let children decide which colors Pete should wear together. Another is to use the pieces to retell the story before choosing the final shoes for the craft.
Step 6: Add Pete to a Background
Choose a piece of construction paper or cardstock and glue Pete onto it.
Children can leave the background simple or decorate it with drawings inspired by the story.
Turn the Pete the Cat Craft Into a Story Retelling Activity
Before gluing everything together, use the shoes as movable story pieces.
Place the red, blue, brown, and white shoes in front of the child and ask them to arrange the colors in the order they remember from the book.
You can ask questions such as:
- “What color were Pete’s shoes at the beginning?”
- “What happened next?”
- “What color did his shoes turn?”
- “How did Pete react?”
This makes the activity especially useful after a classroom read-aloud because children aren’t just making Pete. They’re recalling and discussing what they heard.
Easy Ways to Use This Pete the Cat Craft
This printable can fit into several parts of your preschool or kindergarten day. You could use it for:
- A Pete the Cat book study
- Read-aloud follow-up
- Literacy centers
- Story sequencing practice
- Color recognition
- Fine motor practice
- Library activities
- Homeschool lessons
- Morning work
- Early finisher activities
- Back-to-school activities
If you’re using it with a group, displaying all of the finished Pete crafts together would also make an adorable classroom or hallway display.
You could even add a heading such as “We’re Rocking in Our Shoes!”
Read Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes
Of course, this craft makes the most sense when paired with Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes.
I recommend reading the story first and then bringing out the printable craft. As you read, encourage children to pay attention to what happens to Pete’s shoes.
Afterward, see how many colors and events they can remember before starting the activity.
For another reading, pause before each shoe-color change and let children predict what will happen next.
More Pete the Cat Activities to Try
If you’re planning an entire Pete the Cat theme or book study, you don’t have to stop with the craft.
Pair this activity with additional I Love My White Shoes learning activities such as:
- Story sequencing
- Beginning sounds
- Color words
- Shoe color activities
- Story elements
- Cause and effect
- Rhyming words
- Writing prompts
- Shoe tracing
- Fine motor activities
- Color-by-code pages
These activities can turn one favorite read-aloud into several days of playful literacy practice.
Pair This Craft With Pete the Cat Printables
If you love this craft, I also created Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes worksheets and activities that can be paired with this craft.
Using the worksheets first and saving the craft for the end is an easy way to build a complete book companion lesson. Students can work on story comprehension and early literacy skills and then finish with something creative.
The craft can also work as the final activity after completing a Pete the Cat unit.
Visit my shop to check out my Pete the Cat Worksheet Bundle
A Simple Shoe Color Extension Activity
If you want one more activity without printing another worksheet, turn the four shoes into a quick color game.
Call out one of the colors from the story and have children point to the correct shoe.
Then try giving clues instead:
“Find the shoe that matches a strawberry.”
“Which shoe matches blueberries?”
“Which shoe matches mud?”
You can also ask children to think of other things that match each color.
It’s a simple way to build vocabulary and color recognition while keeping the book theme going.
Pin This Pete the Cat Craft for Later
Save this Pete the Cat craft to your preschool activities, kindergarten activities, book companion activities, or Pete the Cat Pinterest board so you can find it when you’re ready for your next read-aloud.
It’s an easy activity to keep on hand for back-to-school season, literacy centers, library lessons, or anytime you’re reading Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes.
Get Your Free Pete the Cat Craft Printable Here
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Pete the Cat Craft: A Fun Way to Extend the Story
A favorite picture book can become so much more than a read-aloud when children have an opportunity to interact with the story afterward.
I created this Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes craft to give preschool and kindergarten children an easy way to revisit Pete’s colorful adventure while practicing coloring, cutting, sequencing, story recall, and fine motor skills.
Print the template, grab some crayons and scissors, and let your little readers create a Pete with some very colorful shoes!
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