Paper plate crafts are a lot of fun and have a lot of great potential for creative construction. You can make a top hat by folding construction paper end to end from the short ends to create the top of the hat, then putting a paper plate on the bottom facing up this creates the bill of the hat. Many kids love making Abraham Lincoln hats this way but this is just one easy project to create. You can easily customize the entire hat once you put the pieces together by adding, for example adding construction paper to create the pilgrim buckle found on the settlers trademark hats, a design found often around thanksgiving.
In the same Holiday a turkey can be created by making “finger” strips from construction paper and gluing them to the outside of one side of the plate. Using different colored construction paper is often a preference for vibrancy and a deeper 3D action of the end result.
Using glitter, glue, paint, markets, and many other things, you can dress up a paper plate into a face, a bowl or a supporting piece of another project. Using the back side to give the face a more 3D and natural look is preferred, but turning the plate over so the face is sunken in your child can create a really cool Sun by adding elements around the outside like construction paper or tissue paper (yellow). This shows the way the sun is often viewed at a distance while faces are often more “in your face” 3D coming towards you. Small things like this give children an education in how they perceive things and how to replicate those things in their artwork. You can reverse either one as well for a unique feel.
Some paper plate crafts don’t require anything but a drawing device and the plate itself. You could add in some safety scissors to cut some details out of the edges or even to make a paper plate mask for Halloween by adding a piece of string or cut open rubber band that you’d staple to the edges. The child can draw their favorite face or even a character they like from TV. They then cut out holes for the nose moth and eyes and they are ready to wear it and play dress up!