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Paper · The activity desk

Paper plate spiral snail

Make a snail with a paper-plate shell and folded paper body.

Let's play →

A little plan for play

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What you need

A plain paper plate, a full sheet of paper, a glue stick, and large child-appropriate crayons.

Age: 3–5 years; choose for the individual child.

Stay with the child throughout. Check the space and supplies, including anything within reach of younger siblings. Skip any activity that is unsuitable. Stop if a child puts non-food material in their mouth or becomes distressed. Use intact books, full sheets of paper, a large child-appropriate crayon and a clean, dry towel. Follow product labels; remove torn paper and keep broken crayons and caps away from children. Adult handles and stores supplies.

Set up: Place the plate and paper on a flat surface.

Adult's role: Help fold the body and supervise glue use.

Let's make it happen

  1. Draw and color a large spiral on the plate for the snail's shell.
  2. Fold the sheet lengthwise into a long, wide strip for the body. Draw a face near one end.
  3. Glue the plate near the other end of the strip, leaving the face visible. Add patterns to the body if you like.

Make it simpler: Use a circle inside another circle instead of a spiral.

Clean up: Close the glue stick and put away the crayons.

Adult stays beside the child and supervises glue use. No small craft pieces are needed.

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