Can you believe it’s almost fall already?! As soon as September comes around, we start thinking all about Halloween crafts and activities for kids.

We love doing kid-friendly, non-scary Halloween activities with the family that get our creativity flowing.

This handprint bat craft is a perfect example of one of our favorite Halloween crafts for kids!

It’s a simple paper craft that uses common crafting supplies and turns your child’s hands into a cute bat keepsake. Your kids will love making this craft, and you’ll love how they’re developing fine motor skills and working on following directions!

Read on or watch the video below and learn how to make this adorable handprint bat with your kids or students.

Halloween Handprint Craft

We love this bat craft because it uses craft supplies most moms and teachers already have in stock!

If you don’t have all these things available to you and you still want to try the craft be sure to read our substitution and adaptation section below!

Supplies

• Colored cardstock or construction paper
• White card stock
• Googly eyes (we used .75″ and 1″)
• Pencil
• Glue stick
• Scissors
• Bat craft template (form at the end of the page)

Directions

Download the bat craft template and print it onto the colored card stock indicated on each page. Cut out the pieces and set them aside. 

Trace your child’s handprints onto the colored cardstock you chose for the bat’s body 2 times. Cut out both handprints.

Begin to assemble the bat by gluing the 2 kid’s handprints to either side of the bat’s body.

Attach the little bat feet to the bottom of the bat’s body.

Glue the belly onto the center of the bat’s stomach.

Glue the inner ear onto both of the bat’s ears.

Glue the white smile beneath the eyes.

Attach one large and one medium googly eye to the middle of the bat’s head.

That’s all there is to it!

These handprint bats are great keepsakes and would make sweet Halloween gifts for friends and family members! They’re the perfect way to remember how small your kid’s little hands were each Halloween.

Bat Template Notes

When you download these free bat craft templates, there are a few things to note.

If you’re doing this Halloween craft with your kids, then you’ll probably want to print out the first page of the template which has all of the bat pieces on one page.

You’ll print this off on white card stock and cut out all the pieces. Then, when your kids are ready to do the craft, they will trace those individual pieces onto the colored card stock and cut their individual pieces out themselves.

If on the other hand, you’re doing this craft with several children, in a classroom, library, or daycare setting, you’ll want the second template included in the download. There are four pages, each with a different piece of the bat on a page.

With this template, you’ll print the pages out on the colored card stock directly and give these to the children. This will speed up the process and will allow the kids to skip tracing and just cut one time.

Craft Substitutions & Adaptations

Love this craft but don’t have all the supplies on hand? Here are a few ways to make substitutions.

First, you can get rid of the googly eyes. We think the googly eyes make this craft super cute and silly, but if you don’t have any at home you can always substitute it with white paper.

Simply cut or use a circle punch to make 2 circles and glue them onto the bat. Then use a black marker to draw in the pupils! Easy peasy!

If your child doesn’t yet have the fine motor skills necessary to cut out the thin bat smile, you can always forgo this piece. Instead, take a marker and draw on a cute smile.

You can also remove the bat’s inner ear and belly pieces and instead allow the kids to draw these parts with markers.

Halloween Unit Ideas

Halloween is a great time to get kids excited about learning. With all the fun and excitement of costumes, candy, and pumpkin carving, it’s easy to forget that Halloween can also be a great opportunity to teach kids.

A Halloween unit study can help kids learn important skills like using scissors, exercising creativity, following directions – to name a few! We’ve got Halloween craft activities, kids worksheets, and more to get the learning started. Read on below to get ready in no time at all!

Kids’ Halloween Books

Reading aloud to kids is one of the best ways to foster a love of reading in them. When parents take the time to read aloud to their kids, it sends the message that reading is important and worth their time.

Below are some of the top-rated Halloween books for kids. Add them to your home collection or borrow them from your local library.

Room On The Broom: This has to be one of our favorite Halloween books of all time! The story follows a witch and her cat as they happen upon some animals who help the witch. There’s danger, mystery, and friendship in this adorable children’s story.

5 Minute Spooky Stories: We love Disney’s 5-minute storybooks and this one is perfect for Halloween! See how all your favorite Disney characters celebrate this spooky holiday.

Ten Timid Ghosts: This is a fun countdown book about a witch who moves into a haunted house where 10 ghosts already live. The witch scares the ghosts out one by one until they devise a scheme to get her out of their house. This Halloween children’s book is good for kids who love rhyming stories!

Halloween Kids’ Crafts

Crafting is a great activity for young children! Not only does it help them to develop fine motor skills, but it also allows them to express their creativity. So next time you’re looking for something to do with your young child, consider crafting! Here are some of our favorite Halloween craft ideas:

Witch Popsicle Stick Craft – Kids of all ages will love making this witch popsicle stick craft for Halloween! It’s easy to make with just a few supplies, and it’s a great way to decorate for the holiday. Kids can use their creativity and draw different expressions on their witch’s face to add a personal touch to their craft!

Candy Corn Halloween Craft – Frankenstein is one of the most iconic Halloween characters, and this easy candy corn craft is a perfect way for kids to get into the spirit of the season.

Simply print out the free printable template and have your child cut out the pieces. Then, they can glue the candy corn pieces together to make this cute little guy. It’s a fun activity that’s sure to get them excited for Halloween.

Paper Bag Ghost Craft – This super simple paper bag ghost craft is perfect for young kids to make! Just print out the free template, cut it out, and glue it to a paper bag. It’s an easy craft perfect for Halloween parties or as a fun afternoon activity in October! Have your kids put on a spooky puppet show with their paper bag ghosts and let their imaginations run wild.

Frankenstein Paper Cup Craft – If your kids like monsters and Halloween, then they’ll love this Frankenstein craft! All you need are some simple supplies like construction paper, a paper cup, and glue. Use our free template and follow the step-by-step instructions to bring this iconic character to life!

Halloween Kids Activities

These Halloween color by number printables for kids are a great way to help them develop hand-eye coordination while having fun.

They’re also an easy way to learn colors and counting while they’re at it! Just print out the sheets and hand them over with some crayons or markers.

Kids love candy corn? Then they’ll have fun with these candy corn pattern worksheets! They’re a great way for little ones to practice their pattern recognition skills, and they’re also great for working on scissor skills.

These printable activities have a variety of different patterns for kids to practice with, and they’re perfect for preschool and kindergarten.

These Halloween I Spy printables are such a fun idea and the perfect way to get your little ones in the Halloween spirit! They’re also a great memory and visual discrimination game.

Simply print out these educational activities, and then have your child find all the Halloween-themed objects. To make them more challenging, time them to see how fast they can complete the sheet.

Try this pumpkin glow in the dark slime recipe to add some spooky fun to your Halloween celebrations! This slime is super stretchy and tactile, making it perfect for sensory play.

Plus, it glows in the dark, adding an extra element of excitement for kids – perfect for Halloween night!

Share With Us

Did you make this fun handprint bat with your kids? We love seeing how your projects turn out on social media! Please stop by our Facebook page and leave a picture of your finished bat craft on our wall or in our private Facebook group!

More Halloween Ideas For Kids

Free Bat Template