This is an easy pom pom animal craft to make with kids. We think this pom pom craft turtle is so cute!

Pom Pom Turtle Craft For Kids - feature with finished craft and text

This easy pom pom craft is easy for kids to make

We have been learning all about reptiles this week, so we made a turtle craft together. This easy pom pom craft turtle turned out to be so fun for my kid to make.

Get all the activities and resources we used for our reptile-themed week here, including our weekly lesson plan.

Here’s our secret. I actually bought this as a pom pom animal craft set.

But if you have some pom poms, pipe cleaners, squiggly eyes and glue at home, you can easily make this pom pom animal yourself.

The real advantage of the craft kit is the realistic colors. But to be honest, I’m sure my kid would have loved, if not even preferred, a wacky colorful turtle.

My kid holding the easy pom pom turtle craft that he made

Here's a photo of the contents of the pom pom craft set that I bought. The set has enough materials to make three turtles. Two turtles are small and one turtle is big.

As you can imagine though, we only made one pom pom craft turtle before my kid lost focus and wanted to start playing with it. Hence, you only see the small pom pom turtle in the pictures.

Supplies needed to make this turtle pom pom craft with your kid

If you don’t have a craft kit, these are the supplies you will need to make one pom pom craft turtle:

about 10 small pom poms for the turtle's shell
one small pom pom for the turtle's tail
one small pom pom for the turtle's neck
one larger pom pom for the turtle's head
two squiggly eyes
one cardboard or foam piece cut into a rough oval shape
one short pipe cleaner that is just long enough to outline the cardboard oval
four pipe cleaners for the turtle's legs
craft glue

This is the tacky glue we always use when making pom pom crafts. I find it is strong enough to hold pom poms together.

Pom Pom Craft Turtle - made by my kid, finished craft sitting by a tree

How to make this easy pom pom animal turtle

I've tried to take a lot of pictures to show how my kid and I made this turtle craft. Hopefully you can follow along!

First make a border for the shell

First, wrap the short pipe cleaners around so it’s the size of the cardboard oval. Glue it on. This forms the border for the shell.

Step one in making our easy pom pom craft

Glue on pom poms to make the turtle shell

Next, glue on the pom poms to make a shell. Start by gluing a circle just inside the pipe cleaners. Then, start gluing layers upwards into a shell.

Using pom poms to make a turtle shell for our kid craft project

Add on a tail and neck

Once the shell is done, glue a small tail at one end. On the other end, glue a small pom pom as a neck.

Glue on a turtle head

For the last pom pom, glue a larger pom pom as the turtle’s head. Then glue on 2 squiggly eyes.

This picture doesn’t show the tail.

This easy pom pom craft for kids - we are gluing the pom poms on

Make legs for the craft turtle using pipe cleaners

Lastly, you have to make the turtle’s legs. I had to help my kid with this part because the pipe cleaner was a bit wonky.

Take a pipe cleaner and wrap it tightly around a pencil. Slide it off the pencil and glue it on the bottom of the oval cardboard. Repeat this three times to make all the legs.

Rolling pipe cleaner around a pen to make turtle legs

Gluing pipe cleaner legs on our pom pom turtle craft

And there you go! You are done with your easy pom pom craft turtle!

Pom Pom Turtle - Finished kid craft turtle on display

Tips for making this easy pom pom craft

This pom pom animal is pretty straightforward to make. I did it together with my kid because it is a little bit difficult for him to work with such small pom poms. But an older kid could definitely make this by themselves.

Use the right glue

The trickiest part for making this craft is gluing it so the pom poms stick well enough for a kid to play with it.

We’ve done a lot of pom pom crafts in the past and I’ve learned to always use this tacky glue. Other glues often just end up as a dry spot on the pom poms, but don’t actually hold them together.

Easy Pom Pom Pom Craft for Kids - Turtle - finished being held by kid

Organize the pom pom by size before you start

My kid always rushes ahead when we do crafts. To help make the process easier for me, I always make sure everything is organised before we start.

Before we started gluing, I had him make one pile of green small pom poms, and separate out the tail, neck and head.

That way, he didn’t grab the wrong size or color pom pom when gluing.

Cute Pom Pom Craft for Kids - Easy Turtle - with text showing finished turtle

Hope you enjoy making this easy pom pom craft at home

My kid named his turtle Pooh Bear and loves it. He's taught Pooh Bear how to count numbers and play piano.

I really hope you enjoy making this easy pom pom animal craft as much as we did!