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It’s time to have fun with these Delightful Donkey Crafts for Kids – and the kids at heart! Perfect for World Donkey Day, or simply when you want to!

Having prejudices is never a good thing, for multiple reasons, chief of them being that they often turn out to be false! For instance, most people would consider the horse a far more heroic animal than the donkey, but little do they know that the opposite is actually true!

Yes, we have often heard people use the term donkey in a rather patronizing manner, but they’ll change their minds once they remember how amazing the donkey is! Donkeys belong to the same family as horses and zebras, but have longer ears and stockier bodies. 

Many of our misconceptions about donkeys are based on their depiction in popular culture, for example, Eeyore. In reality, donkeys are stronger than horses, have better hearing, can anticipate danger, and can travel on all kinds of terrain. What’s more, horses need to be approached gently since they get startled easily. But not donkeys! For this reason, donkeys are often placed with nervous horses to calm them down.

I’m sure this little tidbit has made you a lot more interested in this amazing animal that doesn’t get its due! With World Donkey Day on 8th May, we think it’s high time we put the spotlight on the humble donkey! There’s lots more where that came from, and we’ll learn more as we make some cute donkey crafts with our kids!

10 Delightful Donkey Crafts for Kids

1. Donkey Paper Bag Puppet Craft

Donkeys are incredibly intelligent animals. If they notice an obstacle in front of them, they can plan to change course to avoid it. They have the ability to judge their load and how it’ll affect the way they walk. They also have incredible memory; they can remember donkeys or routes they encountered 25 years ago! Learn more about the donkey’s intelligence with this paper bag puppet craft from Simple Mom Project.

2. D for Donkey Craft with Printable Template

Here is a cute little recycled CD turned into a donkey – and yes, those are donkey ears! Donkeys originated in the desert regions of Asia and Africa, and their ears evolved to be able to dissipate heat. A larger surface area means more heat dissipated in a short time, keeping the donkey cool.

3. Paper Plate Donkey Craft

One thing all kinds enjoy imitating is the sound of the donkey – hee haw, hee haw! In reality, being able to make this sound is a feature unique to donkeys – horses and zebras don’t have it. It’s a result of inhaling (hee) and exhaling (haw). Use this fun paper plate donkey from The Craft Balloon to practice your donkey sounds.

4. Vintage Stuffed Donkey Plushie

Donkeys come in all sizes, but did you know that there are tiny donkeys called miniature donkeys? These adorable animals are no taller than 3 feet and are popular as pets. You can make your own cute little pet donkey plushie with this tutorial from My So Called Crafty Life.

5. Paper Donkey Headband Craft

How cute is this pair of donkey headbands from Simple Everyday Mom? It reflects real life too, as donkeys often form close friendship with a particular animal in their group. Separating the pair ends up making them stressed and sad – they’re that loyal!

6. Free Printable Donkey Craft

All the donkeys we see today originated from one ancestor, the African wild ass. Unfortunately, the African wild ass is now deemed as ‘critically endangered’ with less than 200 adults now left in the wild. Let’s try to spread some awareness on this topic with donkey crafts, like this one from Simple Mom Project.

7. Pin the Tail on the Donkey Printable

You can’t have a list of donkey crafts without including the classic birthday party game – pin the tail on the donkey! The Crafting Chicks has got a free printable to use, that features a rather chic looking donkey with a colorful load. Did you know that donkeys have carried all kinds of loads throughout history, including Egyptian artwork and silk?

8. Printable Donkey Craft

Donkeys mate freely with horses and zebras, and this gives us babies with some interesting names. For instance, if the child of a horse and donkey is male, it is called a John mule, and if it is female, it is called a Molly. Donkeys mating with zebras produce Zedonks, or Zonkeys!! Have fun with these colorful names as you play with an equally colorful donkey craft from Learn Create Love.

9. Clothespin Donkey Craft

Donkeys also feature in the Bible, and they are often indicated as a symbol of hard work, peace as well as wealth. Even Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey! Free Fun Easter celebrates the biblical donkey with a cute little craft made using clothespins.

10. Donkey Pinata

You may have seen donkeys in different sizes and colors, and wondered if they were all indeed, donkeys. Well, they certainly are! There are more than 40 million donkeys across the world, with the most of them being in Egypt, Ethiopia, China, Pakistan and Mexico. These include over 189 species, which is why there are so many variations of donkeys! Celebrate these variations with a colorful donkey pinata from eHow.

I bet you didn’t realize how powerful donkeys were, till you read this list of donkey crafts for kids! I didn’t either, and now I’m quite impressed. This will be a great exercise for kids to learn that every animal has its role to play in our environment, and every one has their own strengths – even if they are made to appear otherwise. These donkey crafts are a great accompaniment to learning about the Equidae family, about beasts of burden or for Biblical study. And when you’re done, you can enjoy some movies and shows that feature donkeys, like Winnie the Pooh or Shrek!