Perfect for toddlers (with a bit of help), preschoolers, kindergarteners, and early elementary kids — easy to cut, easy to paint, and lots of fun. The free template comes with plenty of elements so kids can personalize their acorn. You’ll find both a ready-to-color version and a pre-colored version. No subscribing needed — just download and start crafting.
Tools & Materials
Printer Template (download at the end of the article – no subscription required) 9-inch paper plate Scissors White cardstock Brown cardstock (optional) Light brown paint (or mix white, brown, and yellow) Glue Colors or markers (optional)
Super tip: If you don’t have paper plates, you can use white cardstock cut into 9-inch circles.
Step 1 – Print the Paper Plate Acorn Template
Look through the template and only print the pages you need. For a longer activity, you can also print the coloring version. For this tutorial, I printed the color version. For the acorn top, stem, and bottom tip, I used the special page designed for printing on brown paper to save ink — and it worked perfectly. Important: Print at actual size or 100%. There’s a 1-inch square on the template so you can check the sizing. Paint the plate before cutting the template, so it’s dry and ready to use when assembling. If you don’t have light brown paint, you can mix:
2 teaspoons white paint 1 teaspoon brown paint ½ teaspoon yellow paint
I like adding the yellow for a warmer tone, but mixing white and brown works fine too.
Step 3 – Cut Paper Plate Acorn Template
Cut out the template pieces. You’ll find different sets of eyes and mouths. The eyebrows can be a little tricky — you can leave them out (like I did), but I included them in the template because why not?
Step 4 – Trace the Acorn Shape
Use the curved line on the first page of the template as a tracing guide. Place it on the left edge of the paper plate and trace the curve. Then flip the guide and trace the right side. Cut along both traced lines to form your acorn shape. I recommend tracing after painting — the plate is flatter and easier to work with that way.
Step 5 – Glue and Assemble the Acorn
Check the “assemble ideas” page in the template for inspiration.
Mini Paper Plate Acorn
Want to make a baby acorn too? I made a mini version using a 6-inch paper plate, and it turned out adorable. (It’s a little harder to cut, but older kids may prefer this option!) Just print the template at 70% scale and follow the same steps.
Download the Free Template
Just as I mentioned, here’s the acorn template for your craft! Click the image to open it in a new tab or use the yellow buttons to trigger a download.
Happy Crafting! I hope you enjoyed making this craft! It’s such a sweet way to welcome fall and spend time together. As you create, ask fun questions — what’s your acorn’s name? Is it friends with the squirrels? Does it live in a big oak tree or a tiny one? The sillier the answers, the better.
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