Paper Plate Tomato Craft for Kids (Easy Sponge Painting!)
This paper plate tomato craft is as fun to make as it is cute — and all you need is a paper plate, a bit of construction paper, and some red paint. The sponge painting technique makes it perfect for little hands, and the “Learn About Tomatoes” section turns it into a mini lesson while you craft. Tomato lovers, this one’s for you!
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I may have mentioned this already, but our kids LOVE tomatoes. We serve sliced tomatoes with almost every meal and it’s the one vegetable (or technically, fruit) that I can count on them wanting on their sandwich. So, they were pretty excited about this paper plate tomato craft.
Note: If veggie-themed crafts are your thing, be sure to try our play food carrots, paper asparagus or DIY mushrooms crafts! These fun, food-inspired crafts are perfect for stocking kids’ play kitchen and sparking hours of imaginative play.
Why We Love This Paper Plate Tomato Craft
- Simple supplies! We love crafting with paper plates because we almost always have some laying around and they make a great canvas for painting! If you love crafting with paper plates, be sure to also check out our paper plate watermelons and paper plate pizza crafts!
- Fine motor skills. Our tomato craft allows kids to put their developing painting and coloring skills to good use.
- Easy for all ages– This was a very simple craft that my kids were able to do almost completely on their own.
- Play time! We love play food crafts! Once kids create their tomatoes, they can add them to their play food collection and play restaurant, kitchen or more!
🧽 Why Sponge Painting Works Perfectly for Tomatoes
No paintbrushes? No problem! We actually used sponges to paint, and the kids seemed to enjoy dabbing the plates with their paint-soaked sponges. They also decided to add faces to their tomatoes, which was pretty cute. Though, I would recommend doing this after the paint has dried.
🍅 Fun Tomato Facts for Kids
Food crafts like this tomato craft create great opportunities to talk with kids about food and nutrition. One common misconception held by many people is that tomatoes are vegetables. Because tomatoes have seeds and grow from a flowering plant, botanically they are considered to be fruits. Yet, nutritionally and legally tomatoes are considered to be veggies.
Kids might also be surprised to know that while tomatoes are often red, they can also be pink, yellow, purple or more! As far as production goes, they also may be interested to learn that China is the largest producer of tomatoes, and tomatoes are the state vegetable of New Jersey.
✂️ Supplies
Notes on supplies.
- White paper plate
- Red Crayola paint
- Small container for paint
- Sponge- cut into long, thing strips to serve as paint brushes!
- Markers– or a Sharpie
- Construction paper– green is ideal
- Scissors– we love these kid-friendly scissors
- Elmer’s Glue Sticks– tape will also work.
📋 Instructions
Step 1. Use red paint and sponges (or paint brushes) to paint paper plate red.
Step 2. While paint dries, trace and cut out a tomato stem from green paper as shown.
Step 3. Glue or tape stem to the top and center of your tomato.
Step 4. Optional: Use markers to add a face to your tomato! Enjoy your tomato craft!
“This post has been included by Twinkl in their blog on Extracurricular Activities“
✔️ Expert Tips and Tricks
- Allow red paint to dry completely before drawing a face on your tomato. Give younger kids a hand by handling the cutting and gluing—especially if working with toddlers!
- Complete the fun by adding play food carrots, paper asparagus and pop-up paper peppers to your kids’ veggie craft collection!
❓FAQ
Paper plates work beautifully for all kinds of vegetable crafts — try making watermelons, pumpkins, sunflowers, or lemons using the same sponge painting technique. Each one just needs a different color paint and simple paper details for leaves and stems.
This craft is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers ages 2 and up. The sponge painting technique is ideal for little hands that aren’t ready for fine brush control yet.
🥫 Make It a Full Tomato Night!
While the kids work on their tomato crafts, get dinner started with our caprese kabobs with pesto or baked Italian sausage with veggies — both ready in 28 minutes and packed with fresh tomato flavor! And if you love the idea of keeping kids busy while you cook, check out how crafts keep kids engaged during dinner prep.
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🍅 Paper Plate Tomato Craft for Kids
Equipment
- sponge cut into strips to form paint brushes
Supplies
- 1 paper plate (white )
- washable paint (red )
- 1 piece construction paper (green)
- marker(s) (black or color of choice )
- 1 glue stick
Instructions
- Pour some red paint into small container. Dab sponge into paint and then onto plate until plate is covered. Allow to dry.
- Meanwhile, trace and cut out a tomato stem from green paper.
- Glue or tape stem to the top and center of your tomato.
- Optional: Use markers to add a face to your tomato! Enjoy your tomato craft!
Notes
-
- Allow red paint to dry completely before drawing a face on your tomato.
-
- Give younger kids a hand by handling the cutting and gluing—especially if working with toddlers!
-
- Complete the fun by adding play food carrots, paper asparagus and pop-up paper peppers to your kids’ veggie craft collection!
