Under the Sea Crafts for Kids

Paper Bag Octopus Craft

What you will need: Paper lunch bags or larger, grocery bags, paper scraps (junk mail), colored paper, large wiggly eyes (optional), tape, glue, and paint.

What to do:
1. Stuff a paper back with wrinkled up paper scraps.
2. Cut strips of paper about 2" wide depending on how big you are making your octopus. Fan fold the strips and glue them together to make longer legs.
3. Gather eight legs together and stuff the ends into the stuffed bag.  Tape the bag closed around the legs.
4. Have fun painting your octopus.
5. To finish glue on wiggly eyes or make your own eyes.

Math Fun with X-ray Fish - Children help the X-Ray find the answer to math problems by moving the X-ray fish picture over another sheet of paper with numbers printed on it until the correct number appears in the bubble. Go to the Educational Math Crafts and Activities Page for direction to this activity.

"Searching for Treasure" Math Game - This game can be used for any level. Just write the math problems your child is reviewing on the outside of the oysters. Hide a small treat behind one or more of the oysters. Your child then points to one of the oysters, answers the equation, and opens it up to see if he is correct and maybe find a treasure. Go to the Educational Math Crafts and Activities Page for direction to this game.

Sea Animal Plaster Picture Frame Craft - This 3 1/2" x 4 1/2" frame is so easy to make. Children and adults of all ages will love making this craft.

What you will need: Plastic frame molds (I got mine from Michael's Craft Store), Sea Animals mold (bought it at the same place)  The molds can be found were they sell the Fimo clay.  Plater of Paris and water color paints, glue, and cardboard.

What to do:
1. Mix the plaster up according to the directions.
2. Pour (or spoon in) it into the molds.  Use a thicker plaster mix for the frames this will make them stronger.  Use a thinner plaster mix to for the sea animals this will make them easier to pour.
3. After you have the plaster in the molds, pick up the molds and tap them lightly on the table about 10 times to get the bubbles out.
4. Let the molds dry for at least an hour. 
5. When the plaster is set turn the molds over and gently push on the back of the mold to get the frames and animals out. Let them dry completely for a couple of days.
6. Paint the frames and animals with water color paints and then let dry. Be careful to not get to much water on the frames because it will make them weaker and more likely to break. You may want to glue some cardboard to the back of the frames around the edges before you paint them to make them sturdier.
7. When the frame is completely dry glue the animals onto the frame.  Cut a piece of poster board 3 1/4" wide by 10 3/4".  Fold the poster board up 1" at the bottom and then fold it up 1 1/2" and then fold it up 2" and then 2" again.  You should have 4 1/4" left that is not folded. Tape a favorite picture in place and then glue the 4 1/4" side onto the back of the plaster frame. Glue the 1 1/2" side onto the back of the frame and roll the first 1" side inside to form a triangle shape for the frame to rest on and hold it up. 

Puffer Fish Craft   

What you will need: Old egg cartons, construction paper, fishing line, wiggly eyes and glue.

What to do:
1. Cut the 2 bottom (cup) parts of an egg carton out.  Colored egg cartons are good for colorful fish.
2. Draw an outline of the cups on construction paper that goes with the egg cup.
3. Take the outline and add a fish head outline and top and tail fin outlines. Cut out the outlines together. (It will look like a flat fish) If you would like a pattern (click here)
4.  Apply glue to the egg cup rims and them glue together with the construction paper outline in the middle.
5.  Add craft eyes and draw in fin details with  lines.
6. You can add a little fishing line when glueing together body if you want to hang it after glue dries.

This turned out real cute.  My 4 year old was crazy  about the puffy looking fish. Joan J. Ivy

My daughter had a great time making the puffer fish into a pocupine puffer fish by poking cut up pieces of pipe cleanesr into the egg carton body so that it looked spiney. Carolyn

 No Sew Stuffed Woven Fish Toy Craft

What you will need: Two different colors of felt, wiggly eyes, scissors, polyester fiber fill, and hot melt glue

What to do:
1. Print out the pattern.
2. Cut the body pattern out twice from two different colors of felt placing the dotted lines on a fold.  Cut the tail pattern out from one of the two colors.
3. To weave the fish body tuck tab 1 between the layers of tab C,
4. Tuck tab B between the layers of tab 1,
5.   Tuck tab 1 between the layers of tab A. Slide tab 1 up a little.
6. Tuck tab C between the layers of tab 2.
7. Tuck tab 2 between the layers of B
8. Tuck tab A between the layers of 2.  Slide the tabs up a little.
9. Tuck tab 3 between the layers of tab C.
10.  Tuck tab B between the layers of 3.
11.  Tuck tab 3 between the layers of A.
12. Glue the felt together between the two fins. You may want to put some glue between the woven felt layers.
13.  Glue the tail fin to one side of the inside of the fish.  Glue around the edge of the side fins leaving an opening where the tail fin was glued.
14.  Stuff the fish with polyester fiber fill. Glue the rest closed.

Stuffed Paper Sea Turtle Craft

What you will need: Paper, paper glue, scissors, stapler, crayons or markers, fiber fill, poster board or something similar.

What to do:
1. Print out the patterns for the turtle's shell, turtle's head, flippers and tail and belly.

2. Cut out the patterns and glue the flippers onto poster board with paper glue and then cut them out again. Use the stomach and tail pattern to trace the outline onto poster board and then cut it out.
3. Color all the body parts.
4. Cut the shell at the back, front and sides where indicated.  Fold the flaps back at the fold lines.  Turn the shell over and staple the darts closed on the solid lines. Carefully turn the shell right side out.
5. Staple the the back and front flippers in place.
6. To assemble the head fold all the flaps back and then place glue on flap A. Glue flap A under flap B. Place glue on flap D and glue under flap C.  Place glue on flap E and glue under flap F.
7. Fold on the dotted lines so that the two triangles at the bottom are folded up.
8. Staple the shell onto the stomach starting at the back or tail area. Then staple both sides and fill in all the way around the turtle. Leave the neck area open and stuff with fiber fill. 
9. Staple the head on where indicated and staple the shell to close it up. 
10. To finish fold down the flippers.

 Sea Creature Wind Mobile Craft

What you will need: Pipe cleaner, beads, fun foam, fun foam sea creature cutouts (come in a package already cut), scissors, punch, and string.

What to do:
1. Cut out a 6" circle from a piece of fun foam.  Cut in a circular direction around the circle until you come to the middle.  Punch a hole in the top (inside of the circle) and two holes at the bottom (outside of the circle) as shown in the picture.
2. Bend the very bottom of the pipe cleaner into a loop and then push the top of the pipe cleaner through the two holes at the bottom.
3. Punch two holes in your fun foam sea creature one on top of the other and feed the pipe cleaner through the holes.  (Make sure the sea creature is not upside down.)
4. Now string on some pretty beads.
5. When you have all the beads on the pipe cleaner you want put the pipe cleaner through the other hole of the cut fun foam.
7. Bend this end of the pipe cleaner in a loop and tie a string to hang the mobile to the loop.
8. Tie a string to the bottom loop of the mobile and string some beads onto the string.
9. Tie a knot at the bottom to finish.

Fish in Water Sponge Painting Craft

What you will need:  Sponges, Sponge rollers with wave pattern (made by Plaid found in craft stores), paint, different colors of paint, and light blue construction paper

What to do: 
1.  Cut fish shapes out of sponges or use fish shaped sponges.
2.  Squeeze dark blue paint onto a foam plate.  Show children how to roll the sponge back and forth to pick up the paint and then roll it back and forth onto the blue construction paper to make waves.
3.  Squeeze different colors of paint onto separate foam plates.  Have at least one sponge fish  per plate.  Have the children press the sponges filled with paint onto their picture.
4.  You can also use an eraser on the end of a  pencil dipped in paint to make bubbles.  We also used jumbo dotters (Made by Plaid and found at craft stores) of different shapes to make plants at the bottom of the sea.

 Fish in a Fish Bowl Craft

What you will need: Construction paper and poster board, sandwich size resealable bag, fish tank gravel, Easter grass, staples, glue, different colors of paper to cut fish from.

 What to do:
1. Print out the fish bowl pattern and cut out two fish bowls shapes from construction paper and two from poster board.
2. Staple a plastic bag around the edge of the cut out construction paper fish bowls on all sides except the top. Have the children put a handful of gravel, some Easter grass, and some fish that they drew and cut out inside the bag. Have them arrange the fish the way they want.
3. Seal the bag and staple it to the paper. It should be stapled all the way around near the edge of the cut out.
4. Now glue the poster board fish bowls on top of the construction paper fish bowls to cover up the staples.

  Changeable Fish in Water Picture - Danielle loved this project so much that she had me make a seashore all the way around the edge of the picture. She picked out turtles, and birds, and frogs to put on the shore. She even had  one of the shore birds standing up.

What you will need: Two pieces of blue construction paper, pictures of fish, glue, crayons or markers, scissors with a wave pattern, scissors, glue.
What to do:
 1. To make the water fold one paper in half. Cut slits about 3/4 of an inch apart using the wave pattern scissors down the length of the paper starting at the fold. Do not cut all the way to the end. When you open up the paper you should have slits across the length of the paper all in a row. Now glue the paper to just another piece of blue paper around the edges. The children should be able to stick the fish and boat inside the slits.
2. Print out the sea creature pictures (Large file or small file). Have your children color the pictures and cut them out. If you have children that can draw fairly well, have them draw their own fish and boat.  For younger children you may want to have the fish and boat pictures already cut out. Just  have them color the pictures and place them in the waves.  

(I thought that this was a cute little thing for my children to do. I thought that this would look more life like if you glued some sand (gathered from a beach or local park) to the bottom of the page and perhaps some tiny seashells you can purchase or find at the beach. Thank you for all your great ideas Jennifer

Crafts on other Pages

 1. Sea shell paperweight Craft
 2. Stuffed fish, Sea Stars and Sea Horse Craft
 3. Fish Puppet Craft
 4. Pop Bottle Goldfish Craft
 5. L'oreal Goldfish Craft
 6. No Mess  Sand Art Craft
 7. Fish in Water Paper Plate Craft
8. Paper Plate Star Fish Craft
9. Plastic Milk Jug Whale Craft

Paper Crafts on The Resource Room

You can find more paper crafts on The Resource Room. The Resource Room is designed specifically for Sunday School teachers and Christian homeschool parents.  We have Bible lessons for preschool and primary age children.  Each lesson comes with activity and craft ideas to reinforce the lesson.

Crafts Ideas on other sites:

New Under the Sea Fun Mug - You can also buy mugs at Wal-mart for about $1.00 a piece. The inside comes out.  There is enough room at the bottom to put some aquarium gravel, maybe some blue plastic wrap. Fish stickers can be placed on the inside part and then the mug can be put together to look like a sea in the mug.

Nutin' But Kid's Sea Page - has lots of Sea related ideas.

Ocean Diorama from Enchanted Learning.com - Just print out the patterns of the whales and tie them inside a box decorated to look like the sea.

Children's Crafts - This site has a cute little crab made from sea shell macaroni and pipe cleaners and a fish T-shirt. We made our crab a little different. We glued the eyes to the shell. I also glued tiny sea shells onto the ends of a pipe cleaner for the pinchers. I used a real sea shell, but the small macaroni shells will work well.  You can have the children paint the sea shells red first and while they dry they can make a crab habitat by decorating a small heavy duty paper plate with paint and colored sand or (colored salt) or maybe some small sea shells or rocks or aquarium rocks.

Together Time Activity Club - This site has great craft ideas. There is a craft for "Rocky the Octopus" paperweight and a really cute window fish.   If you want to make this craft a little more involved, have the children paint their rocks before they make the octopus. Prepare the rocks ahead of time by glueing fun foam or felt to the bottom so that they won't scratch up a table of desk.  You can also hand out small fish pens that can be ordered from Oriental Trading to place in the octopus' hand.

Early Childhood Thematic Units - This site has some great craft ideas. They have a paper plate jelly fish, tissue paper fish, finger paint fish, fluorescent octopus, and a sand art craft.  All these crafts are great for younger children. For the jelly fishes oral arms we used a white plastic kitchen bag cut up into strips.  You can also add lengths of yarn for tentacles. (not pictured) We also glued on round sequins to the arms to make it sparkle.