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Octopus Craft

We are currently in the middle of an oceans unit and today we looked at octopuses more closely. We decided to try our hand at making our own, using paper plates for the main portion of the body and bubble wrap for the sucker-covered tentacles. 


Our supplies: bubble wrap, a paper plate, googly eyes, paint, paint brush, & tape

i highly recommend cutting the bubble wrap into eight strips before
painting since the the paint will most likely be a bit flaky
 Step 1: paint back side of paper plate


little lady didn't make an octopus but she had a lot
of fun painting a plate her face
 Step 2: paint bubble wrap


Step 3: let paint dry completely

Step 4: fold two sides of plate towards the middle and tape (so you create a cylinder shape)

Step 5: tape on bubble wrap tentacles 
            *the taping was a little complicated for my kids and required a bit of mom's assistance; hence, no pictures 

Step 6: add googly eyes

our octopuses
*the 3rd one belongs to a little girl, V, that I babysit
a couple times a week

I didn't like any of the fiction books our local library had about Octopuses but we did enjoy these two nonfiction books.

 

Both are full of great photos. The Pebble Plus book is probably best for younger ages. In all the Pebble Plus books we have read, the text has only been a couple sentences per page so it's a great way to introduce nonfiction books. The Welcome To the World of Animals book contains a lot more information. It was engaging and easy for Big Buddy to follow but I saved it for when the rest of the children were napping. 

Looking for more ocean learning ideas, please check our our ocean unit. You can also find lots more units and crafts on our homeschool page. 
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Comments

  1. meme-and-heSeptember 13, 2012 at 10:36 AM

    adorable! What a great idea! I do activities at a nursing home, and I just might steal this idea :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownSeptember 13, 2012 at 1:15 PM

    How clever and such a fun idea! Thanks for sharing!

    ZARA gift card giveaway for $400 on
    http://fashion-a-holic.com/2012/09/page/6/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Crafting PlaySeptember 13, 2012 at 1:45 PM

    These are so neat! Great idea!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 14, 2012 at 9:23 AM

    I love vertical eyes on the last jelly fish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rachel KaylynnSeptember 17, 2012 at 10:27 PM

      Ha! That's Mini Man's. V and Big Buddy tried to correct him but he was insistent :)

      Delete
  5. AnonymousSeptember 21, 2012 at 5:44 AM

    I am featuring this post on Read.Explore.Learn. today.

    ReplyDelete
  6. custom stickersSeptember 24, 2012 at 5:46 PM

    they are looking so cute by doing such clever activities with colors and making something quite different.

    ReplyDelete
  7. TonyaJune 5, 2013 at 3:22 PM

    This is part of our June lesson! I've linked up to you here: http://www.thesweatmanfamily.blogspot.com/2013/06/june-prek-lesson-plans.html

    ReplyDelete

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