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My son, Easton, has recently become interested in sea animals. He is obsessed with everything that lives in the ocean, from starfish to whales.
So, naturally, we came up with a few sea animal crafts to make! He had a blast making this paper plate octopus craft, and I’m sure your preschooler or kindergartener will too!
This Paper Plate Octopus Craft is:
- great for developing fine motor skills
- involves painting, drawing, cutting and pasting
- is really fun to make
- a fantastic way to learn about octopuses
Fun facts about octopuses
While making this craft, it would be a great chance to talk to your child about some interesting octopus facts. Here are a few:
- Octopuses have 8 arms (octo means 8).
- They have 3 hearts and blue blood!
- When octopuses get scared, they shoot out a dark liquid (ink) to temporarily blind a predator so they can swim away.
- If an octopus loses an arm, it will grow back!
- They only live for 6-18 months on average.
- Octopuses are invertebrates, which means they have no bones. Because of this, they can squeeze into tiny spaces, and change their shape!
Learn with books
A great way to reinforce what your child learns while making this craft is through books! Here are some great books about octopuses:
What supplies do you need?
- 1 paper plate
- paint (color of your choice)
- construction paper (colors of your choice)
- dot markers and regular markers
- glue
- scissors
How do you make the paper plate octopus craft?
Step 1: Paint the back of your paper plate, then let it dry. I chose to make a yellow octopus with rainbow colored arms. Be creative and use any color combination you want!
Step 2: Meanwhile, cut 8 long strips of construction paper to create the arms. I chose to use rainbow colors, but again, use any color(s) you’d like. Then, using the dot markets, make a bunch of dots on the arms to create the suction cups.
Step 3: Once the paint on the paper plate has dried, draw a face on the octopus.
Step 4: Glue the 8 pieces of paper to the back of the plate and let it dry.
Step 5: Once the glue has dried, use a pencil (or pen, chopstick, or anything else you have around the house) to roll up the octopus’ arms. And there you have it, a paper plate octopus!
Try these other fun kids crafts!
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