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Exciting Ocean Animal Crafts to Kick Off Summer

The summer months always remind me of the beach and all the fun animals there are to see at the coast. To kick off summer or to welcome another great year, I like to have my kids do a few ocean animal crafts from this bundle. I have done a variety of things each year to utilize these little animals, I’ll show you some of my favorites.

This ocean crafts bundle features a starfish, jellyfish, pufferfish, crab, seahorse and sting ray craft.

Bulletin Board Ideas

Whether it’s to welcome summer or a new school year, ocean animals are a great addition to any bulletin board. To kick off a great year, I love making a bulletin board that says, “Diving into a Great Year”. This can easily be customized to any grade level or it can be used as a school wide bulletin board. I have the kids create a scuba diver craft to add to the board. The kids love when we attach their actual faces to the scuba divers for everyone to see!

Three scuba diver crafts hang on a string by clothespins. Two crafts have clipart faces, the other has a photo of a little girl's face. There are writing prompts on two of their stomachs.

The fish craft is great if you want to make a bulletin board that says, “We are O-FISH-ALLY first graders”. Of course, you can add any grade level into the title, but you get the point. The fish is super simple to cut out and if you print him on white paper, the kids can decorate it with their own patterns, too.

A purple and orange fish craft lies on a corkboard with blue scissors, crayons and some ocean animal figurines.

I also like to “Whale-come” the kids to another year with a cute whale craft. The whale also goes well with a writing about ocean animals piece. You can have it say, “Something to Spout About!”. Can you tell I like punny bulletin boards?

Two whale crafts hang from magnetic clips on a whiteboard. Colorful whiteboard markers are in a cup nearby. One whale is light blue and the other is a darker blue.

Ocean Animal Studies

The ocean is FULL of amazing creatures we can learn about. My kiddos love researching different animals each year, writing reports on their findings and completing a craft to finish up the unit. One of their favorites is always the dolphin. I like telling the kids that I swam with dolphins on a cruise and they love seeing the fun pictures. There are always a few that have experienced the same thing, too.

The dolphin craft is being held up by a hand. The classroom bulletin board and US map are in the background.

We also love learning about all types of crabs. We watch videos of the little crabs scuttling around on the ocean floor and learn what they eat. This cute crab is a great craft to use to decorate your classroom. We love reading the story, Clumsy Crab by Ruth Galloway, because it is extremely silly.

The red crab craft is lying on blue scrapbook paper. There are scissors and crayons nearby. There is also a pile of sand with seashells and a starfish on the page.

The jellyfish is an intriguing sea creature to study because of the way their bodies work. Their tops don’t sting, but their tentacles are dangerous. If the kids have watched Finding Nemo, they’ll make sure to tell you this fun fact.

One jellyfish craft is printed on colored cardstock, the other has been colored by a student. They are hanging from magnetic whiteboard clips.

Another sea creature with squiggly tentacles is the octopus. We watch videos of how octopuses move and change. We really enjoy watching videos of them camouflaging their bodies and fitting into teeny tiny spaces in their coral reefs. They truly are fascinating.

The octopus craft has been colored by a students. It's suckers are multicolored and there are many different crayons laying on the page as well as a pair of scissors.

Every time I see a pufferfish, I think of the one in Finding Nemo and I get a good laugh. These creatures are exciting to research. The kids like finding out fun facts about them and comparing them to land animals that work in similar ways. We compare and contrast them to porcupines or hedgehogs if we get the chance.

There are two pufferfish crafts. One has been colored by a student and the other has been printed on colored cardstock. They have blue fins and yellow spikes. They are hung on a rainbow case of drawers.

More Ocean Animals

You can’t forget the shark! We always do a shark craft during Shark Week. We check out all the different types of sharks, write a short piece about them and complete this friendly shark craft to display.

The blue shark craft has many sharp white teeth and is lying on a wooden board. There is sand and seashells as well as ocean animal scrapbook paper nearby.

Then, there’s the seahorse! An incredible sea creature that is raised by the male parent. Kids really enjoy learning about them, the way they move and how they grow up. Their colorful bodies make great classroom displays too. Sometimes, we read Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle. His books are some of my favorites!

Two seahorses, one green and blue and the other orange, yellow and pink hang on a rainbow set of drawers.

You can’t go wrong with a starfish craft! The cute little starfish are easy to cut out and color if you choose. I like to make multiple animals and add some starfish to the bottom of our display. They really make our ocean themed bulletin boards pop!

The yellow starfish has orange dots on it's points. It lies on a corkboard with orange and yellow crayons and a blue pair of scissors. There is also a pile of sand and some seashells in the image.

If you’ve ever been to the aquarium or zoo, you may have been able to touch a stingray or manta ray. Their cool, slippery skin is so fun to touch. When we make it out to the aquarium, we always complete this craft to go with our trip.

The gray stingray lies on a piece of blue scrapbook paper with blue scissors and crayons. There is a pile of sand and some seashells in the image as well.

Finally, we have the sea turtle! There are so many fun facts students can learn about sea turtles. Just like all the other wonderful creatures of the sea, they are fascinating animals. I always use sea turtles to encourage kids not to litter and to take care of our environment.

The turtle craft is green and brown and lies on a wooden board. There are brown and green crayons as well as green scissors on the page. The board is on some blue wavy scrapbook paper.

This ocean animal crafts bundle, complete with 16 crafts, will keep you and your littles entertained all summer long. I hope they make your bulletin boards a little brighter and inviting as we end one school year and begin another!

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Laura Bensley

Laura Bensley

Former preschool teacher turned business owner that now creates educational resources for teachers in the classroom, homeschool, and daycare setting.

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HI, I'm Laura

Hi, I’m Laura and I am the creator of Crafty Bee Creations.  I am a former preschool teacher turned business owner that now creates educational resources for teachers in the classroom, homeschool, and daycare setting.  I have a passion for designing craft resources that are not only fun and engaging but work children’s fine motor skills too! 

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