Super Fun & Easy Crab Name Craft for the End of the Year & Summer

As we head into summer, are you looking for a fun craft that captures the heart of the season and helps kids spell their name? This cute Crab Name Craft is a great activity to do with kids who are practicing their names. The kids get to assemble a little crab and then put the letters of their names in order. The crabs make perfect additions to a beach-themed bulletin board and so much more.

Materials Needed For the Crab Craft

This activity requires minimal prep! All you have to do is print out the included templates for your kids to cut and assemble. The craft comes with:

• A photograph of the craft activity
• Step-by-step directions to complete the craft
• Templates that can be copied directly onto colored cardstock or construction paper and then cut out by students. 
• Labeled templates that can be xeroxed onto cardstock, cut by an adult, and then traced onto colored paper and cut by kids. Labels will include the name of the pattern, the color to use, and how many of each pattern to cut.
• Coloring templates (a separate 3-page pdf that you can print for kids or students to use)

I always find that having a picture of a completed craft helps both me and the kids put everything together easier. We know what it’s supposed to look like in the end, so hopefully that helps you as well.

Assembling the Crab Craft

To put this craft together, grab your materials and some glue. Have the kids start by attaching the crab’s claws and legs on the backside of the body. Then, add its eyes. Next, have your kids put the letters of their name in order before glueing them down. Once they are all in order, the kids can glue them onto the sand part of the template.

Attach the crab and the sand to a blue piece of construction paper to make it look like it is standing on the sand. The blue paper is the perfect surface to hold everything in place.

Hang the adorable crabs up on the bulletin board for everyone to admire!

Do Kids Have to Make Their Names?

No! If you don’t want kids to have their names on the craft, leave the seashells and starfish blank. The kids can use them to make patterns or decorate the sand any way they want. Even if you add the names, use extras for decoration about the crab’s feet. Let kids get creative with the shapes!

When to Use This Craft

The Crab Name Craft is the perfect activity to do in summer or as a fun activity to wrap up a school year. It is great for preschool or kindergarten students to practice the spelling of their names. If you teach, let kids put this activity together in literacy centers or as a morning work activity.

Pair it with a workbook or read aloud to get kids excited to make the craft. Some fun books you might like reading are:

• Clumsy Crab by Ruth Galloway
• A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
• Peanut Butter and Jellyfish by Jarrett K. Krosoczka
• Bedtime for Cranky Crab by Christina Ergunay
• The Crab Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta

Enjoy reading some of these titles or your favorite books about crabs and then complete this fun crab craft activity!