Art Ideas, Under The Sea Theme

[Lorina]

All children love fish, crabs, jelly fish and it usually becomes a favourite topic amongst children. Giving children books about sea creatures and making paper plate fish, paper cup jelly fish or cardboard crabs aren't the only options on how to make this interest fun. Here are a few more ideas:

- For a printing activity to use for art n craft instead of using fish shaped sponges, use a real whole dead fish (like you buy from the fish shops).

- Sea mobiles: buy some cheap coat hangers and a bag of sea shells. Get some fishing wire and get the children to thread it through the sea shells and then you can help tie them onto the coat hanger. Add green and blue cellophane around the coat hanger to decorate it. Add hooks to the ceiling and hang the sea shell mobiles from the ceiling. If the sea shells don't have a hole to thread the fishing wire through, just use a hammer and small nail to make a little hole but be careful because sea shells may break.

- Sandpaper Creatures: What You Need: Paper, Sand Paper, Googly Eyes, Crayons, Iron What You Do: Cut out the sand paper creatures in the shape of various sea creatures. Let the kids colour the sea creatures (The more times they go over an area or harder they press the better). Then put the sand paper face first on another piece of paper. Go over the paper with a warm Iron. This will create a neat picture on the paper.

,
L.A

[sandi28]

Hi. Check out this website dltk-kids.com, there is an animals section so just look under fish. There is one called Fish CD Rom which I have done with kids. They look great hanging up and catch the light and shimmer. Also check out enchantedlearning.com, they have a craft section also with lots of ocean craft ideas. I love the Ocean Diorama which I have made with my daughter. Both these sites are free and have loads of free printables and craft ideas for kids. Hope this helps. S

[ethanehunt]

Sand Painting – Give preschoolers a glue bottle and have them use it to create pictures on construction paper with the glue. When they are done, cover the glue with sand before it dries and dump the excess off the paper.

Textured Art – Add a little bit of sand to your paint and allow preschoolers to create their own artwork.

Wax Paper Art – Have preschoolers color an ocean scene on a piece of wax paper with crayons. When they are done, place a second sheet of wax paper on top of the first and iron just until the crayons inside have melted.

Under the Sea- Give preschoolers fish stickers and have them decorate the bottom half of a piece of construction paper with the fish. Have preschoolers draw any additional sea life or sea vegetation that they want. When preschoolers are done, help them glue blue saran wrap to the bottom half of the page to show that the scene is under water. The saran wrap can be glued in a rippled pattern to give the page some texture.

[ertcouct]

circus, favorite book, space, beaches, things that are their favorite color, sports, things that start with_, rainbows, make up your own monster, your family, Valentine's Day is coming up - tissue paper flowers, my son had an art project where they drew someone doing something (he drew a karate guy) and then the teacher had them take tinfoil and make the shape of the person they drew in 3D, and when I was in elementary school, we took sculpy and made a heart shape out of it - we then took Elmer’s glue and filled the heart in (must have been on wax paper or something) we drizzled a little red paint in and swirled it around. Once dry, we took off the sculpy, and used small tissue paper squares that were shaped on the tip of a pencil and glued all around the edge of the heart. It was my favorite project

[Lorina]

Hi Ertc,

Thanks for your input but could create a new topic for the ideas you posted...

Cheers ,
L.A

[adoreachild]

- Sandpaper Creatures: What You Need: Paper, Sand Paper, Googly Eyes, Crayons, Iron What You Do: Cut out the sand paper creatures in the shape of various sea creatures. Let the kids colour the sea creatures (The more times they go over an area or harder they press the better). Then put the sand paper face first on another piece of paper. Go over the paper with a warm Iron. This will create a neat picture on the paper.

Really a nice and easy way of designing. Thanks for sharing.

[cathiek]

How about cutting bubble wrap into fish or other sea theme creatures. Chn paint the bubble wrap and press a piece of paper on it for a great print that looks like scales. Also kids can cut out a seahorse shape out of a paper plate and decorate it.
I have also done aquariums out of two paper plates _ cut centre out of one and glue over the hole blue cellophane. Then chn put pics of sea creatures and seaweed (green straps etc) inside and staple together.
Crabs - I draw basic crab shape & then cut slits doen the shell part. Chn weave pieces of paper through slits. Looks good and a good fine motor activity.
Hope these are of use.
CAthie