Let’s dive right into some fun ocean theme preschool crafts that your kids are going to love!
These crafts are perfect for summer or an ocean unit in the classroom or homeschool. Most of these crafts are made with simple materials you have in your home already–paper plates, cardboard tubes, and colored paper will get you far!
You’ll also find some fun crafts that you can make with the seashells you’ve collected from your latest beach vacation.
Kids have such a fascination with the ocean. The sea is teeming with all sorts of exciting creatures, and crafts are a great way to teach kids about the various animals that make up the ocean ecosystem.
Read an ocean-themed book, watch some kid-friendly videos, and get to work on one of these crafts.
Whether your child is a fan of sharks, jellyfish, octopus, or seahorses, you’ll find something bright, colorful, and downright fun to make in this list.
Ocean Themed Crafts For Kids
Shark Headband Craft [With Template]
This shark headband craft will get your little one prepared for shark week in no time flat! Download the printable template to make this craft or use the black and white version to color in.
Easy & Fun Handprint Crab Craft For Kids
Crabs are such fun little critters, and this handprint crab is a lovely little keepsake craft that's perfect for summer.
Paper Plate Swimming Jellyfish Craft
Kids will be delighted when they see this cute craft come to life.
The jellyfish is a craft stick puppet that "swims" when you move it behind the plate. So fun!
Easy Paper Shark Craft For Kids
This easy shark craft is a fun and simple paper craft that comes with a free printable template.
Easy Clownfish Craft For Preschool
Any fan of Finding Nemo or Finding Dory loves a clownfish! This paper craft is so simple to put together.
Preschoolers may need help cutting out the shapes, but otherwise, they can assemble this mostly independently.
Easy Fish Painting For Kids
This easy fish painting for kids is a blend of arts and crafts that all kids will love!
Easy Seahorse Craft For Preschool [With Free Template]
Combine the fun of watercolors with the simplicity of a paper craft in one cute project.
Use whatever colors you like to print the seahorse pattern. What's terrific about this craft is that every seahorse and every watercolor background can be unique.
Paper Plate Seahorse Craft For Ocean Theme Units
Read Over in the Ocean with your preschooler and then make this fun craft!
Your child may need some help cutting out the seahorse shape, and for some children, it may be easier to let them paint their paper plates first and then cut out the seahorse. This can help cut down on the mess from painting.
Easy Shark Craft - A fun ocean themed activity
Make this craft after visiting the beach to collect some treasures to include like shells, bits of coral, or even small pieces of driftwood.
The shark template makes this incredibly easy for little ones to put together. Love the tissue paper seaweed!
Easy & Fun Handprint Fish Craft For Kids
This adorable fish looks like a clownfish, too, but you can easily adapt the colors to make it any fish you'd like.
DIY Ocean Craft For Kids Blue Whale Crab And Fish
How cute is this little crab made from a paper mache egg?
Preschoolers will need help cutting out the pincers, legs, and eyes, but they can paint the egg and glue the crab's body parts on with little assistance.
Paper plate jellyfish craft for kids
Colorful jellyfish are made even more exciting with the fine motor component of threading the yarn through the holes.
Ocean Craft Suncatcher
What a brilliant way to use glitter glue! You only need 3 simple materials to make this suncatcher, and it'll look lovely displayed in the window.
Paper Plate Painting Pufferfish Craft
These brightly colored pufferfish are so goofy and lovable that they definitely need to be on your ocean crafts list.
Exploring new painting methods, like with the cardboard tubes for this craft, helps inspire creative thinking in kids.
Scissor Skills Jellyfish Craft
Learning scissor skills is so important for preschoolers, and what better way to practice than this jellyfish craft.
Seashell Turtle Craft – Seashell Craft Ideas
What better way to make a sea turtle than with a seashell? Use school glue if you're letting your preschooler do this craft independently.
Under the Sea Craft for Kids
Work with simple shapes like circles, half-circles, squares, and triangles to recreate this adorable Under the Sea ocean scene.
Shark Toilet Paper Roll Craft
Recycle some cardboard tubes to make a fearsome shark. Preschoolers will need help with the mouth and teeth, but the rest is easy peasy.
Recycled Plastic Egg Whale Craft for Kids
Reuse some of those plastic Easter eggs to make ocean animals, like this delightful little whale.
Sailboat Craft
Preschoolers will get practice with simple shapes and with paper tearing in this lovely craft.
Don't you just want to sail away on those blue waves?
Craft Stick Octopus Craft
With only a tiny bit of cutting and a lot of gluing, this craft is perfect for preschoolers who aren't yet confident in their scissor skills.
You could even use colored craft sticks if you're short on time and doing this craft with a group.
Ocean Theme Wooden Spoon Craft and Pretend Play
The ocean theme meets pretend play with this fun and durable craft! Your preschooler will get loads of playtime out of these wooden spoon ocean animals.
You'll need to help your child with the designs, but they'll definitely enjoy helping and then playing with them.
Printable Hammerhead Shark Craft with Watercolor Ocean Background Tutorial
There's more than one type of shark in the ocean.
Teach your little ones about the very cool hammerhead sharks! The template makes this craft super simple to put together.
Pin and save this list of ocean-themed preschool crafts for your upcoming ocean unit or a rainy day activity.
More Fun Crafts For Kids
Sam is the crafter and founder of Simple Everyday Mom. She has been featured in Oprah Mag, Good Housekeeping, The Spruce Crafts, Country Living, The Bump and more. Read more.
Cherry Patterson
Thursday 20th of February 2020
I LOVE your crafts. I’m a teacher of the deaf/HH & will be able to implement with my students. Do you have zoo animal craft ideas? And fruit & veggie ideas? Actually, do you have a list of your ideas that I could reference? Thank you so much!
Sam T
Thursday 20th of February 2020
Aw, thanks! Hmm, I don't have zoo animal ones yet, but here's a link where you can find my animal crafts: https://www.simpleeverydaymom.com/animal-crafts-for-kids/
Hope this helps!