Summer is a great time to visit the aquarium or take a trip to the beach. Kids are able to discover cool new animals that live in the ocean!

One animal that kids love to watch at the aquarium is the octopus! This cool looking sea animal is mesmerizing to watch swim around. 

Since the kids loved them so much, we wanted to make one at home and learn more about them! This octopus toilet paper roll craft was a big hit with the kids, plus they were able to use a recycled item to create something new!

You’ll just need a few supplies in addition to the toilet paper roll and our free template to get started with this fun octopus craft. 

Also, be sure to swim on over to discover a treasure trove of ocean crafts for kids for even more underwater fun!

Octopus For Kids

Supplies

• Toilet paper roll or new cardboard tubes
• Colored cardstock or construction paper
• Markers
• Scissors
• Glue
• Tape
• Pencil
• Octopus template (enter your email in the form at the end of the post to get the template)

Directions

Download the octopus template, print, and cut out the pieces you need.

Begin by gluing the eyes below both of the eyebrows.

Use a marker to draw spots onto the top of the octopus’ head.

Wrap the octopus body around the tp roll, mark where the top ends with a pencil, then cut off the toilet paper roll at that point.

Spread glue along the bottom, rectangular part of the octopus and glue it to the toilet paper roll. Use a piece of tape to secure the paper to the toilet roll.

Use scissors to make slits about an inch up from the bottom of the tp roll. These will be the octopus’ arms. Cut until you have 8 arms.

Finish up by bending each of the arms so they curl up.

Be sure to check out our other toilet paper roll crafts for kids while you’re here. They’re sure to be a hit!

Ocean Of Possibilities Ideas For Kids

There is an ocean of possibilities waiting for kids this summer. They can dive into a good book, find a fun craft to create or boost their brain power with a fun educational activity.

We have lots of ocean themed books, crafts, and activities that are kid-friendly and an ocean of fun. Get some ideas by checking out some of our favorites below.

Ocean Books For Kids

Reading books to your children is a fantastic way to help their development and boost their love of learning. Reading helps to stimulate their imagination, increase their vocabulary, and improve their communication skills.

Moreover, reading books can help to improve their concentration and memory, which will be invaluable skills as they progress through school and beyond. So whether it’s a bedtime story or a rainy day activity, take the time to read to your little ones – you won’t regret it!

The Snail and the Whale– Julia Donaldson, author of the famous book The Gruffalo, brings kids another fun book about an unlikely set of friends. Snail and Whale have lots of fun together in this colorful book!

Shark Lady– This children’s book is based upon the true story of Eugenie Clark, aka, The Shark Lady. Learn about her love of sharks, her discoveries, and the inspiring message of going after what you want in life.

The Rainbow Fish -This is a classic children’s book with a wonderful message for children. In it, a fish learns to share his favorite possession, his glittery scales, with his friends!

Ocean Crafts For Kids

Crafting is a great activity for developing children! Not only is it an ocean of fun to do, but it is also super for their brains! They’re able to work their memory and attention span while also using their creativity to problem-solve!

Crafting can also make you feel good! It’s a great stress reliever and boosts our moods. Not to mention, with little crafters, they’re able to practice using fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination, and so much more!

Gather up some crafting supplies today to give some of these ocean themed crafts a go!

Paper Chain Octopus Craft – This is the cutest way to make octopus arms – with paper chains! Your ocean loving kiddos will have tons of fun threading the strips through each loop to make a chain. 

Jellyfish Paper Bag Puppet Craft – This craft will have kids pretending to be under the sea with their new jellyfish puppets! It’s lots of fun for kids to create and even more fun for them to use their imaginations with.

Shark Tissue Paper Craft – This shark will share a toothy grin with your kiddo! Your kids will love making their own shark with some tissue paper and our free template. It’s a fun way to keep your little ones entertained and occupied while they get in some fine motor practice.

3D Crab Craft – Bring a crab to life with this 3D craft! This is a cool craft kids will love making. With just some strips of paper and our free template, a crab will look like it could walk right off the paper in no time!

Ocean Activities For Kids

These crab worksheets are a great way to keep the learning going this summer! Use them to teach kids new concepts while having fun!

This set comes with 3 worksheets to learn about the letter C and a crab. They’ll work on handwriting, using scissors, and letter recognition while learning more about the side-walking crustacean with these sheets!

When Shark Week comes around this year, be ready with these shark color by number printables! The 7 different hidden shark illustrations are waiting to be revealed by matching a color with a number and getting all those spaces colored in. (paradiseweddingchapel.com)

If your little ones can’t read just yet, simply color in the crayons at the bottom so they know which color to use on that number. 

When you can’t spend the day at the beach, but you want to bring the breach to you, download these jellyfish dot to dots!

Kids will love the jellyfish drawings that are completed by drawing a line from 1-14 dots. Grab the crayons and these sheets for a fun summer activity!

A fun activity for kids to do at home or on the go are these ocean count and clip cards. They’re a great way for preschoolers to work on counting, number recognition, and fine motor skills as they count the different ocean objects and use a clothespin to clip the correct number!

Share With Us

Did you make this craft with your kids or students? We’d love to feature them on our social media!

For a chance to have your child’s craft featured, simply snap a picture of the completed project and post it to our Facebook page, email it to us directly by clicking here, or use #simpleeverydaymom on your social media!

More Summer Activities

Octopus Toilet Paper Roll Craft Template