This summer, let’s dive in and discover some amazing sea creatures! If you get the chance to go to the aquarium, you might see an octopus. Kids are always amazed by them, so bring that excitement home with a neat craft.

We think your kids are really going to love this paper chain octopus craft. It’s a fun way to learn more about these amazing sea animals while making their arms in a creative way.

Be sure to check out more of our ocean crafts for kids to see what else they can find under the sea!

Make A Cute Octopus

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This is the perfect project for kids to hone their fine motor skills as they thread the strips through each paper loop. This activity works on bilateral coordination, using scissors and glue, and concentration.

Paper chains are also a fun way for kids to count down to something they’re looking forward to! Planning a trip to the beach or the aquarium? Use this paper chain octopus as a way to count down by taking a loop off each day it gets closer!

Let kids customize their octopus with colors of their choice, and use our free template to make things go swimmingly.

Supplies

• Colored cardstock or construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Markers
• Octopus template (enter your email in the form at the end of this post to get the template)

Directions

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

Start by gluing the eyes below both of the eyebrows.

Place the cheeks below the eyes and on the outside of the mouth.

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

Begin to make the paper chain by looping one of the pieces of paper and gluing the ends together. Take the second paper strip and loop it inside the first loop and glue the ends together. Repeat for the rest of that tentacle. We used 6 loops per tentacle.

Repeat the previous step for as many tentacles as you want. On our purple octopus, we used 5 tentacles and on our blue octopus, we used 8 tentacles. We prefer the look of the purple one better but feel free to do it whichever way your child prefers.

Once all the tentacles have been made, flatten the loop on one end of the tentacle. Place glue along the flattened part of the loop and attach it to the back and bottom of the octopus. Repeat for each of the tentacles.

Is this such a fun craft?! If your kids want more ideas, be sure to check out our animal crafts for kids.

Ocean Ideas For Kids

There’s a whole other world under the ocean for kids to explore! This summer is a great time to dive in and get kids excited to learn about all kinds of ocean animals.

Check out a few of our favorites below to get started with some ocean crafts and activities.

Ocean Books For Kids

Reading to your kids enhances their language skills, boosts their cognitive development, and increases their empathy. Reading also encourages a love for learning, instilling a lifelong habit of reading and a curiosity for knowledge.

By sharing stories and exploring new worlds, you can open your kids’ minds to new ideas and perspectives, preparing them for a brighter future!

Some of our top recommended ocean books for kids are below.

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 fun way for families to spend time together! Kids love to be able to use their imaginations and creativity to make something with their own two hands. Crafting is also full of benefits.

When kids craft, they’re able to hone their fine motor skills, learn to follow instructions and develop problem-solving skills. Add in some fun crafts that are kid approved!

Jellyfish Craft – This project is so fun to make and kids will love to customize their jellyfish with their favorite colors. Make a bunch and hang them from the ceiling or doorway for kids to feel like they’re under the sea!

Hammerhead Shark Puppet – What kind of shark makes the best carpenter? A hammerhead shark! 😀 Kids will love playing with their new shark puppet once they’ve completed this craft. It’s perfect for kids of all ages, and will be a hit during Shark Week!

Paper Plate Crab Craft – Turn an everyday paper plate into a silly sidewalker! This craft is a fun one to break out the paints with and let your kid’s artistic side shine through. Use our template to complete the cute crab!

Paper Plate Fish Craft – Make a whole school of fish with some paper plates! Kids will love customizing their fish to be colorful works of art! Grab the free template and get to creating some fish to keep the summer boredom at bay.

Ocean Activities For Kids

Kids that are captivated by ocean animals will love playing this ocean animal matching game.  Not only is it a fun game to play with friends or family, it’s a good way to work on memory, focus, and visual discrimination skills.

It’s really easy to get started, just download and print out the free cards. We suggest you laminate them to use them over and over! 

These delightful fish color by numbers will keep kids entertained and engaged! Kids will be able to practice number and color recognition as they reveal beautiful fish with each numbered space they color in.

So grab the crayons and these 6 unique pages that will make a splash with the kiddos!

Learn about the sensational shark and the letter S with these shark worksheets! Kids will make their way through a letter maze identifying the upper and lowercase Ss. They will also practice handwriting and the anatomy of sharks when they label a shark.

Help kids develop their scissor skills with a little practice! These jellyfish cutting activity pages are just the thing to get them to use their scissors and master the control needed to use them.

These magical looking creatures will guide them through 3 different exercises that will have them cutting, counting, matching, and more!

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 Ideas For Kids

Paper Chain Octopus Craft Template