The ocean is brimming with incredible creatures like the octopus! With its eight wiggly arms, this undersea wonder is a favorite of kids and grown-ups alike.

Kids can bring this wonder to life with a fun and engaging paper cup octopus craft!

Continue the adventure under the sea with some more octopus activities kids will love. Not only are they fun and entertaining, but they’re also filled with educational benefits for your growing kiddos.

Cute Octopus Craft

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With a splash of creativity, kids will transform a simple paper cup into a cool octopus with tentacles that elegantly curl like they’re in a graceful dance underwater. 

They can customize their new aquatic friend with their favorite colors to make it their own. 

Get them ready for an ocean of fun and dive into making this fun craft with a few basic supplies and our free template. 

Keep reading below for our step-by-step instructions to see how easily this cute craft comes together.

Supplies

• Colored paper cup
• Colored cardstock or construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Markers
• 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. Position the cup with the rim side down.

Begin by gluing the inner half of the octopus’s eyes in the middle of the paper cup.

Create the mouth by gluing the tongue to the bottom of the mouth, then glue the completed mouth in the middle and just below the eyes.

Use a marker to draw some spots above the octopus’s eyes.

Take the tentacles and wrap each one around your finger in order to curl them.

Finish up by gluing the tentacles on the bottom and inside of the cup, all along the

Be sure to check out our other paper cup crafts while you’re here. Your kids will be glad you did!

Ocean Theme Ideas For Kids

Let your kids explore the wonders of the deep blue sea through our wide array of ocean themed crafts and activities. These ideas are not only entertaining but also foster essential skill development in children.

From creativity and fine motor skills to critical thinking and scientific curiosity, our activities offer a fantastic opportunity for kids to grow while learning about the incredible marine world.

Let’s make learning an unforgettable aquatic journey for our little ones with some of our favorite ocean activity ideas below.

Books About Ocean Animals

When you read to your children, you create an opportunity to share new experiences, imagine new worlds, and learn new things together. Whether you’re snuggled up together on the couch or reading a book over video chat, you’re giving your kids the gift of your time and attention, and that’s priceless.

Plus, reading is essential for building vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking skills, all of which will serve your kids throughout their academic and professional lives.

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!

O Is For Ocean Crafts

Crafting is a beneficial activity that ignites children’s imaginations and gets them learning at the same time. With every stroke of a paintbrush or glue of a glittery sequin, kids are developing their fine motor skills.

Try out these ocean craft ideas!

Shark Name Craft – Make waves with this fun and educational shark craft! This jaw-some activity will have kids learning to spell their names and create a friendly shark with just a few supplies and our free editable template.

Paper Chain Octopus Craft – Get linked up with this super cute octopus craft. Kids will work on their bilateral hand coordination and fine motor skills when they thread strips of paper to make a paper chain. The best part of these paper chains? They become the wiggly arms of an octopus!

Paper Plate Fish Craft – Did you know that paper plates are the perfect canvas for so many crafting projects? This colorful fish is easy to make and fun for kids to customize, and it all starts with a plain paper plate!

Crab Puppet Craft – Scuttle into some crafting fun with this fun puppet craft! Kids will create their own crab puppet with a few materials and a “pinch” of imagination. This crabby craft will have your kids feeling claw-some as they come up with new undersea adventures.

Ocean Theme Activities For Kids

These octopus connect the dots are a fantastic way for your little artists to bring some captivating sea creatures to life! As they connect the dots, they’ll reveal the different octopuses and work on counting, sequencing, fine motor skills, and spatial awareness.

This activity will make a splash with your kids as they create some undersea scenes with our ocean play dough mats.

They can use play dough to sculpt their own sea creatures, or print out the corresponding ocean animals sheet to create their own scenes. They’re a great way for kids to use their imaginations and learn more about ocean animals!

Let’s go for a swim with the dolphins and discover more ocean animals with these ocean preschool worksheets. They’re a fun and colorful way for little kids to practice handwriting and letter recognition, build vocabulary, learn colors, and so much more!

Using scissors is a great fine motor skills activity and also improves the muscles in a kid’s hand, too! Use these ocean day cutting practice sheets for a fun way for them to discover more sea animals as they cut different lines and angles to improve their scissor skills.

These skills will also help them grasp a pencil and gain the control to write.

Ocean Fun

• Shark Bath Bombs
• Dolphin Kids’ Bracelet
• Guess In Ten Ocean Animal Game

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 Cup Octopus Craft Template