OCEANS SPONGES - Paint with sponges cut into the shapes of ocean life. Talk
about sponges coming from the ocean.

SEA SALT ART - Mix liquid tempera paint with some salt. Let kids paint with
it. When they are finished painting sprinkle some more salt on top of
painting and let dry.
OCEAN SCENE - Draw ocean scene and them paint over it with thin blue paint.

OCEAN WAVES - Finger paint blue ocean waves.

OCEAN MURAL - Cover wall. Paint blue and brown. Glue on sand. Make all kinds
of fish, plants, and shells and put on mural. Cover with saran wrap. Hang up
green crepe paper for seaweed.

BEACH SCENE - Create a beach scene by gluing sand on bottom half of light
blue construction paper. Can add some shells.

SEASHELL NECKLACE - Color jumbo pasta different colors and string them up.

SHELL SCULPTURES - Kids can glue small shells together.

SAND DRAWINGS - Spread newspaper over the table. Have the children draw
pictures by squeezing glue into a picture. Then have the children sprinkle
sand over the glue and set aside to dry.

SEASCAPES - You will need 3 pieces of tissue paper per child, 1 piece of
white construction paper, glue, and a variety of colored construction paper.
Trace fish patterns on colored construction paper. Have students cut them
out, or you can do it if they are unable to. Glue fish to white construction
paper, you may want to make some rocks and seaweed too. Glue tissue paper on
in layers; use a wavy pattern with the glue to imitate waves. The tissue
paper is transparent and works better than colored cellophane.

CORAL REEF BULLETIN BOARD - Preparation: You can use the animals from this
set in a number of ways to make a bulletin board depicting life around a
coral reef.
. Use blue paper for your bulletin board background. Have students draw
several types of coral on the blue paper to make the background. As you
study each animal on the reef, have a student place it on the bulletin
board. The animals can be mounted using either staples, tape, or
hook-and?loop fastener (such as Velcro brand). Laminating the pieces will
make them more durable.
. Use the cards for information on why the coral
reef is endangered. Divide the class into groups, and allow each group to
pick one of the cards. Have each group draw a picture depicting what is
written on the card. Use bulletin board pieces to fill in the scene of the
coral reef. Have students use the cards to label the bulletin board.

PAINT MURAL OF CORAL REEF - When students have a good idea of the kinds of
animals and plants that live in the coral reef community, let them work
together to paint a mural on a long piece of butcher paper. Provide books,
posters, photographs, post cards, and magazine articles about the coral reef
for students' reference as they work.. Remind them that the coral reef is
one of the most colorful places on earth!

MAKE A CORAL POLYP - Materials: A tiny paper cup, some clay, and A few
toothpicks. Directions: To make your coral polyp: Pretend that the little
paper cup is the polyp's skeleton cup. Remember that the polyp you make must
fit into the cup. Form a little sack out of clay. Push some pieces of
toothpick into the clay around the top of the sack. Then build tentacles of
clay around the toothpicks. Put the clay polyp in its skeleton cup.

CORAL-COLOR COLLAGES - Select tissue paper the colors of coral (tan, orange,
yellow, purple, and green) and cut into small squares. Set out the
tissue-paper squares, paintbrushes and glue. Give each of the kids a piece
of construction paper. Have them use the brushes to spread glue all over
their papers. Then let them arrange the tissue-paper squares on the glue to
create collages in coral colors.

STUFF A SEA ANIMAL - Have the children draw huge sea animals with felt tip
pens onto newspaper. Making sure that when they trace and cut to have the
newspaper doubled. Paint both outsides of the animal. Let dry. Staple to
two pieces together but leave a hole on one side to stuff the animal. Stuff
the animal with newspaper. Staple shut. The animals look great hanging
from the ceiling.

PAPER BAG WHALES - Have the children stuff small paper bags with crumpled
sheets of newspaper. Tie the tops of the bags closed to make whale tails.
Let the children paint their paper bag whales gray. Allow the paint to dry.
Cut eye shapes out of black construction paper, and have the children glue
them to the sides of their whales. Construction paper spout shapes may be
added to the tops of the whales, if desired.

BABY BELUGA - When we discuss different kinds of whales, we sing the Raffi
song "Baby Beluga", and we make a baby beluga whale with a paper bag. Use a
WHITE lunch-size bag (not brown). Stuff the bottom about 3/4 of the way up
with your choice of filler...we used old newspapers. Close and staple the
top shut. You should now have a whale-shaped bag when you lay it down
horizontally. (This is so hard to explain. I hope I'm being clear.) Attach
plastic eyes to each SIDE of the bag near the bottom. Glue on a paper fish
tail drawn freehand. On the top of the whale, (near the bottom of the bag),
make a small hole (a blowhole), and stuff the hole with blue chenille stems
cut in half (3 pieces per whale), and tape them in place. Bend them over
slightly so that the stems look like water shooting out of the blowhole.

LIFE SIZE NARWHAL WHALE - Cut out two life size shapes of the narwhal whale,
draw some lines to designate the gray areas, and have groups of kids paint
each half. Then staple most of it shut, stuff it with scrap paper, and add
the "horn" (a piece of newspaper rolled up into a long thin cone) before
finishing the stapling. It is a huge success. It's small enough to do a
life size one and is unusual enough to really draw attention.

WHALE FINGERPAINTING - Give the children pieces of butcher paper with small
amounts of liquid starch on them. Sprinkle blue powder tempera paint on the
starch. Let the children fingerprint on their papers. Have them pretend
their hands are whales swimming and playing in the ocean.

PAPER BAG WHALES - Have the children stuff small paper bags with crumpled
sheets of newspaper. Tie the tops of the bags closes to make whale tails.
Let the children paint their paper bag whales gray. Allow the paint to dry.
Cut eye shapes out of black construction paper, and have the children glue
them to the sides of their whales. Construction paper spout shapes may be
added to the tops of the whales.

WHALE TAILS - For a fun art project, you make Whales Tails. Trace the
outline of a whale's flukes on black construction paper, and have your
students cut out. Then I give them half a sheet of blue construction paper
and show them how to move the scissors across the top to make a wave-like
pattern. We glue the blue "water" to a white sheet of paper, leaving the
top unglued. Then put the black flukes slightly under the blue "water" and
glue down completely. When finished, it looks like a whale diving into the
water.

BOBBING WHALES IN THE BOTTLE - Fill a clear plastic 2 - liter bottle one
quarter full with water. Add a few drops of blue food coloring. Blow up two
small balloons, release most of the air and tie the ends closed. Push the
balloons into the bottle and replace the cap securely. When you have
finished, you will have an ocean in a bottle with two bobbing whales inside.
Let the children hold the bottle on its side and gently rock it back and
forth to make the whales swim.

SHARK TEETH - Give each of your children an oval cut out of gray
construction paper. Set out black felt tip markers, glue and white
construction paper tooth shapes. Let your children glue the tooth shape in a
line across the long width of the oval. Then have them add eyes with the
markers.

COIL ART - Explain to your children that sea horses use their tails to coil
around objects to help them stay in one place. And they coil and uncoil
their tails to help them to swim through the water. Then give your children
various colors of pipe cleaners. Let them coil the pipe cleaners around
their fingers, craft sticks, chair legs, etc., to create coil art.

EGG CARTON OCTOPUS - Cut out one cup of an egg carton, paint it pinkish
purple. Attach 8 paper arms.

OCTOPUS FOR YOUNGER KIDS - Let kids color a simple drawing of an octopus and
glue on cheerios to make the suction cups on the octopus arms.

EASY OCTOPUS - For each child draw seven 5 " lines up from the long side of
a piece of construction paper stopping 3" to 4" from the top. Then have the
children cut along the lines on their paper to make octopus arms. When they
have finished roll each paper and tape the sides of the body together,
leaving the arms free. Let the children attach self-stick circles for eyes.

PAPER PLATE OCTOPUS - Have the children cut out a half circle from
construction paper or cut a paper plate in half for an octopus body. The
kids can color the plate to match the color of the streamers or use whatever
color they want. Let the children use crayons to draw eyes. Then have them
each glue eight pieces of crepe streamers paper on the back bottom edges of
the octopus bodies to make arms or tentacles. Hang the finished octopuses
from a string stretched across a window and watch them "swim" as air moves
through the room.

HANDPRINT OCTOPUS - The children put a blue handprint on a piece of paper.
Turn it upside down and let the children put Fruit-Loop eyes, 1/2 a red
Fruit-Loop for the mouth and Fruit-loops or cheerios for tentacles. I
helped each child by painting their hand and 4 fingers blue, had them spread
their fingers and put the handprint down, then move their hand slightly to
put 4 more legs in.

PIPE CLEANER OCTOPUS - Cut a toilet paper tube in half. Have your child tape
eight pipe cleaners onto the tube for legs. Use a marker for the eyes.

GIANT TRASH BAG OCTOPUS - Materials: Brown trash bags, Glue, Scraps of
construction paper, Picture of an octopus, Newspaper, Styrofoam packing half
circles, Tape. Directions: At circle time show the children a picture of an
octopus. Discuss the characteristics of the octopus: color, size, how many
arms, how it moves. Make an arm by stuffing a trash bag with newspapers
filling only half of the bag lengthwise. Tie the bags. Fold the other side
of the trash bag over the stuffed side and tape it, making a large narrow
arm. Using the Styrofoam packing half circles, have the children glue them
to the bottom of each arm representing the octopus' suction cups. Make the
head by stuffing an entire bag with newspaper and use construction paper
scraps to make the facial features of the octopus. When the eight arms are
finished, tie them together and then tie them to the stuffed head.

OATMEAL OCTOPUS - Get a variety of colored powder paint and lots of oatmeal.
Give each child a small sandwich bag with some oatmeal in to. Let them
choose any color powder paint put about a tablespoon of paint into the bag,
close and shake! Do this for all the colors you want. When you are ready to
do the project give each child an octopus pattern and their choice of
colored oatmeal, any and all colors! Spread the glue and put the oatmeal on!

PAPER CUP OR BOWL OCTOPUS - Make from a paper cup or bowl, and whatever you want to use for arms.

PAPER NAPKIN OCTOPUS - Crumble up some tissues and put them in the middle of
paper napkins. Then gather the sides of the napkin up and tie a piece of
yarn around the middle so that the tissues form the shape of the octopus
body. Use the scissors to cut the fringe into strips to create tentacles.
Hang from ceiling.

BALLOON AND STREAMER OCTOPUS - Blow up a purple balloon and tie it. Let the
children count out and attach 8 purple streamers to the tied end and stick
reinforcement circles to the
streamers for the tentacles. You can also use them for the eyes!

LARGE PILLOW CASE OCTOPUS - Make a large octopus by stuffing a pillowcase
for the body. Stuff knee socks and attach (sew on) for the 8 legs.

OLLIE OCTOPUS HEAD MASK - Submitted by Carol of the KOS Loop This is a
project with quite a bit of prep time. This project takes at least two days.
Contact a wallpaper store and explain who you are and if they have any left
over wallpaper. It has to be the vinyl type that will not tear easily. You
need approximately two sheets 30"-36" long for each child. Cut these into
large octopus shapes and holding two shapes together punch holes all around
the head of the octopus. On the first day with the children these have to be
taped to a table and the children can sponge paint both. After they are dry
cut large holes for the children's eyes. The children can now sew the two
halves together. When they are done sewing they paste large colorful ovals
with smaller holes cut in them over the eyeholes in the octopus. They glue a
large letter O on the back of the octopus head. The octopus head covers the
child's head and the legs dangle way down nearly to their waist.

PAPER-PLATE FISH - Give each child a paper plate with a triangular
mouth -shape drawn on one side. Have the kids cut out the triangles. This
will be the mouth. Then have them glue the triangle piece they just cut out
on the opposite side for the tail. Decorate as they wish.

ANGELFISH - Bend a wire hanger into the shape of a diamond. Cut a big piece
of aluminum foil into strips and tape around the diamond shape. Crisscross
the strips in the other direction. Add three strips for the tail and a
white paper circle with a dot in the center for an eye.

CRAB PAINTING - Give each child a piece of finger paint paper. Dribble some
corn syrup on the papers and sprinkle on small amounts of yellow and red
powder tempera paints. Let the children finger paint with the gooey mixture.
Then allow the papers to dry overnight. In the morning they will have a
shiny colored surface similar to the surface of a crab's shell. Cut the
paper into crab shapes.

LOBSTER TRAPS - Tie 2 cherry tomato baskets together. Cut a trap door in the
top. Draw, color and cut out a paper lobster and put in trap.

DIVER'S MASK AND OXYGEN TANKS - cut 2 ? ? sections out of cylindrical
oatmeal boxes. In each section, cut a notch in one end to fit over a child's
nose and cover the other end with a piece of clear plastic wrap secured with
a rubber band. Cover the outsides of the sections with construction paper.
Attach thick yarn ties to the sides of the masks. Rinse and dry bleach
bottles. Attach two ribbons to the top and bottom of each bottle as shown in
the illustration. If desired, use a permanent marker to write ?Oxygen on
each bottle.