Ideas for Easy Under the Sea Crafts for Preschoolers

Your kids are going to love these under the sea crafts for preschoolers.

From printable jellyfish and crabs to a not-so-scary shark, these ocean-themed crafts are fun to make. Plus…your kids will be doing real work while they make them. Every craft in this post builds fine motor skills through cutting, tracing, hole punching, dot painting, and more.

I’ve included both my printable ocean fine motor crafts and some great ideas from around the web. I think you’ll find some ideas that are perfect for wrapping up the school year or kicking off an ocean-theme unit at the end of the year, in summer school or camp.

Under the Sea Crafts That Build Real Fine Motor Skills

Here’s the best part: these crafty activities are a blast to create and an awesome way to help our kiddos develop their fine motor skills. I’ve included some printable fine motor crafts that are specially designed to give those little hands a workout and make them stronger.

Fine motor skills are the foundation for writing, scissor skills, and everyday independence. When kids cut, tear, punch, paint, and trace, they’re strengthening the small muscles in their hands. These ocean-themed crafts are one of the most motivating ways to get that practice in. These activities also work well in occupational therapy settings, summer school, and small-group rotations.

Printable Ocean-Themed crafts

First, I will show you these adorable ocean animal crafts in my Ocean Fine Motor Crafts set. These printables were designed to be a fun activity to build fine motor skills. Kids will practice their scissor skills as they cut out the shapes on the thick, dark lines. Each craft has dotted lines for tracing and pre-writing practice. Best of all, each craft has small circles on it that can be punched out with a hole punch.

If you haven’t tried them yet, you have to try hole punch activities. They are such a motivating way to encourage kids to build their hand strength.

Supplies needed

The great thing about these fun ocean crafts is you don’t need a lot of fancy supplies. I love to print the pieces on brightly colored paper or you can cut construction paper down fit in your printer. However, you can also print the templates onto plain white paper and kids can color everything with crayons. So, here is your supply list:

• Paper for printing (colorful or brightly colored)
• Crayons for tracing the dotted lines
• Scissors for cutting and snipping
• Hole puncher
• Glue stick

In addition to the basic supplies, you can also encourage kids to add their own creative flair to the simple crafts. They can add embellishments to the cute sea creatures, or they may want to create a background for the ocean-themed crafts. Here are some optional supplies that you can add to the project:

• Googly eyes
• Bubble wrap
• cellophane
• Paint
• Markers
• Sequins
• Tissue paper
• chalk
• buttons
• natural materials lie sand and shells

How cute would it be to make a huge sea scene on a bulletin board in or in the hallway?

Jellyfish Craft

Look at all the hole-punching that kids can do when making this jellyfish craft for kids!

If you don’t want to use hole punches, kids can apply little dot stickers or dab a dot of tempera paint with a Q-tip to each circle. You can also use this printable jellyfish craft template to make a variety of beautiful and creative jellyfish. Think about mixing up the colors in the arms, and adding ribbon tentacles…the creation possibilities are endless!

Wanna see how to make the jellyfish craft? Here is a short video with all the details.

Crab Craft for Preschoolers

I think this crab craft activity is my favorite ocean animal from the set. The claws are a little bit more difficult to cut out than the other parts, but you can help your kids with them if needed.

Printable Shark Craft Template

A set of under the sea crafts would not be complete without a shark craft. Am I right? I think this shark is more cute than scary. This is the perfect activity for your little ocean explorer.

Make shark crafts in the classroom during an ocean study, to celebrate shark week. This is also the perfect craft to use for a fun activity for an ocean-themed birthday party.

Sea Turtle Craft

I designed a sea turtle craft for this ocean theme set because sea turtles are my favorite sea creatures.

I fell in love with the amazing creatures when I visited a sea turtle rescue and rehab center in Florida years ago. Now…I’m living on the Texas Coast, where I volunteer for an amazing wildlife rescue center. I’m blessed to assist with the rescue of sea turtles. Sometimes I transport them in my car, and of course, I talk to them the whole way. I also help protect the next generation of Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles, the most endangered of the sea turtles, by patrolling the beaches for nests, excavating eggs, and transporting them to a protected incubation facility in the area.

Okay…enough about my love of sea turtles. Isn’t this easy sea turtle craft adorable? It’s a creative way to combine a study of sea turtles and build fine motor skills.

Do you need ideas to adapt these printable fine motor crafts for younger kids or kids with different abilities? Check out this article about ways to differentiate craft activities.

Additional Under the Sea Crafts for Preschoolers

Planning an ocean theme week, wrapping up the school year, or looking for easy summer school activities? These summer ocean crafts are low-prep, skill-rich, and perfect for fine motor centers, morning tubs, or quiet stations. They cover the same ocean animals your kids already love, jellyfish, sharks, sea turtles, dolphins, starfish, and more, so they fit right into your under the sea unit.

Paper Plate Pufferfish Craft

If you have some cupcake liners on hand, here is a simple pufferfish craft from Our Kids Things. Check out my article about making your own paintbrushes. I think DIY paintbrushes would totally work with this pufferfish craft.

Ocean Q-Tip Painting Pages

If your kids need a calm, focused activity during ocean week, Q-tip painting is it. Kids use Q-tips or pencil erasers to stamp inside small circles, paint along a bordered frame, and trace a labeled word…..all on one page. It sounds simple, but there’s a lot of purpose to those working hands.

Half-page format is great for shorter attention spans or quick center rotations. Full-page format gives kids more room for focused, detailed work.

Print what you need, set out the Q-tips and paint, and you’re done.

This summer beach set features ocean animals kids love: jellyfish, sea turtle, shark, dolphin, starfish. Plus…there are some fun beach images for your beach day theme – shell, palm tree, sandcastle, sand pail, flip-flops, sun, ice cream, popsicle, and beach ball.

It also works great for occupational therapy settings or any kid who needs a quieter way into fine motor practice.

Summer Dot Marker Coloring Pages

Dot markers, bingo daubers, dot stickers, pom-pom painting, pencil-eraser stamping…. this set works with whatever you already have in your classroom. That’s the point. No special prep, no running out for supplies.

This summer beach dot marker coloring sheet set includes 14 designs

Same ocean animals and beach images as the Q-tip set — jellyfish, shark, sea turtle, dolphin, starfish, shell, palm tree, sandcastle, sand pail, flip-flop, sun, beach ball, ice cream, and popsicle. Every page includes dot spaces for decorating, dotted lines for tracing practice, and a labeled image to support vocabulary.

Starfish Craft

This ocean starfish craft from A Little Pinch of Perfect is a great way to combine ocean animal crafts and fine motor activities. Kids can work on their pincer grasp as they place buttons on the starfish body.

Hello Summer Shark Crown Craft

This is the one to pull out for the last week of school. Kids decorate a wearable shark crown and leave wearing what they made. The shark design has small circles built in specifically for hole punching and has dotted lines for tracing. So kids are still building hand strength and working on pencil control right up to the last day.

Isn’t it adorable? Young children are excited to wear them!

Octopus Craft

This cupcake liner octopus craft from I Heart Crafty Things will also put your kids’ fingers to work as they place cereal tentacles on each of the octopus’ arms.

Shark Name Coloring Sheet

This one is part of my summer name coloring sheet set. You type in each child’s name, print, and kids color it in. That’s it. Kids love seeing their name on something, and that personal connection makes them actually care about finishing it…which means more focused work and more practice.

It works as a take-home activity, a morning warm-up, or an easy end-of-year keepsake. It’s simple, personal, and low-prep.

Torn Paper Shark Craft

Tearing paper activities are lots of fun and are a fun way to build hand strength. This torn paper shark craft printable is part of my July Fine Motor Activity Set.

Ocean Animal Alphabet Tear Art Crafts

Tear art is a versatile no-prep craft that kids love. Some of the alphabet craft printables include sea animals that will fight right into an under the sea theme. Here is a “D is for dolphin” craft printable that gives kids an opportunity for letter tracing.

Another option available in the printable craft set is the printable craft with a hole punch border. Here is the octopus craft for the letter O. This printable option also gives kids some practice in tracing letters (note the starting dot to help them with correct letter formation).

The letter J set includes a cute jellyfish. Again, this is an example with the hole-punched border option.

Starfish Cutting Practice Printable Craft

Perfect for a sea theme, these cutting practice activities, also a part of the July set, include a starfish that kids can cut out and decorate.

• Paper Plate Rainbow Fish craft by Two Pink Peonies
• Octopus made from toilet paper rolls by Easy Peasy and Fun
• Egg carton fish by Our Kid Things
• Watercolor fish with coffee filters by Our Kid Things
• Thumbprint ocean animals by Messy Little Monster
• Paper plate jellyfish craft by Happy Hooligans

Well, I hope that you enjoyed these ideas for fun ocean animal crafts for preschoolers. I know that you and your kids are going to have so much fun making sea creature decorations, underwater murals, or bulletin boards you can make with these fun under the sea crafts and ideas.

Purchase The Under The Sea Crafts Printables Today

Are you ready to help your kids make a world of underwater creatures? Stop by my store to pick up the printable crafts today.

Purchase The Fine Motor Craft Printables on TPT

Do you prefer to shop at Teachers Pay Teachers? You can also purchase the summer craft activities in my TPT Store.

More Craft Ideas and Activities

Looking for more craft ideas for your kids? Check out these fun ideas for Early Learning Ideas.