[Childcare] Ocean-themed craft ideas! From wall displays to 3D projects

sea bathing

Many children are probably looking forward to going to the beach with their families during summer vacation.

To heighten their excitement even more, let’s make a beach-themed wall decoration! You could show kids swimming in the sea, floating on inflatable rings, or even riding dolphins like in a fairy tale.

It’s also great to depict scenes not just under the water but on the shore—like playing watermelon-splitting games or building sandcastles.

Whether the children are going to the beach or not, try creating pieces that let everyone feel excited by the seaside scenery.

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Underwater exploration by submarine

Many children may associate summer with the beach, but it’s not often that we get to take a good look at the scenery under the sea.

So how about creating a wall decoration that shows an underwater exploration in a submarine? Put cute animals or the children themselves aboard the submarine, and arrange lots of colorful fish and sea creatures around it.

For the fish patterns, we recommend adding cut-paper pieces, doing finger painting, or using stickers.

Let’s let the children enjoy the rare undersea views that they don’t often get to see!

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Ryūgū-jō (Dragon Palace/Undersea Palace)

The dazzling Dragon Palace is a motif that children love.

Connect sheets of light-blue construction paper to create a large ocean, then attach depictions of Urashima Taro, a turtle, and colorful fish and seaweed.

For motifs you want to emphasize, cut and layer construction paper to give them expressive detail.

To convey the ocean’s clarity, using PE tape adds depth and variation, which is highly recommended.

If you decide on the overall composition and scale before starting, the piece will feel cohesive.

It’s also a good idea to share the smaller motifs across the whole school and have everyone collaborate.

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tsukada moe

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Fish made with paper plates

Here’s a paper-plate fish craft idea that lets you enjoy a hallway or classroom that feels like an aquarium.

All you need are paper plates, doilies, and origami paper.

First, use the paper plate as the fish’s body and create the eyes and mouth with origami paper.

Next, cut the doily to make the dorsal fin and tail fin.

You can also substitute fruit netting for the dorsal and tail fins.

This gives it a look somewhat like a tropical fish.

Even this alone creates an ocean vibe, but making seaweed out of raffia tape (Suzuran tape) will enhance the underwater feel even more.

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yamamoto

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A sea of paint and transparent film

Let’s try painting a magical ocean scene using paint and a transparent film.

On a large sheet of paper, like poster board, dab paint onto the surface at random.

It’s best to use quite a generous amount of paint.

After applying the paint, cover it with a transparent film.

Then, focusing on the areas with paint, tap gently with your hands on top of the film to spread the paint.

You’ll end up with a beautiful, dreamlike ocean! If you add various sea creatures on top of the finished ocean, you’ll create a lively and delightful marine scene.

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[Scissors] Sea Creatures

Scissor Practice [Summer Craft] Let’s make an ocean with scissors and glue! Perfect for developing fine motor skills! [For ages 2–3]

Let’s make some sea creatures while practicing scissor skills.

Use sea animals with lots of legs—like octopuses, squids, and jellyfish—as motifs.

Draw them on construction paper and cut them out.

Draw lines on the legs, and have the children cut along those lines with scissors.

For two-year-olds, straight lines are probably better than curves.

You can also raise the difficulty a bit by trying seaweed drawn with zigzag lines.

Once everything is cut out, paste the pieces onto paper to create a summertime ocean scene.

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sasashina

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Tissue paper fish and handprint crab

Let’s make fish and crabs using tissue paper and handprints! For the fish, first cut construction paper into a fish shape, then crumple some tissue paper and glue it on as scales.

Add eyes and other details, and the fish is done! For the crab, paint a child’s open hand with paint and stamp it onto construction paper.

Try stamping so that the thumbs become the eyes and the other fingers become the crab’s legs.

Once it’s dry, add eyes using construction paper or round stickers, and it’s complete! If you cover the artwork with clear plastic, it can look like an aquarium tank.

Give it a try with your kids’ adorable little hands!

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