Did you know that the oldest octopus fossil belongs to an octopus that lived over 250 million years ago? Octopuses are fascinating sea-dwelling animals known for having eight legs.
My children are absolutely fascinated by octopuses, and why wouldn’t they be? Even as an adult, I am mesmerized by them.
Teaching your children about octopuses will fuel their curiosity about the other wonderful sea creatures that exist and can even make them compassionate toward the cause of conservation.
These art projects and activity ideas are catered toward toddlers, preschoolers and elementary school kids.
Entertaining octopus activities
Paper Plate Octopus Craft
This Paper Plate Octopus Craft is a perfect way to engage your little ones while improving their creativity and fine motor skills! With vibrant colors and fun shapes,kids will enjoy turning a simple paper plate into a charming octopus.
You can use this activity as a fun introduction to marine life, or simply as a playful crafting session to brighten up the day.
It’s a great way to help your children explore new textures and colors while creating their own sea creature masterpiece!
Octopus Salt Painting
The Octopus Salt Painting is a fun and creative way for your child to explore art and science! This simple yet exciting craft involves using salt to create a textured and unique octopus shape on black paper.
The process helps enhance fine motor skills as kids will use glue to form the octopus shape and then sprinkle salt to bring their creation to life.
It’s a sensory art experience and the addition of googly eyes gives the octopus a fun personality. Great for exploring the ocean theme or just for a hands on creative session with your little one!
Octopus Hole Punch
This Octopus Hole Punch activity is a fun and engaging way to help your child develop fine motor skills. Your little one will love using a hole punch to add dots to the octopus’s tentacles while practicing their hand eye coordination.
It’s a simple yet enjoyable craft that also encourages creativity. Whether your child is 3 or 10, they’ll love octopus making like this by their own.
Handprint Octopus Craft
This Handprint Octopus Craft is a delightful way to engage your child in a fun and creative activity! Using their handprints to form the octopus’s tentacles, your child can explore their imagination while also improving their fine motor skills.
It’s a simple craft that will leave a big impression on your little one, and they’ll love adding personal touches like googly eyes and fun patterns on the tentacles.
This is a perfect bonding experience for you and your child, making learning both enjoyable and memorable!
Octopus Pipe Cleaners Lacing
The Octopus Pipe Cleaners Lacing craft is a fantastic way to engage your child in a creative and educational activity.
Using colorful pipe cleaners to create the octopus’s tentacles, your little one will enjoy enhancing their fine motor skills while having fun.
This hands on craft not only boosts their hand eye coordination but also encourages creativity as they work with different colors and textures.
Octopus Colouring Pages
This Octopus Coloring Page is an entertaining and creative way for your child to explore their artistic side!
It’s a fun activity that helps develop fine motor skills as they color in the cute octopus and surrounding details.
Whether it’s to relax or have some creative fun, this activity encourages your child to make choices about colors while boosting their creativity and focus. Also Perfect for young children looking to improve their coloring skills while enjoying a marine-themed craft.
Octopus Number Couting Activity
This hands-on activity will engage your little one as they practice counting and number recognition with an adorable octopus!
Simply attach numbered cups to the octopus’ tentacles and use colorful pom-poms to count out the correct amount for each cup. It’s a fun and interactive way for kids to learn counting.
Your child will love placing each pom-pom into the matching number cup. This activity encourages number recognition, counting, and can even be a calming sensory experience with the pom-poms!
Octopus Pattern Card
This colorful pattern activity is a fantastic way for your kids aged 4 and up to practice recognizing and completing patterns.
Using octopus images, the activity guides your child through AB, ABB, AAB, and ABC patterns, where they’ll color the octopuses according to the pattern sequence.
It’s a fun way to reinforce pattern recognition, which is a key math skill, and helps with color coordination and fine motor development. Let your child unleash their creativity by coloring each octopus while learning how to identify different types of patterns.
Paper Roll Octopus Craft
Looking for a fun, easy, and creative way to spend time with your little one? This Paper Roll Octopus Craft activity is perfect for children!
Using a paper roll, your child can create their own octopus by cutting the tentacles, coloring, and adding fun details like googly eyes and a smile.
As they cut and assemble the tentacles, they also learn about shape and form, all while having a blast. Ideal for younger kids aged 3 and up, it’s an engaging project that they’ll love showing off once it’s finished!
Octopus Pompom Craft
This Octopus Pompom Craft activity is a fantastic way to engage your little ones while enhancing their creativity and fine motor skills.
Using colorful pompoms, pipe cleaners, and googly eyes, your child can create their own adorable octopus.
This educational craft is perfect for children around 3 years to 5 years old and encourages hands on play while developing dexterity through bending and twisting pipe cleaners into shape and make cute sea creatures.
Octopus Fingerprint Art
This Octopus Fingerprint Art activity is a fun and interactive way for your child to explore their creativity while learning about the sea!
By using their little fingers, your child can create the octopus’s distinct spots, helping develop their fine motor skills and hand eye coordination.
This activity is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers, especially around ages 3-5, and provides a wonderful opportunity for sensory play with washable paint.
Octopus Bubble Wrap Craft
This Octopus Bubble Wrap Craft is a sensory delight for children! Perfect for young kids who are 7 years to 10 years, this activity allows your child to create octopus tentacles using bubble wrap to print the textured design.
The combination of colorful paints and the satisfying feel of popping bubble wrap creates an enjoyable and engaging experience.
That’s why this craft is ideal for both preschoolers and early elementary-aged children, encouraging creativity, fine motor skills and an understanding of texture.
Octopus Maze
This Octopus Maze activity is a fun and engaging way to help your child aged 4 to 8 practice problem-solving skills!
Your child will enjoy helping the octopus find its way to the fish by drawing a line through the maze. It’s good for children’s spatial awareness while keeping them entertained.
Octopus Tic Tac Toe
This Octopus Tic Tac Toe game is a fun, interactive twist on the classic tic-tac-toe game and it’s perfect for kids aged 4 and up.
Using cute octopus images as game pieces, your child can enjoy a friendly competition while developing important skills like strategic thinking and problem solving.
This activity not only helps boost cognitive skills but also improves hand eye coordination. It’s a great way to spend quality time together as a family and introduce your child to the exciting world of games!
Octopus Pencil Tracing
This Octopus Pencil Tracing activity is a fantastic way for your child to improve fine motor skills while having fun with the colorful octopus characters!
Perfect for children aged 3 to 5 years, this activity allows your little one to trace along dotted lines to complete the octopus shapes.
This activity helps develop pencil control, enhances hand eye coordination, and supports early writing skills.
Octopus Colour Matching
his Octopus Colour Matching activity is an exciting and engaging way for your child to explore colors while building their cognitive skills.
I designed this activity for little learners, your little one will match the colorful circles to the corresponding spots on the octopus’s tentacles.
This activity is a playful way to boost your child’s concentration and color recognition in a fun, hands-on approach!
Octopus Scissor Cutting
Octopus Scissor Cutting
Introduce your child to scissor skills with this Octopus Scissor Cutting activity, which is both fun and educational. You can give a child safe scissor to your kids.
Your little one will practice cutting along dotted lines to reveal cute octopus images, helping them develop fine motor control and hand eye coordination.
This hands on activity encourages concentration while also improving your child’s ability to hold and use scissors properly.
Octopus Letters Matching
Get your child excited about learning letters with the Octopus Letters Matching activity!
This interactive game helps children recognize letters as they match the correct ones to each spot on the colorful octopus.
As they attach the letter stickers, they’ll develop letter recognition, strengthen their fine motor skills, and boost their focus all while having fun!
This simple yet engaging activity is a perfect way to encourage early literacy skills and introduce your little one to the alphabet.
Playdough Octopus
Transform playdough into a fun, creative octopus with this engaging activity.
Encourage your child to shape the octopus’s body and swirling tentacles using vibrant playdough, helping them develop fine motor skills and creativity.
This hands-on activity is perfect for young learners to practice their sculpting skills while also enhancing their problem solving abilities.
Decorate Octopus Tentacles
Get ready for a fun and creative activity where your child can decorate an octopus using pasta and paint!
Using simple materials like pasta and construction paper, they can design their own unique octopus. It’s a great way to help your child explore textures and shapes while having fun with a playful, ocean inspired project!
Conclusion
In my opinion, octopuses are the most mesmerizing creatures in the world. With these octopus themed activities, you can not only educate your child about how these creatures operate but also open them up to a world of fascinating animals in the wild.
Let me know in the comments down below which activity your kids liked the most and what was their favorite activity.
I’m a former teacher (and mother of Two Childs) with a background in child development. Here to help you with play-based learning activities for kids. ( Check my Next startup Cledemy.Com)