25+ Turtle Activities For Preschoolers Splash into Learning

While I am totally against giving people unsolicited advice, you have to believe me when I say that engaging your children in activities on topics that they are interested in is the best way to bond with your children. 

When my kids started watching Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles 🐢, I devised several activities, crafts, and snacks I knew my kids would love to participate in. In this article, I am sharing many of these turtle-inspired activities that my children enjoyed. 

Awesome Turtle Activities For Preschoolers

Turtles 🐢 rank high on the list of animals that are endangered. Through the activities mentioned below, I aimed to introduce the topic of conservation, sustainability, and preservation to my preschooler in a fun and engaging manner. 

Hopefully, your little ones have a lot of learning about turtles 🐢 and the efforts to conserve them. 

Turtle Jello Cups 

This is an adorable way to serve jello to children at birthday parties. 

What you need- 

Green jello fruit cups, googly eyes 👀, scissors, glue, and green craft foam. 

Steps– 

• Make a turtle’s legs, arms, tail, and head on the foam sheet. 
• Place these on a serving tray. 
• Place the jello cup on top in such a way that it forms the turtle’s 🐢 shell. 
• Glue two googly eyes 👀 to the turtle’s head. 

Paper Plate Turtle Craft For Preschoolers 

My preschooler had a blast making this turtle 🐢 craft. 

What you need- 

Paper plate, large googly eyes 👀, multicolored tissue papers, scissors, glue stick, and cardstock paper. 

Steps- 

• Instruct your child to fold a piece of tissue paper in half and then fold it again. 
• Carefully cut the tiny tissue paper squares formed and repeat the process until they have at least 32 such squares (you can also ask your child to count the number of squares). 
• Now, ask your child to use the glue stick at the back of the tissue paper squares, one by one, and then paste them on the plate. 
• Meanwhile, draw a turtle’s face, legs, and mouth on a green construction paper. Cut them with scissors and then paste them on the paper plate in such a way that it looks like we are looking at the turtle 🐢from above. 
• Ask your child to paste the googly eyes 👀 on the head and draw a face. Your paper plate turtle craft is complete. 

Turtle Cupcakes 

My preschooler loved helping me prepare and decorate these cupcakes. 

What you need- 

Vanilla frosting, vanilla cupcake mix, cupcake liners, cupcake mold, blue and green food coloring, nilla wafers, and green M&Ms. 

Steps– 

• Follow the instructions on the back of the cupcake mix and add a few drops of green food coloring to it. 
• Line a cupcake mold with green cupcake liners and pour the mixture in it. Bake in the oven per instructions on the box. 
• After baking your cupcakes, let them cool down on a cooling rack. 
• Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, pour the vanilla frosting and add a few drops of blue food coloring to it. Mix well and fill the piping bag with the frosting. 
• Pipe the top of the cupcakes with the blue frosting. Place a nilla wafer on each cupcake. Use the green M&M’s to make the legs and face of the turtle 🐢. The cupcakes are ready to be served. 

Recite a Poem About Turtles 

If your kids have started preschool, then you must be privy to our children learning a new poem almost every week. This is because poems are a wonderful literary tool that helps our children get a grasp on a language and its many aspects. 

You can find several children’s poems and rhymes online about turtles 🐢. Recite the poem out loud a couple of times and then practice dance to accompany the poem. 

Introduce Your Children To World Turtle Day 

World Turtle Day is an annual celebration observed every year on the 23rd of May. Sponsored by the American Tortoise Rescue, World Turtle Day came into existence to raise awareness about turtles 🐢, as they were on the brink of extinction due to environmental disasters and human greed. 

On this day, you can show your children an age-appropriate documentary on the topic of turtles 🐢 and their endangerment. 

Healthy Turtle Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack 

I took my kids to the aquarium recently, where they saw a turtle 🐢 exhibit, which they absolutely loved. This fruit snack was inspired by the turtles there. 

What you need- 

An orange and celery stalks 

Steps- 

• Help your child peel an orange. 
• Split the peeled orange in half. 
• Cut a celery stalk to make the turtle’s head, feet, and legs. 
• On a serving plate, place half of an orange (which is the turtle’s 🐢 shell) and then decorate it with the celery stalks. 

Which Ocean Zone Do Turtles Live In? 

Ocean water is divided into five zones. These are the Epipelagic, Mesopelagic, Bathypelagic, Abyssopelagic, and Hadalpelagic. 

Access to sunlight reduces as you go deeper into the ocean. Therefore, sea turtles 🐢, which feed on seagrasses, seaweed, and algae, tend to live in the epipelagic zone. 

However, since leatherback turtles🐢 tend to eat soft-bodied invertebrates and jellies, they can survive in the bathypelagic zone. This is what my son and I learned when this question popped into his brain. Conduct your own research into where different species of turtles 🐢 live and what they eat in their natural habitat.   

Ninja Turtle Salt Dough Christmas Ornament 

My favorite memories from childhood were when I used to help my mom make Christmas ornaments. 

What you need- 

Salt, flour, water, acrylic paint, ribbon, paintbrush, felt fabric, googly eyes 👀, and Mod Podge. 

Steps- 

• Mix one cup of salt with 2 cups of flour in a large mixing bowl to make the dough. Ask your child to mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon 🥄 while you slowly add enough water to make a dough. 
• Continue mixing the dough until it is no longer sticky and is ready to roll. 
• Show your child how to use a rolling pin, and then let them roll the dough as evenly as possible. 
• Now, ask your child to press their hand in the dough. Use a knife to cut out the handprint. Make a hole for hanging the ornament at the bottom of the palm with a metal straw. 
• Put the handprint(s) on a baking sheet and bake at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 to 3 hours or until the dough is completely dehydrated and hard. Let the dough cool down. 
• Instruct your child to paint their handprint with green paint. 
• While the paint is drying, make a Ninja Turtle 🐢 eye mask with red felt fabric. Paste two googly eyes 👀on the mask and then paste the mask on the palm. 
• Tie a string around the hole in the ornament and draw a mouth and nose under the mask with a marker. Your ornament is ready. 

Kiwi and Grapes Turtles 

Help your children make turtles 🐢with kiwi and grapes. 

What you need- 

Green grapes, kiwi fruit, and an edible black marker. 

Steps- 

• Show your preschooler how to peel a kiwi fruit. 
• Then, using a knife made for children, slice the kiwi fruit into a round shape. 
• Cut two grapes in half to make the turtle’s feet. 
• Draw two eyes and a smile with an edible black marker on a whole grape. 
• Assemble everything on the serving plate. 

Pro tip- 

You can replace the kiwi fruit with a green apple.

Sea Turtles Sensory Box 

Recreate the natural habitat of the sea turtles 🐢with your children for an afternoon of sensory play. 

What you need- 

A shallow plastic container, sand, water, blue food coloring, small plastic turtle toys, and rocks. 

Steps- 

• The next time you visit the beach, ask your child to collect rocks and shells found on the beach. Also, collect some sand. 
• Fill half of the shallow plastic container with the beach sand. Make sure you have a couple of inches of sand. Press the sand so that it is compact, and then decorate the beach with seashells and rocks found on the beach. 
• Fill the remaining half of the plastic container with water. Add a few drops of blue food coloring to the water. Mix slightly. 
• Now, place the plastic turtles in the sensory box. Some of the turtles 🐢should be placed on the water and some on the land. 

While your child plays with this box, you can tell your child about certain species of turtles laying their eggs 🥚 on the beach. After the eggs are hatched, the tiny turtles must cross the beach and enter the ocean to be back with their family. Also, tell them about what turtles 🐢eat during this time. 

Ninja Turtle Veggie Wrap 

These veggie wraps are a delicious addition to your child’s after-school lunch. 

What you need- 

Spinach tortilla wraps, cheese slices, avocado, cucumber, tomatoes, carrot, lettuce, sour cream, green onion, mild salsa, garlic powder, and black pepper. 

Steps- 

• Mix sour cream with garlic powder and cracker bell pepper to make the sauce. Set it aside in the fridge until you are ready to assemble. 
• Mix grated carrots with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocado for the vegetable filling. 
• To assemble the wrap, lay down a tortilla on a clean surface. Spread the sour cream on the tortilla and place the lettuce and vegetable filling on top. 
• Now, roll the wrap with a thin layer of mild sauce on top of the vegetables. 
• To make the Ninja Turtle 🐢 eye mask, cut two holes on a strip of cheese slice and place them on top of the tortilla. The wrap is ready to be served. 

Turtle Planters 

Teach your child how to grow plants with these adorable turtle 🐢 planters. 

What you need- 

Tiny plastic plant containers, green pom poms, acrylic paint, hot glue, and googly eyes 👀. 

Steps- 

• Ask your child to paint the plastic plant container with green acrylic paint. Add another coat of paint after the first coat has dried. 
• Use the hot glue to paste five pom poms around the planter, four for the legs and one for the turtle’s 🐢 head. 
• Paste two googly eyes 👀 on the pom pom meant for the head. 

After the glue has dried, carefully use the planter to show your child how to sow seeds. I used these planters to grow herbs in my kitchen. 

Cardboard Turtle Craft For Preschoolers 

My daughter really enjoyed making this craft. She thought that the turtle 🐢 she had made was super adorable. 

What you need- 

A piece of cardboard, green and blue pom poms, googly eyes 👀, green construction paper, scissors, and a black marker. 

Steps- 

• Draw a large circle on a piece of cardboard. Supervise your child while they cut the circle from the cardboard with a pair of scissors. 
• Now, apply a layer of glue to the cardboard circle. Instruct your child to paste the green and blue pom poms on the circle. They can even make a unique pattern while pasting the pom poms, like pasting them in concentric circles. 
• On a green construction paper, draw a turtle’s legs and head. Cut them with scissors and paste them on the back side of the cardboard circle. 
• Paste two googly eyes on the head and draw a face with the black marker. Your cardboard turtle 🐢 craft is complete. 

Pro tip- 

You can also do this activity with buttons and crepe paper instead of the pom poms. 

Egg Carton Turtles Counting Exercise 

Improve your preschooler’s counting skills with this adorable exercise. 

What you need- 

An egg 🥚carton, scissors, buttons, green paint, and a marker. 

Steps- 

• Ask your child to paint the egg carton with green paint. 
• Use the scissors to cut out each individual egg cup from the egg carton. 
• Write a number on the back of each egg cup. 
• Give your child these egg cups, along with a bunch of buttons. Ask them to read the number written on the egg 🥚 and fill it with as many buttons. You should also ask them to say the numbers out loud. 

Green Apple Ninja Turtle Snack 

If your child is a Ninja Turtles 🐢 franchise fan, they’ll love eating this healthy snack. 

What you need- 

Green Apple, Fruit Roll-Up, and candy eyes. 

Steps- 

• Cut a clean green apple in half and place it on the serving plate. 
• To make the Ninja Turtle’s eye mask, cut a strip of fruit roll up and place it on top of the green apple. 
• Place two candy eyes on top of the fruit roll-up, and your Ninja Turtle-inspired green apple snack is finished. 

Pistachio Shell Turtle Craft For Preschoolers 

I tend to save pistachio shells because, in the past, they have come in handy for a lot of crafts. Educate your children on the importance of reusing and repurposing items with this craft.

What you need- 

Empty pistachio shells and colorful markers. 

Steps- 

• Use a green marker to cover the shell. 
• Make the turtle 🐢 shell pattern and the turtle’s face with a black marker. 

Turtle Egg Number and Letter Recognition Exercise 

The goal of this exercise is to improve your child’s number and letter recognition skills, along with their tactile skills and their writing abilities. 

What you need- 

Ping pong balls, a permanent marker, sand, and a large plastic container. 

Steps- 

• Write the uppercase and lowercase alphabet on twenty-six balls and numbers between 1 and 26. 
• Fill a large plastic container with sand and bury the balls in the sand. 
• Give your child a whiteboard and ask them to look for the balls inside the plastic container. Ask them to say the number and letter written on each ball and write it on the whiteboard. 

Turtle Shell Costume 

If your kids are fans of the Teenage Ninja Turtles 🐢, then they’ll love role-playing with this costume. 

What you need- 

A green construction sheet, yellow construction paper, pencil, scissors, glue, and ribbon. 

Steps- 

• Measure your child’s back and draw a turtle shell on the green construction sheet to fit those measurements. 
• To decorate the turtle 🐢 shell, cut random shapes using the yellow construction paper. Paste them on the green shell. 
• Cut a large string of ribbon and secure it to the back of the green shell with glue so that your child can wear it without the shell sliding off. 

Ninja Turtles Inspired Rice Krispie Treats 

These rice krispie treats were a favorite at my son’s birthday party. 

What you need- 

Unsalted butter 🧈, mini marshmallows, green food coloring, fruit roll-up, candy eyes, black icing, vanilla extract, salt, and rice krispie cereal. 

Steps- 

• Melt one and a half sticks of unsalted butter in a large saucepan. After the butter 🧈 develops a golden color, add 15 ounces of mini marshmallows to the pan. 
• Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until the marshmallow completely melts. 
• After removing the pan from heat, add a few drops of green food coloring and vanilla extract to the marshmallows. 
• Mix everything before adding 8 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal. This is also the point where you can add crushed nuts or chocolate chips. 
• Transfer the mixture to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently press the mixture to fill the baking sheet. 
• Once the mixture has been set, use a circular cookie cutter for the Ninja Turtle’s 🐢 faces. 
• Make a mask with a fruit roll-up. Use different flavors for each rice krispie treat. 
• Squeeze a dollop of black icing on two candy eyes and place them on top of the fruit roll-up. 
• Use the black icing to make the Ninja Turtle’s nose and mouth. 

Pro tip- 

You can also cover the rice crispy treats with melted green chocolate to make the turtles 🐢. 

Life Cycle of a Turtle 

Watch a video on the life cycle of turtles 🐢 to celebrate World Turtle Day. A visual representation of the turtle’s life cycle will help children understand why we must conserve and protect their natural habitats during and after the mating season. 

Several incredible documentaries and video essays available online do a great job of tackling this topic in a way that is palatable for children. 

Turtle Crawl Race 

Tire out your preschoolers with a turtle 🐢 crawl race. The children must crawl to the finish line with a shell (like a book) on their backs without the shell falling. 

Instead of asking the children to race, you can also ask the preschoolers to crawl around a room very slowly like a turtle 🐢. 

Visit a Turtle Sanctuary on Your Next Vacation 

There are several amazing sea turtle 🐢 rescue projects and sanctuaries in popular vacation destinations like Costa Rica, South Carolina, Bali, Texas, and even Canada. 

If you are visiting any of these vacation hot spots this summer with your kids, then you should visit a turtle 🐢 rescue project to show your kids conservation in action. 

Floating Turtle Craft 

Help your children make these floating turtles 🐢 to make their bath time even more fun. 

What you need- 

Empty applesauce containers, acrylic paint, googly eyes 👀, liquid glue, craft foam, scissors, and paintbrush. 

Steps- 

• Clean the applesauce containers and instruct your preschooler to paint the inside of the container green with acrylic paint. 
• While the paint is drying, draw a flat turtle 🐢 on the green foam sheet and cut it with scissors. 
• Paste the googly eyes 👀 on the green foam sheet. 
• Apply glue to the rim of the apple sauce container and paste it on the green foam sheet. After the glue has dried, the floating turtle 🐢 craft is ready to be played with. 

Turtle Macarons 

My preschooler loved to decorate these macarons; however, she was not super excited about how long it took us to make them. 

What you need- 

Icing sugar, ground almonds, eggs 🥚, granulated sugar, green food coloring, chopped white chocolate, and double cream. 

Steps- 

• In the bowl of a food processor, sift 200 grams of icing sugar and 170 grams of ground almonds. Mix until everything is well combined. 
• Separate the egg yolks from the egg 🥚 whites of four eggs. 
• Add two egg whites at a time into the food processor with the almond mixture. 
• Boil 50 ml of water with 160 grams of granulated sugar in a saucepan. Let the syrup boil until it reaches 110 degrees. Let the syrup simmer on the stove. 
• Meanwhile, pour the remaining egg whites into a heatproof bowl. Once the syrup reaches 118 degrees Celsius, remove the syrup from heat and start whisking the egg whites. 
• Slowly pour the syrup into the egg 🥚 whites and continue whisking on high until a shiny meringue-like mixture is formed. Add green food coloring and whisk to combine. 
• Fold the meringue mixture gently in the almond mixture with a spatula. Once everything has been combined, pour the mixture into a piping bag. 
• Pipe on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and leave to rest until the macarons have developed a skin. Bake in the oven for 14 minutes. 
• Once the macarons have finished baking, quickly remove the parchment paper and set it on a cooling rack. 
• Warm 300 ml of double cream in a saucepan to make the white chocolate ganache. Remove the cream from heat once it starts to steam and begins to bubble. 
• In a heat-safe bowl, measure 500 grams of white chocolate. Pour the double cream over the white chocolate and let the mixture sit for 1 to 2 minutes. 
• Start whisking the mixture from the center of the bowl with a hand blender or electric whisk. 
• Pipe the filling between two macarons. 
• Hand your child black gel icing and green gel icing to decorate the macarons to look like turtles 🐢. 

Turtle Hunt 

I love making my children participate in a scavenger hunt because it allows me to relax for a few minutes while my kids engage in a physically and mentally stimulating game. 

What you need- 

Plastic or plushy turtle 🐢toys and a children’s bucket. 

Steps- 

Hide ten turtle toys in safe parts of your house and ask your child to collect each of them in their bucket. You can also turn this hunt into a competition if two or more children are playing by asking the participants to find the most turtles 🐢 in under 15 minutes. 

Make a Turtle With Modelling Dough 

Playing with modeling dough is extremely beneficial for young children as it strengthens their gross, fine motor, and tactile skills. Give your child a template of a turtle 🐢and modeling dough. Ask them to recreate the image with modeling dough. 

Wooden Sea Turtle Paper Weight 

This craft is super easy to make, and the end product can be used as a paperweight. 

What you need- 

Wooden eggs 🥚, acrylic paint, a paintbrush, and a black permanent marker. 

Steps- 

• Paint the wooden egg 🥚 completely with dark green acrylic paint. 
• While the paint is drying, mix some green paint with white paint on a color palette to make light green paint. Use this paint to make the turtle’s shell. 
• After the paint has dried, use the permanent marker to make a pattern on the shell and draw a face. Your paperweight is ready. 

CD and Button Turtle Craft 

Reuse an old CD in this turtle 🐢 craft that enhances your child’s fine motor and gross motor skills. 

What you need- 

Green construction paper, CD, buttons, glue, and marker. 

Steps- 

• Instruct your child to apply glue to the back of the CD and paste it in the middle of the green construction paper. 
• Use a marker to draw the turtle’s legs, head, and face. 
• Decorate the shell of the turtle 🐢 with colorful buttons.  

Make Turtle Cookies 

I always have this turtle batter saved in my fridge because my kids love it so much. I don’t know why these cookies are called turtle 🐢 cookies, but that doesn’t mean your children can’t enjoy these cookies. 

What you need- 

All-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, unsalted butter 🧈, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg 🥚, vanilla extract, caramel squares, chopped pecans, and chocolate chips. 

Steps- 

• Sift one and a half cups of all-purpose flour, half a cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, half a teaspoon of salt, and half a teaspoon of baking soda in a mixing bowl. 
• In another mixing bowl, combine half a cup of unsalted butter, half a cup of brown sugar, and half a cup of granulated sugar with a whisk until the butter is fluffy. 
• After a couple of minutes of whisking, add an egg 🥚 and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. 
• While you are still mixing the butter 🧈, add flour one cup at a time. After the dough is well combined, use an ice cream scooper to form the dough balls on the baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the baking sheet in the fridge. 
• While the cookie dough is resting, make the add-ons. Cut the caramel squares into smaller pieces and combine them with chocolate chips and chopped pecans. 
• Take the baking sheet out of the fridge and use a spoon 🥄to make a dent. Place the add-ons on the cookies and bake in the oven set at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 15 minutes. 

Conclusion 

As I wrap up this article, I am reminded of the many wonderful lessons that my children and I learned while doing many of these activities and how much fun we had while making some of these crafts. 

While parenthood is not an easy challenge, it is important to remind ourselves daily that we should take things slowly, like the turtle 🐢, and constantly nurture their creativity and imagination. 

In the comments below, let us know which snacks your children enjoyed the most.