A perfect fine motor activity to go with the under the sea or an ocean theme – an edible octopus for toddlers and preschoolers! Within a few moments, I had created an Octopus Fine Motor Play activity that could be used time and time again.
Whenever I think of the letter O for some reason an octopus springs to mind. The chance of using an octopus eight legs for eight opportunities to develop my toddler’s fine motor skills, couldn’t be missed.
WHAT WE USED FOR OCTOPUS ACTIVITY?
- plastic cup
- white paper sheet
- black marker
- Cheerios
HOW TO SET UP AN OCTOPUS FINE MOTOR ACTIVITY?
To make the octopus body I found a plastic cup. Using a black permanent marker pen I drew twos eye and a mouth onto the cup.
I placed the plastic cup in the middle of an A4 piece of paper and used the permanent marker pen to draw eight legs from the base of the cup.
With our octopus in place, I set about finding small objects that could be placed onto the octopus legs to represent its tentacles.
Cheerios ended up to be the perfect size and shape. I placed a couple of hand fulls of Cheerios into a bowl.
HOW TO MAKE AN OCTOPUS?
I wanted our Octopus Fine Motor activity to involve some sorting. I wanted my toddler to decide whether the object should go on the octopus tentacle or in the rest of the image. Kelloggs Multi-Grain Shapes provided additional shapes I could place with the Cheerios. I simply picked out the shapes that looked like starfish and fish and added them to the bowl.
I laid out the resources on the table and demonstrated how my son could pick out a shape from the bowl, decide whether it was a tentacle or sea creature and position the shape in the correct place. Tentacle circles were placed on the octopus legs whereas sea creatures were placed anywhere on the paper.
The activity was great for fine motor practice. Each shape had to be carefully placed in a position to create the octopus picture. As soon as my toddler had completed an octopus he asked to try the activity again. We simply poured the shapes back into the bowl and he carried on.
If you do not have access to Cheerios the activity could be completed using M&M’s, play dough balls, flat glass pebbles, small marshmallows or even small pom poms.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Skills children work on as they make an octopus:
- Development of fine motor skills
- Eye & hand coordination – watching and doing and coordinating these actions.
- Concentration
- Early math – sorting activity
EXTEND THE PLAY WITH A STORYTIME!
Swimming with confidence and bursting with joy, Violet greets her friends Puffer Fish, Moray Eel, Jumbo Shrimp and Stinging Ray. She is outlandishly happy which excites their curiosity. What is her secret? How is she so happy? Can they be that happy too? Find the book here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom
Is your child ready to learn good bedtime habits? Little Octopus will lend a hand or eight! This shaped board book illustrates how a comforting routine makes bedtime a happy time. The light and lively story is encouraging and reassuring. Find the book here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom
OTHER FUN UNDER THE SEA IDEAS TO TRY!
1-2-3-4-5 Fish Crackers Counting
thank you