Create a starfish template for students to trace, color and cut out paper starfish. Glue star-shaped paste all over the starfish cutout for a three-dimensional display. Hang a few starfish from string to create a classroom mobile. In another activity, students may add facial features, such as wiggly eyes, yarn hair, a nose and a mouth to create a starfish character. Use these crafts on a sea-themed bulletin board to display the students' work.
Integrating the five senses into preschool activities is a common tactic for educators. Cut star shapes from medium-grit sandpaper. Instruct each student to place a piece of white printer paper over the shape and use an unwrapped crayon on its side to rub over the starfish. The paper will gain color from the crayon while creating small bumps on the paper. Another option is to cut a starfish shape from a piece of construction paper and glue oat cereal rings onto the craft to appear as starfish suction cups.
Instruct students to cut out a 3-inch starfish shape after tracing a teacher-made template and paint glue over the entire shape. Sprinkle clear or yellow sugar crystals commonly used for cake decorating to cover the glue. When the starfish has dried, punch a hole in the shape and thread a 24-inch-long piece of white yarn through it. Tie the yarn in a knot so the children can wear the starfish as a necklace. Even smaller 1-inch starfish paper cutouts can be threaded through a punched hole to create a starfish bracelet to complement the necklace.
Read the book "The Lonely Starfish" by Marcia Engler with your preschoolers and use the book's illustrations to count the number of star points on each starfish. This whole-class activity reinforces one-to-one correlations as well as counting to five. Cut out a 10-inch starfish from poster board and cut it into puzzle-like shapes to enhance fine motor skills. A 2-inch poster board starfish may be glued to the end of a wooden craft stick for a literary role-play activity in retelling the story.