Use a paper plate to make a fun octopus. Ask students to decorate a paper plate with markers, crayons or paint. Use wiggly eyes or pom poms to give the octopus eyes. Use strips of construction paper or crepe paper for legs. Ask each student to choose eight legs for their octopus, then help students glue the legs onto the octopus.
To make a crab, ask students to decorate the plate as before, but use pipe cleaners to make short, curved legs. Punch holes on the sides of the plate and help students attach the legs. Cut pincers out of card stock. Let students color the pincers and then glue them on the plate.
Cut different fish shapes out of white card stock. Give students markers, crayons or paint to paint their fish. Help students fold and glue tissue paper to make fins. Let the fish dry. Next, help students put dots of glue on their fish and sprinkle glitter. Hang fish from the ceiling at different lengths to let them "swim" above the students.
Use an empty shoe box lid to make a coral reef. Show students pictures of coral reefs to guide their creativity. Cover the outside of the lid of a shoebox with blue paper, and give one to each student. Provide students with colorful tissue paper, pompoms, pipe cleaners cut in half, glitter, construction paper, colored sand and shells to make their own coral reef. Help students glue items onto the blue paper, including the sides of the lid. Use pipe cleaners as coral. Punch small holes in the lid and show students how to set the pipe cleaner into the hole so that it stands up, and encourage students to bend it to look like coral. Once completed, display all the students' coral reefs together on a table. If sturdy enough, you can attach them to a bulletin board instead.
Use seashells to make an interesting painting. Give students a selection of paint colors and a plain piece of paper. Also provide students with shells, sea grass and other items from the ocean. Invite students to dip the items into the paint and use them to make interesting patterns on the paper. Give students glue and sand and let them add sand to the painting to create an undersea landscape.