Encourage creative thinking and fine motor skills with this quick & easy seashell preschool craft. It’s a wonderful way to add some process art to your next preschool beach theme and makes a great sensory experience too! You’re definitely not going to want to miss it!
With everything that’s going on lately, we’ve been spending lots of time at home. Of course that meant a few more fun beach crafts & activities and today’s Seashell Preschool Craft was a definite favorite for baby girl.
And while we’re on the subject, if you missed it, don’t forget to check out all 50+ Process Art Activities for Kids!
I actually adapted this activity a bit from the original instructions that were included in our Teacher Guide, but more about that in a minute. Let’s talk about how to do this awesome seashell preschool craft with your little kids.
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A huge thanks to Experience Early Learning (formerly Mother Goose Time) for providing us with their Experience Preschool curriculum for free in exchange for sharing our honest and authentic stories resulting from our personal experiences. It’s been such a huge blessing to us! As always, my opinions on awesome stuff for little kids are 100% my own.
Keep in mind that all preschoolers do things in their own time and on their own terms. What one is ready for, another might not be. Please use your best mama judgement when planning activities for your little kids.
Seashell Preschool Craft
Skills: Visual Arts, Self Concept, Fine Motor
What you’ll need
- Inspiration Photo
For Each Child
- Shell Pasta
- Paper Plates
Your Supplies
- 1 Tbsp. oil
- 1 c. sand
- 1 c. warm water
- 2 c. flour
- Paint
- Paintbrushes
- Glue
- Spoon
- Large Bowl
Here’s how to do it
Prep
- Mix the flour, water, oil and sand in a large bowl and knead until a dough forms.
Set Up
- Set out the Inspiration Photo and any additional materials.
Prompts
- What shapes do you see on the shells in the photo?
- What animals do you think used to live in those shells?
- Will you press the shells into your dough?
- How will you decorate your artwork?
Observe
- Did the child make choices to create an intended design?
- Did he/she plan their ideas before creating?
We did this seashell preschool activity both in the classroom as well as at home.
At preschool, we made the dough according to the instructions and everyone had a wonderful time creating their very own three-dimensional seashell process art. It didn’t take long for the dough to harden and then the projects were sent home with the kiddos.
You could totally make this seashell preschool craft with salt dough or air-dry clay too. What a beautiful keepsake! And especially if you used seashells from your most recent family beach vacation.
For baby girl, I thought we’d just use kinetic sand so that she could keep coming back to this activity throughout the week. We’ve left kinetic sand in the sensory table for extended periods of time and it’s been perfectly fine.
Both the little guy and baby girl know the rule, “What’s in the bin stays in the bin.” And for the most part, we don’t have any major issues.
I mean, sure. There are occasional messes. After all, they’re kids. You know, but not so many/so often that I feel we can’t have craft and sensory activities out on a day to day basis.
With such a large gap in ages between them, I try to be creative in how I present the activities. Obviously Experience Early Learning makes that all kinds of easy.
Don’t forget to check back if you’re interested in seeing what we’re up to next week with our Bubbles, Boats & Floats theme from Experience Early Learning (formerly Mother Goose Time). And if you missed it, check out this year’s preschool homeschool space post.
Looking for more insight & inspiration? Here are the top 10 most popular posts from The Keeper of the Memories. You’re definitely not going to want to miss these!
As an Experience Early Learning Blog Ambassador, I receive the Experience Early Learning Preschool curriculum in exchange for my honest and authentic stories resulting from our personal experiences. As always, my opinions on awesome stuff for little kids are 100% my own. Keep in mind that all preschoolers do things in their own time and on their own terms. What one is ready for, another might not be. Please use your best mama judgement when planning activities for your little kids. #preschool #homeschool #mgtblogger
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