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The diversity of ocean life has been so exciting to learn about in homeschooling this past year! One of our favourite topics has been to investigate coral reefs and explore what animals and plant life live in these colourful ecosystems.
We decided to try making our own mini coral reef and came up with this simple and fun craft!
About Coral:
Did you know that coral is actually an animal?! I totally didn’t until my daughter and I started reading about it.
Here are a few fun facts that you might not know about Coral:
- They are invertebrates (a large class of animals that have no backbone)
- They are in the same family as jellyfish and sea anemones (Cnidarians)
- They have nerves and muscles but no brains or hearts
- They are carnivores and eat mostly plankton and other small fish
- They are divided into 2 categories: Hard and Soft Corals
- They are naturally clear and void of any colour. Zooxanthellae, an algae lives in them and gives them their incredible colours
- Some corals can even move from one location to another!
- Corals are essential for cleaning the water. They are sometimes called the “rainforests of the sea”
If you are looking for some inspiration before making your egg carton coral reef, this is a great video showing the beautiful underwater world of coral reefs:
About This Craft:
We really enjoyed putting this little craft activity together to make a mini replica of coral reefs. The kids liked exploring the different textures, colours and materials used, and then playing with the popsicle stick animals afterwards!
This is the free printable of fish and animals commonly found on or around coral reefs.
We cut them out and glued them to popsicle sticks to use as puppets around the egg carton reef.
You can down load them HERE.
This was a fun activity to have an excuse to look through our craft supplies and see what we could use to mimic the beauty and diversity of coral reefs. I’m sure yours will look much different from ours as this craft is largely based on what craft supplies are available and what your kids want their coral reef to look like.
Have fun making this activity with your kids!
Here’s a short video of making this crafted coral reef!
How to Make an Egg Carton Coral Reef
Supplies Needed:
- Cardboard Egg carton
- Scissors
- Glue gun
- Meltable glue sticks for glue gun
- Glue sticks
- Pompoms or other embellishments (eg. beads)
- Pipe cleaners
- Pen or Pencil
- Felt fabric or coloured paper
- Play-Dough
- Small sea shells
- PDF of fish/sea creature pictures printed on white card-stock paper
- Popsicle sticks
Directions:
- Cut egg carton in half and turn upside down.
- Paint or colour base if desired.
- Cut large strips of felt fabric or coloured paper, then cut slits into side as shown below (picture 1). Glue with hot glue gun to the back of the egg carton for seaweed.
4. Cut smaller strips of felt fabric or coloured paper, then cut slits into the side (same as picture 1). Roll and then glue the bottom side to wherever you would like on your coral reef.
5. Swirl different coloured pipe cleaners around a pen or pencil to get another coral look (picture 3). Use hot glue gun to attach to egg carton base where desired.
6. Use play dough to create other coral shapes or starfish or sand dollars and secure onto egg carton. We just molded the sea creatures and then let them dry right onto the egg carton.
7. Decorate with pom-poms, beads, shells, or anything else you would like!
8. Print the PDF of coral reef fish and sea creatures on white card stock paper, cut out and then glue with glue stick onto popsicle sticks.
9. Let the kids have fun with imagination play as they learn about the different animals and sea creatures found living around coral reefs!
More Homeschooling Crafts & Activities to Check Out:
Hi, I’m Jessie!
I’m a Wife and Homeschooling Mom living in a remote town in Northern Ontario, Canada. I love making wholesome meals for my family from scratch, homeschooling our girls and learning more about natural living.
Read more about my story HERE.
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Create a Mini Coral Reef Craft
Use this fun craft to learn about the diversity and beauty of ocean life and make your own mini coral reef!
Supplies Needed:
Directions:
- Cut egg carton in half and turn upside down.
- Paint or colour base if desired.
- Cut large strips of felt fabric or coloured paper, then cut slits into side as shown below (picture 1). Glue with hot glue gun to the back of the egg carton for seaweed.
- Cut smaller strips of felt fabric or coloured paper, then cut slits into the side (same as picture 1). Roll and then glue the bottom side to wherever you would like on your coral reef.
- Swirl different coloured pipe cleaners around a pen or pencil to get another coral look (picture 3). Use hot glue gun to attach to egg carton base where desired.
- Use play dough to create other coral shapes or starfish or sand dollars and secure onto egg carton. We just molded the sea creatures and then let them dry right onto the egg carton.
- Decorate with pom-poms, beads, shells, or anything else you would like!
- Print the PDF of coral reef fish and sea creatures on white card stock paper, cut out and then glue with glue stick onto popsicle sticks.
- Let the kids have fun with imagination play as they learn about the different animals and sea creatures found living around coral reefs!
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