Sea Otter Crafts and Learning Activities For Children

How to Make Crafts and Activities Relating to Sea Otters

 

 

Turn a simple paper plate craft into a fun sea otter learning activity! Children make a mother and baby sea otter from paper plates and paper, then use the pouch formed in the mother otter’s belly to store the baby, sea otter facts, or a story they have written.

After learning about sea otters, encourage students to study photographs and color their otters to resemble real animals. Talk about their fur, eyes, paws, noses, and other features, then have students draw foods sea otters eat or objects they might hold in their paws.

For an easy science and writing extension, students can record interesting facts they learned and tuck the paper inside the otter’s belly. They can also use their finished otters for imaginative play, then write a story that includes some of the facts they discovered.

This hands-on activity combines science, art, writing, and creative play, making it a great choice for an ocean unit, animal study, or sea otter theme.

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Children read about sea otters and then make sea otter puppets and pretend to feed them sea other food.

What Do Otters Eat? Otter Puppet Learning Activity

Turn an otter study into a fun, hands-on learning experience with these adorable mother and baby paper bag otter puppets! Children color and assemble their puppets, then slip their hands inside the bags to make the otters move, play, and “eat” as they learn about the foods sea otters enjoy.

Use the included printable sea animal and shell pictures to talk about what otters eat, then let children choose foods to feed their puppets as they review what they have learned. The mother-and-baby puppets also give you an opportunity to talk about how sea otter mothers care for their pups.

For an easy learning extension, add pictures of foods and objects that sea otters would not eat and have children decide which items belong on an otter’s menu. Include a few silly choices, such as pizza, cupcakes, shoes, or crayons, to make the activity even more fun.

This simple craft works especially well with younger children because it combines science learning, fine-motor practice, dramatic play, and lesson review in one activity. Pair it with a favorite otter book or use it as part of an ocean animal, marine life, or sea otter unit.

What you will need:

Paper Lunch Bags - 4 7/8" x 3" x 10", Mini Kraft Paper Bags, 8 1/2 x 11 Card Stock - Grocery Bag Brown or a Grocery Bag cut into Printer Paper Size, Colored Pencils or Crayons, Tape and/or Glue, Wiggle Eyes (Optional)

The patterns for this craft are available to members on The Resource Room and as an instant digital download.

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Bring your sea otter study to life with this adorable mother and baby sea otter craft! Children color and assemble the paper figures, then tuck the baby sea otter into its mother’s arms to create a fun, hands-on manipulative they can play with as they learn.

Pair the craft with a favorite sea otter book or science lesson and talk about where sea otters live, how mothers care for their babies, and what sea otters eat. Then bring out the included sea otter food pictures and let children choose which foods they would like to “feed” their otters.

Turn it into an even more engaging learning activity by adding pictures of other foods and objects that sea otters wouldn’t eat. Then ask children to decide whether or not a sea otter would eat each one. Include a few silly choices, such as pizza, cupcakes, or a shoe, to add some laughs while children learn to recognize the foods that really belong on a sea otter’s menu.

This hands-on activity combines science, crafting, fine-motor practice, imaginative play, and learning in a way children will remember.

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This pattern include the mom and baby otter, otter food sheet, and printable mini book about otters (below).

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Add a little reading and writing to your sea otter study with this tiny 2" x 3" printable mini book! The book includes nine interesting facts about otters and is just the right size to tuck into the sea otter craft’s hands, making it a fun addition to the activity.

Children can read through the facts as they learn about otters, then use the book for review or take it home to share what they have learned with their families. For an easy writing extension, add a few blank pages and have students research or write additional otter facts of their own.

It’s a fun little book that turns the sea otter craft into an even more meaningful reading, science, and writing activity.

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This pattern include the mom and baby otter (above), otter food sheet, and printable mini book about otters.

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What you will need:

Two Heavy-duty, dinner-sized paper plates for the body

Three 6-inch Paper Plates

Paint

Scissors

Hot Melt Glue and Gun

Black Permanent Marker

Card Stock

 

How to make a paper plate otter:

1. Glue two big plates together, top-to-top, for the body. Glue two small plates together, top-to-top, for the head. Glue the head to the body. (You can make the sea otter a plate to hold seashells by cutting out the center of the top paper plate before gluing it to the bottom paper plate.)

2. To make the sea otter's muzzle fold a small paper plate in half and then fold back the sides as shown in the diagram to the right. Glue the folded sides to the back of the plate. Cut the bottom part of the paper plate into a mouth shape.

3. Glue the muzzle to the head.

4. Cut out arms, legs, a tail and ears, and glue them to the body as shown in the picture.

5. Paint the paper plates and let them dry. Add eyes and a nose. Cut a sea star shape from card stock and glue it to a hand of the sea otter.

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Paper Plate Sea Otters Made by Followers

 

 

Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners: Written by Laurie Keller

"Do Unto Otters" teaches children about the Golden Rule in a fun and unique way. Mr. Rabbit doesn't know anything about his new otter neighbors and is worried that he won't get along with them. He gets some great advice form a bird "Do unto otters as you would have otters do unto you". This gets him thinking about how he would like others to treat him and how he should treat his new neighbors.

Your children will love the cartoon characters and amusing images in this book.

The Author's Web Site also includes word searches, multiple choice questions, and coloring pages to go along with the book.