2 Entertaining Activities to Teach Kids About the Ocean

Do you need some fun new activities that will both entertain and educate the kiddos? With all of the extra time families are spending at home these days, who doesn’t?! We’ve partnered with HelloWonderful_co to create two unique ocean-inspired activities for Rubio’s youngest fans – and we’re excited to share them with you to try yourself.

These craft activities provide a perfect mix of fun, creativity, and learning opportunities for youngsters. They’re also easy for the entire family to create at home, using recycled materials you likely have around the house.

Make family craft and game night even more enjoyable with lunch or dinner at Rubio’s. Every Wednesday in September, get a free kid’s meal with any adult entrée purchase (coupon required).

Get your Kids Eat Free coupon for Rubio’s!  (expires 9/30/20)

 

 

Paper Tube Shark Game

Inspired by the ball and cup game, this is a fun way for kids to learn the alphabet. Have your child identify the letters on the small fish. Then attach one to the string in the shark’s mouth and catch the fish in the shark’s mouth.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CE94CK4gVsF/

Here are the step-by-step instructions for how to make this craft and play the game:

Materials:

• 4” paper tube
• Blue and white cardstock paper
• One googly eye
• String
• Velcro dots
• Glue or tape
• Scissors
• Empty and clean milk jug
• Black and colored markers
• Small piece of cardboard

Instructions:

1. Cut your blue shark paper tube pieces. Reference photo of parts for shapes. Cut a 6.5” x 4” piece for the body, 1’’ x 1.5” shape for bottom fins (two of these), 1.5” x 1.5” top fin, 3” x 1” tail, 7” x 3.5” for the cone.

2. Cut 4 strips of 1” zigzag teeth with the white cardstock.
3. Cut two v-shapes on one end of your tube. That is where the teeth will go.

4. Wrap the blue piece for the body around the paper tube and secure it with tape or glue.
5. Glue the top fin and two bottom fins to the body.

6. Make a cone out of the blue paper and fasten it to the end of the paper tube with glue or tape. Then, glue the tail to the end of the cone.
7. Glue the four pieces of teeth to each v-shape line of the shark’s mouth.
8. Glue the googly eye in place, and your shark is done!
9. Next, cut out a large piece from your milk jug and cut out a small fish shape that will fit inside your tube. Use that as a template and make multiple fish from the milk jug.

10. Color your fish with markers. Non-water-based markers work well because the color won’t bleed.
11. Use a black marker to write a letter in the center of each fish.

12. Cut a piece of string and glue/tape a small piece of cardboard to one end. On the cardboard, add a Velcro® dot. Then tape/glue the string to the inside of the shark. The longer the string the harder it will be to catch a fish so decide the length you want for your kids.
13. Add the reverse Velcro dot to each fish on the opposite side of the letters.

14. Now it’s time to play! Ask your child to point out letters or teach them what the letters are. Then attach a fish’s Velcro dot to the one on the cardboard hanging from the shark string and ask them to “catch” the fish!

 

The Ocean Food Chain Puzzle

Not only will this cute puzzle entertain, but it also educates the entire family about the different types of marine life and the food chain under the sea. Another bonus – it’s a great way to recycle your extra cardboard boxes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFSdbJOn5kO/

Materials: 

• Two pieces of equal sized cardboard
• Box cutter or craft knife
• Hot glue gun
• Colored and black markers
• Blue acrylic paint, paintbrush
• Pencil and eraser
• White cardstock
• Scissors
• Free printable Ocean Food Chain categories

Instructions:

1. With a pencil, draw 5 shapes in a semi-circle around one piece of cardboard. Draw arrows going from one semi-circle to another, which you will later paint. The shapes don’t have to be perfect or exact; you’ll just need to fit some drawings of your ocean animals inside. The size of your shapes and how many animals you draw will depend on how large your cardboard pieces are.
2. Using your box cutter or craft knife, cut around your 5 shapes. Save them because they will be your puzzle pieces.

3. Use your puzzle pieces as templates to trace and cut out white cardstock paper.
4. Make some simple pencil drawings of the five parts of the food chain (phytoplankton, zooplankton, small fish, large fish, and marine mammal). You can search for images of fish from the web or books as inspiration for your drawings.

5. After your drawings are finished, color them in with colored markers. Don’t have time or the ability to draw a picture? Download images online and print!
6. Glue your white cardstock with colored drawings onto your cardboard puzzle pieces.
7. Glue the large piece of cardboard with hole cutouts over the second piece of cardboard. Now you have a puzzle!

8. Using blue paint (or markers) color in the arrows you had initially drawn in pencil.
9. Print and cut out the Ocean Food Chain title and categories from the free printable. 

10. Glue the title on the puzzle.
11. For the 5 ocean food chain categories, we recommend not gluing them so you can have kids place the correct puzzle piece along with the right titles.

Enjoy and play with your puzzle while learning about the ocean food chain!