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Arts & Entertainment

Eight Arms Around Fun!

Make an octo-ornament and octo-dogs, too!

Summertime is a great time for trips to the ocean. One of the most fascinating times I have had with my kids has been looking at the sea life on the shore.

Whenever there was a blob of a jellyfish the kids would eeewe and owwwe about the characteristics of the dead creature. We would always come home and eat octopus for dinner that night.

"Octo" means "eight" so keep counting those eight legs.

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Octopus hanging

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Pink paper

Cereal o’s or reinforced circles or Styrofoam packing peanuts

Glue

Scissors

Pencil

String

And a black marker

Picture 1 - Supplies

 

Tuck your thumb under your hand and trace the four fingers.

Picture 2 - Tracing

Now do the same overlapping the palm of the print. This will make the eight legs.

Picture 3 - Retracing

Color your fingertips with the black marker and use them to stamp eyes to your octopus.

Picture 4 - Fingertips

Glue cereal (or reinforcements) to the legs to make the suction cups on an octopus.

Picture 5 - Cereal

Picture 6 - Gummed reinforcements

Punch a hole in the top and hang.

Picture 7 - Hanging

I use a happy face on one side and a sad face on the other side. We talk about emotions while doing the project. What makes you happy or sad?

 

Octo-Treats

Did you know octopuses have no bones? Neither do these treats!

Did you know that if an octopus loses a leg, another one will grow back.

These tidbits come from Octopus Facts for Kids.

You can imagine the look on my kids face when I told them we were eating octopus for dinner.

Octo-dogs

This is a great recipe for July - National Hot Dog Month. Why not cook a few octo-dogs after a day at the beach?

What you need:

Hotdogs

Knife

Pan

Water

Picture 8 - Ingredients

I freeze the hotdogs and use them when they are mostly, but not completely thawed, as it makes them easier to cut.

Cut them in half about halfway up

Picture 9 - Four cuts

Then cut to either side of one of the previous cuts. Keep cutting until you have eight sections.

Picture 10 - Eight cuts

Allow to finish thawing or just drop in boiling water. Place on a plate with ketchup and mustard faces.

Picture 11- Octo-yum!

Looks great over a plate of pasta.

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