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.