Paper Plate Crab

What You Need:

• Paper plate
• Red construction paper
• Red paint
• Paintbrush
• Scissors
• Glue
• Googly eyes

What You Do:

1. Have your child paint the entire back of the paper plate red. Set aside to dry.
2. Help your child cut out eight triangles for the crab’s legs. Draw two claw shapes on red paper and help your child cut those out as well.
3. Let your little one glue the legs and claws to either side of the plate. How many legs does the crab have? Count them together. A crab’s legs serve different purposes: six legs are for walking, two are for swimming, and the claws are for eating.
4. Draw two rectangles for your child to cut out. These will be the stalks for the crab’s eyes. Make the rectangles roughly the width of the google eyes. Talk about the shapes as you draw and cut them out. How many sides do the triangles have? What about the rectangles? Count the sides together as your child cuts them out.
5. Have your child glue each rectangle to the top of the plate. Have them glue one googly eye to the top of each rectangle. The final product is a charming crab craft—perfect for summer!

Look at pictures of crabs, or if you can, visit a beach or aquarium. Are crabs hard or soft? If possible, find a crab in a tide pool for your child to gently touch. Crabs are hard because they have an “exoskeleton,” an exterior skeleton, or shell, to protect them. What other animals have hard shells for protection?