This clam craft is a really cute activity you won’t want to miss! It’s the perfect addition to any ocean floor or coral reef preschool unit study. This little-prep printable paper clam shell craft helps your little one explore clams in a hands on way that’s perfect for kinesthetic young learners.
Kids will enjoy learning all about clams as they create their very own clam shell. Did you know clams are one of the longest living species on the planet?
Imagine all the pearls they can create in their long lifetime! To learn more about clams with your preschoolers, make a trip to your local library to find more books about the wonderful things you can find on the ocean floor!
You can even add your new clam shell craft to your ocean studies, in your vacation summer school.
While we are creating a fun craft, we can take a moment to praise God for all the creatures he has given to us, great and small.
Keep scrolling to get your own printable clam and start crafting today. Need more ocean fun? Check out the printable build-a-jellyfish and fun lobster for more ocean themed simple craft fun with your little ones.
*By the way, this post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if an item is purchase through that link. For more information, click here.*
Fun and Easy Clam Shell Craft for Kids with Free Clam Template
Clam Shell Craft Supplies:
- Colored Cardstock or Construction Paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Colored Pencils, Markers or Crayons
- Printable Clam Shell Template (FOUND AT THE BOTTOM)
Clam Shell Craft Ideas for Toddlers
1. Fun Reading Lesson
Reading to my children is possibly my most favorite thing to do with them, besides crafts! After sitting for a story and sitting during craft time, sometimes we just need to get up and move! Lately we have been enjoying dance parties and yoga or other exercises together.
After you’ve built a paper plate clam friend, have your preschool learners also try this:
2. Plan a Dance Session
Sit criss-cross-applesauce, bend forward as far as you can like a closed up clam, make a “pearl” with your hands, then spring “open” by sitting up, raise your “pearl” into the sky, and say “ta da!”
Or do The Clam Dance from Wee Sing with your little learners and their clam friends. My kids love to sing along with the children’s songs from Wee Sing and this one is a really cute way to learn about clams through song while burning some energy through dance.
There are lots of ways to teach your preschooler using this cute clam craft! Why not complete your clams as a process art experiment? This type of art focuses on the process, not the finished product. That makes it a great opportunity for preschoolers to explore texture, color, and different art tools.
3. Extend Math Skills
Make 5 printable clam crafts, then number them 1 to 5 and give your preschooler 15 beads to use as pearls. Have children place the correct number of “pearl” beads inside each paper clam.
It’s a great way to practice counting to five using one to one correspondence. Also, preschoolers can build fine motor skills as they pinch the beads to move them. Did you know using a pinching grasp builds the finger muscles needed for handwriting? It’s true!
Ready to get started learning about clams from the ocean floor by creating these cute paper clams?
Clam Shell Craft Tutorial:
The first step is to print off each of the clam shell templates on your desired colors of cardstock paper. My daughter loves purple, so we went with that.
The next step is as easy as it looks, glue them all together. You can even add a little bit of life to your new ocean animal craft by cutting slivers of white paper and gluing them on the edges as you see here.
This helps make your new ocean animal clam shell friend pop!
After that, it is done! How cute is she!
Clam Shell Template:
Don’t forget to share how you’re planning to use these cute paper clam shells. I can’t wait to hear your ideas!
When you have finished, be sure to share your creation on Simple Mom Project’s Facebook Page and follow me on Pinterest!
Kaitlen D.
More Fun Ocean Animal Crafts:
