Sharks with Sharp Teeth - Craft

Did you know sharks have been around for more than 420 million years and predate the dinosaurs, which roamed the earth a mere 230 million years ago! These apex predators have got a bad rap from movies and the news media, but the truth is most sharks should be more afraid of us than we should be of them.

Humans kill around 100 million sharks every year, while they cause an average of seven deaths and 70 attacks each year. In fact, the odds of being attacked by a shark are 1 in 11.5 million while the odds of being struck by lightning is 1 in 600,000.

Children love sharks and this week’s ocean themed craft ideas provide the perfect excuse to talk to the children in your service about the important role sharks play in our ocean ecosystems.

Newspaper shark collages Simple to make and with cost effective materials, this is the perfect activity for children of all ages.

Cupcake liner shark craft If you struggle to keep a healthy stock of newspaper in your craft cupboard these days thanks to reading news on the Internet, you might prefer these cupcake liner collages.

A shark ate me A great activity for dispelling all the most popular myths about sharks. You’ll need a digital camera and printer to complete this project.

Colouring sheets The Shark Trust has a wonderful range of printables which can be downloaded and distributed to teach children about the amazing diversity of sharks.

Shark suncatchers Make a whole school of these gorgeous sharky suncatchers to liven up the windows of your service. With a wide variety of colours and materials children can tailor them to their heart’s content.

Shark sensory bottle A little more material intensive but a wonderful item to make and share with younger children in your service who will marvel at the glittery, colourful world inside the bottle.

Shark maths More of an activity than a craft, you’ll need to dig out all your shark figurines and create a couple of ‘aquariums’ to share this project with the children.

Shark fin hats Turn the children in your service into a school of ferocious sharks with this activity, which sees them making a fin headband to wear out of cheap and readily available materials from the craft cupboard.

Footprint sharks Combining creative endeavour and sensory play, children will love dipping their feet in squishy paint and walking on paper to create their own footprint sharks.

Rock sharks Ask children to bring in a smooth rock from home or buy a bag from Bunnings and paint a school of sharks.

Rock ‘n’ roll sharks Another paper and cardboard based activity, this fun activity promotes the development of fine motor skills through snipping and gluing, and again don’t feel limited by the colour scheme. Who said sharks can’t be purple!

These craft ideas were originally sourced on The Shark Trust, IHeartCraftyThings, BuggyandBuddy, StirTheWonder, Gluedtomycrafts, GluesticksGumdrops, Sustainmycrafthabit, Hellowonderful