seashells

Shells

Did you escape to the beach for a little summer vacation? We did and brought home a few souvenirs from our walks on the beach. Now that our prize shells are sitting on a shelf collecting dust, it’s time to put them to use with a fun craft idea.

Shell Animals! This is a perfect activity for a rainy day or before a trip to the zoo. You can get as creative and detailed as you want while learning about different traits of the animal that you want to create.

We kept the supplies simple – of course, shells are the number one ingredient, although we would suggest some larger ones for young children, ours are a little smaller than we would have liked. To decorate your shells you will need, some construction paper, scissors, markers, paint or both. You can also add googly eyes and pipe cleaners for more detail. We made a peacock, a tiger, and our bear came in the perfect color straight from the ocean!

Share your favorite shell creatures with us; tag @arbordalekids on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Tumblr! We will send a matching book to our top favorites!

If you’ve ever had a chance to go to the beach, you may have noticed the overwhelming number of shells that are scattered all over the sand. Some are big, some are small, and some have a very weird shape. Although the shell is all that’s left now, most of the shells you find have had something living in it at one time or another. Cool, huh?

In Turtle Summer, we are introduced to several different types of seashells. Next time you’re at the beach, see if you can name all of the shells!

Moon Snail Shell