Three Little Mermaids is a fun board book for toddlers through early elementary, check out my post on snacks to go along with the book here. This post is going to focus on crafts to go along with the book or any mermaid theme you want to do.
Mermaid Peg Doll
I bought a 5 pack of unfinished wood pegs from Hobby Lobby for about $3.50. They are a great canvas for creating any number of fun characters. To make a mermaid like this one you will need: 1 unfinished wood peg, yarn or string, acrylic paint, fine tipped markers, glue, glitter, and craft foam. Start by using a fine tipped sharpie to create your mermaids features, then paint on a bikini top with paint and a tiny paintbrush. Cut 8-10 pieces of yarn to about 5″, run a bead of hot glue down the center of top of peg, press the center of hair down into glue-you can leave as is or pull it back with a tiny rubber band. Cover bottom half of peg in school glue, then dip in glitter. Cut a tail shape from craft foam and glue on the bottom. Allow your mermaid to dry completely before play.
Sandcastle Art
Sometimes the simplest crafts are the most fun. A chance to play with a bottle of glue and some play sand borrowed from the sand box equals a fun craft project. Provide your child with plain paper, a bottle of school glue, and a cup or so of play sand. Encourage them to draw any shape they desire on the paper with the glue. When they are finished let them shake sand all over, covering glue completely. Gently bend paper to create funnel and pour off excess sand. Allow their artwork to dry, add stickers, flags, or other embellishments to create a multi textured art piece.
Mermaid Wand
Pink, mermaid, sparkly- they just seem to go together. Create a wand for your mermaid princess by tracing a star cookie cutter onto construction paper twice. Drizzle with glue and sprinkle with glitter. When dry, glue both stars to either side of a small dowel rod, add curling ribbon between them.
Beach Terrarium
A great way to preserve sea shells, driftwood, sponges, or other items from a beach trip is to create a terrarium ( You can also buy a bag of shells from Dollar Tree) . Your terrarium can be made using something as small and simple as a smooth, recycled jar- like a jelly jar or something as elaborate as a small aquarium. For mine I used an Anchor Hocking 1 gallon Jar. Pour 2-3″ of play sand in the bottom, add shells and other items. Create signs to commemorate beaches you have visited or hope to visit using cardstock and a dowel rod or skewer.
Be sure and check back for the final post for our book Three Little Mermaids for some great Mermaid themed activities.
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