Then we transformed this masterpiece into something truly “fridge-worthy” by adding the colorful little fish. So, the students got some important gluing practice too! It’s a total win in our book.
Ocean Process Art
When the temperature rises, nothing sounds more inviting than a trip to the beach! Sadly, not every preschool is blessed with a beachfront view. To bring the ocean indoors, cool off with this amazing Ocean Process Art activity. All it takes are a few simple supplies and the classroom gets a refreshing underwater feel!
Supplies Needed:
- Blue and white washable paint
- Silver or blue glitter
- Paintbrushes, cotton swabs, or fingers
- Cups for water
- Paint trays (We love these dollar store appetizer plates!)
- Smocks
- Paper fish cutouts
- Glue or glue sticks
Getting Started
Prepare the students by reading a book about fish, such as Rainbow Fish or Swimmy.
Set up the area by putting gathering the supplies.
Mix the blue and white paints to create different shades of blue – even better yet, the students can help with this fun step!
Add glitter to some of the paints as well, for an extra sparkly touch!
Materials
- Chroma 2 Washable Paint (Cool Blue, Turquoise, Green Light, Orange, Warm Yellow, White, Black)
- Chromatemp Artist’ Tempera (Fluoro Pink and Fluoro Purple)
- Canvas
- Foam brush
- Round brush
- Paper plates
We are going to start by painting on the underwater background, using a blend of Green Light, Turquoise and Cool Blue.
Using a foam brush, paint a band across the top of the canvas in Green Light. Overlap this band with a thick band of Turquoise with the same brush. The turquoise color should cover about a third of the canvas. Overlap the bottom edge of the turquoise paint with a band of Cool Blue. Paint the Cool Blue color to the bottom of the canvas.
Let the paint dry and wash the foam brush in water.
Step Two
Now the ocean background is nice and dry its time to paint in some friendly sea creatures! First on the list is a happy, bright orange crab! Pour the Orange paint onto a paper plate and stamp both hands into the paint. Ensure your hands a very well covered, the more paint the better for this! With wrists touching, stamp both hands at the same time to create a “Crab” print.
We printed one crab in our ocean but you can have as many as you would like!
Step Three
Wash your hands and pour some Warm Yellow onto a new plate – some friendly Yellow Tang fish are swimming into the picture! Dip your right hand into the paint. Keep your fingers/hand horizontal and press onto the canvas. When stamping the canvas keep your fingers close together and the thumb out for a fin. Stamp on as many as you would like!
