You are invited to download the Octopus Pack with learning printables for preschool and kindergarten children. Use this resource with clear true-to-life images to create hands-on ocean-themed activities for your students or for exploring invertebrates in your classroom.
about octopus
Octopuses are fascinating and intelligent creatures that live in the ocean. They have eight arms or tentacles that are full of suckers and can grow up to 14 feet long. Octopuses can change the color and texture of their skin to blend in with their surroundings. They also have a unique ability to squirt ink as a way to distract predators. Octopuses are very smart and are known to solve puzzles and even play games with humans. They eat crabs, shrimp, and other small creatures and can be found in oceans all over the world.
The life cycle of an octopus starts with hatching from eggs. Baby octopuses, called “larvae,” drift in the ocean as part of the plankton community. As they grow, they settle on the ocean floor and begin to hunt for food. Each arm has a group of suction cups, which they use to catch crabs, shrimp, and other small creatures. As they continue to grow, they may mate and lay eggs, starting the cycle all over again. Octopuses live for about 1-2 years and can vary in size from a few inches to over 15 feet long!
Octopus hands-on activities
- Montessori Octopus Dissection: Teach kids about the anatomy of an octopus by dissecting a squid or octopus. They’ll learn about their tentacles, ink sac, gills, and other fascinating body parts.
- Octopus Sensory Bin: Use a sensory bin to introduce kids to the environment where octopuses live and the other creatures that share the oceans with them. Fill the bin with water, blue-colored rice, seashells, and plastic marine animals.
- (Virtual) Octopus Field Trip: Take your preschoolers on a virtual field trip to the aquarium to see an octopus up close. While exploring the aquarium, they’ll learn about their habits, behaviors, and lifecycle.
- Octopus Life Cycle: Teach children about the amazing lifecycle of an octopus through story, hands-on activities, and videos. You can even turn this into a craft by helping them create an octopus life-cycle spinner.
- Octopus Crafts: Offer your students the opportunity to get creative by making an octopus craft. They can make an octopus out of a paper plate, paper bag, or construction paper. Encourage them to use their creativity and come up with a unique design that incorporates different textured materials to simulate the skin of an octopus.
- Octopus Sensory Bottle: Create an octopus sensory bottle by filling a clear bottle with water, blue food coloring, and some plastic sea creatures. Use a hot glue gun to secure the lid and add water for a sensory experience.
- Octopus Counting Activity: Montessori pre-schoolers can have fun counting their way up with this fun octopus counting activity. You can use cutout octopus tentacles or playdough to create an octopus for kids to count legs on. To increase the difficulty, you can include different colors and sizes of tentacles.
- Octopus Matching Game: Create an octopus matching game by printing out octopus pictures and cutting them into tentacle shapes. Kids can then match the tentacles by patterns, textures, and colors or create their own game.
- Octopus Science Experiment: Create an octopus science experiment to teach about how octopuses escape danger by releasing ink into the water. You can use paints or colored water to create an ink-like substance and then observe how the octopus moves.
- Octopus Meditation: Help your kids unwind by doing a guided meditation. Have them visualize an ocean with octopuses in it and allow them to imagine themselves having an awe-inspiring, stress-free experience.
Octopus pack
Children will learn stages of the octopus life cycle, and parts of an octopus, practice sequencing skills and work to improve their concentration and fine motor skills.
This resource contains an octopus life cycle poster, worksheet, 3-part cards, and parts of an octopus printable.
Here is what’s included:
Octopus life cycle diagram
Octopus life cycle 3 part cards
Octopus life cycle coloring, cutting, and pasting worksheet (color and blackline)
Octopus life cycle tracing strips
Octopus life cycle information cards
Parts of an Octopus diagram
Parts of an Octopus diagram minus labels
Parts of an Octopus labels
Parts of an Octopus information cards
Parts of an Octopus tracing & independent writing worksheet
Parts of an Octopus student booklet (independent writing)
Types of Octopuses 3 part cards
Types of Octopuses information cards
Octopus characteristics color poster
Octopus characteristics black line poster
Octopus characteristics mat
Octopus characteristics color cards
Octopus characteristics tracing & coloring student booklet
Octopus characteristics student booklet
Octopus information poster
My Book of Octopuses
Octopus Food vs Preditors sorting cards
Octopus anatomy diagram adjective activity
Age: Preschool ages 3 – 6 years
Subjects and uses in the classroom: Ocean biome, Invertebrates, Nature Table, Science Centers, Fine motor, Prewriting
How to use this resource:
Parts of an octopus– Gather books about octopuses for children to explore. Print posters and label cards on cardstock and laminate. Cut individual label cards. Attach clear velcro to the poster without labels and label cards.
Present the poster – name all parts and invite the students to share their thoughts on the various functions of each part. Then read each label and invite the student to match it to the corresponding part of the octopus body.
Life cycle poster – print on cardstock and laminate. Present all stages of the octopus life cycle. Invite the children to retell them or tell their own story that features all the stages.
Octopus life cycle 3- part cards – Print on cardstock and laminate if you wish to preserve colors and card quality for future use. Place picture cards in a column and invite the children to match the picture to the picture and the word to the word. Present control cards and invite the child to lay the stages of the cycle in the correct order.
Octopus life cycle line art – supply scissors, glue, and coloring pencils. Invite the student to color and cut cards and glue them into the correct sequence.
Octopus tracing/labeling and coloring worksheets – print on cardstock and laminate. Supply an erasable pen. Invite the child to trace the words and color corresponding images. Alternatively, print pages on regular printing paper and invite the child to trace or label parts of the octopus and octopus life cycle.
You might like to invite the students to compare the life cycle of the octopus with other sea creatures.
After reading books on octopuses, children can be invited to name the animal characteristics as they place picture cards onto the mat.
There are four blackline follow-up printouts available. These can be cut to make a booklet if you wish.
Younger children are invited to color pages or draw characteristics of the animal. Emergent writers are invited to use lined booklet printout sheets to write the characteristics down by answering questions.
After completing the task volunteers may like to make a small group report about their findings.
Here is a fun activity you may like to try. Lay out the characteristics of foxes and otters and invite the children to choose and identify animal characteristics these two creatures have in common and explore how they differ.
Other Resources You Might Find Helpful In Your Classroom
Classification work with invertebrates from the six main groups.
Classification activity with invertebrates from the six main classes.
The printable features real photographic images of animals for sorting.
The printable contains:
- classification poster for self-check
- 3 working mat with 2 groups on each and 8 animals that represent them
- matching pictures and label cards (for matching and reading activity matching the picture to the picture and the word to the word). Use picture cards for sorting.
- 6 label cards for sorting
- information cards for 6 classes of invertebrates: Porifera, Cnidaria, Mollusca, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, and Annelida
This printable is a part of the Nature Curriculum in Cards Series.
The printable is suitable for children aged 3-7
Animal sorting and classifying activity with vertebrates and invertebrates.
The printable features photographic cards for sorting and cards with clipart images
for “cut, color and sort” activity.
The printable contains:
2 workmats “Invertebrates” and “Vertebrates”
9 cards with real photographic images of vertebrate and invertebrate animals (18 in total)
definition cards
control card for self-check
student printouts for sorting with black and white clipart images and control card for self-check
10 pages
This printable is a part of the Nature Curriculum in Cards Series
Purchase these printables here or find them on Teachers Pay Teachers
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