While You Play
Before you start, show your child some pictures of a sea turtle and their habitat. As you craft your turtles, talk about the environment they inhabit. Explain to your child that sea turtles lay eggs in the sand, and once they hatch, migrate to the ocean. Act this out using your egg carton turtles.
What actions does the sea turtle do on land? What does it do when it’s in the water?
Why do you think it’s important to recycle egg cartons? What would happen to them if you threw them in the trash? Explain that sometimes people’s trash ends up in the ocean. Sea turtles (and other sea creatures) can mistake this trash for food or swim into it by accident.
What You'll Need
Egg carton
Scissors
Paintbrush
Green paint
Glue
Crafting pompoms
Felt or craft foam
Googly eyes
Embellishments like buttons, sequins, gems, stickers, etc. (optional)
Directions
1 Help your child cut turtle “shells” from an egg carton and paint them green.
2 Cut four legs and a triangle tail from the felt or craft foam.
3 Glue the legs and tail to the underside of the turtle shell.
4 Add a pompom for the head.
5 Decorate the shell using the embellishments you’ve collected or draw on it with a marker.
6 Glue the googly eyes onto the pompom head. You can draw on a mouth with black permanent marker if you’d like! What adventures will your sea turtles have today?
