Summertime Craft: Coral Reef Diorama
Oh summertime, sweet summertime. It is a true blessing for teachers. By the end of the school year, we are all running on empty. Teachers use summer to recharge and get ready for the new school year.
If you are teaching summer school or are at home with your kids, you might be looking for ideas to keep them entertained. This year I am teaching a summer school class for the incoming Kindergarteners. After giving it a lot of thought, I decided to do a weekly animal habitat theme. This is when I found Tara West’s Primary Summer School Curriculum on Teachers Pay Teachers. It was exactly what I was looking for to help keep the kids engaged when all they want to do is play. Here is a link to the curriculum I am using. This diorama project is based on a whole group project that is apart of Tara’s curriculum, but I tweaked it a bit to fit my class’s needs. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/PrimarySummer-Summer-School-Curriculum-3167436
Our summer school session is 5 weeks long, so each week we will take an adventure to explore different animal habitats. The curriculum only has 4 weeks, so I will be creating my own to use for our final week of summer school.
Our first week took us to a coral reef where we learned all about the Loggerhead sea turtle. At the end of the week, we did a special diorama project where the students created their own coral reef. It was so much fun!
What you will need:
- Seashells (Michaels of any craft store)
- Hot glue (The adult or teacher will be doing this part)
- Cardstock paper (for the sea turtle)
- Model magic (any color you want – I chose neon colors)
- Washable markers
- White coffee filters
- Blue plastic table cloth (from the dollar store)
- Small shoebox (no lid)
Thursday
Step 1: I had each of my 9 students bring in a small shoebox for the project. Before we began, I wrapped the shoeboxes in the plastic table cloth to look like the water.
Step 2: I had the students color their coffee filter using any three colors they wanted. I then sprayed each with water and let them dry. Spraying them with water is what creates the watercolor/tie-dye effect.
Friday
Step 3: Together as a class, we researched and looked at pictures of coral reefs. Leaving the pictures up for the students to use as a reference, they each made the coral using model magic. They were given a few small pieces of model magic in different colors and I let them experiment. The coral reefs were all unique and beautiful.
I went to get the model magic at my local Michaels, but it can also be found on Amazon or at any local craft store.
Michaels: https://www.michaels.com/crayola-model-magic-4oz/M10602292.html
Step 4: The students colored, cut, and glued their turtles together. The turtles were made from simple cardstock and the students colored with crayon. I used this animal craft printable from the blog, Learn Create Love. http://learncreatelove.com/printable-sea-turtle-craft/
Step 5: The students each picked out 1-2 shells to use in their diorama.
Michaels: https://www.michaels.com/u.s.-shell-assorted-shells/10078657.html
Step 6: Assembly is the trickiest part. For teachers or parents with younger children, you will probably need to help a lot. I had my 5-year-old students place the items where they wanted and then I hot glued them into the box. I also hung the turtle from the top of the diorama for them. If you have older children, they can probably do more of the work independently. The only part that I would suggest the adult does, is using the hot glue. If you do not have hot glue available, you can use regular tacky glue, but it does take much more time to dry!
And there you have it… a simple, but cute coral reef diorama! My kinder kids had a blast learning about coral reefs and sea turtles. Next week we will be learning all about forests and bears. Summer doesn’t have to be boring! Kids should continue to learn and experiment even though they are not in school! If you have any ideas or fun projects you have done over the summer, please leave a comment below! I look forward to hearing from you! Happy 4th of July!
