Mommy Maestra: Children's Crafts & Activities for Shark Week

Shark Week kicks off next Sunday on the Discovery Channel. Every year, they dedicate an entire week to programming about these apex predators. For families, it's the perfect time to sneak in some summer learning. For homeschoolers, it's the best time to find lesson plans and activities related to sharks.

Here are some of the great resources that I've found on the internet.

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Shark Crafts & Activities

Here's a list of my favorite shark activities divided up by age:

Preschool & Elementary Shark Crafts

Shark Bay Sensory Bin for Toddlers
Taming Little Monsters has this excellent homemade sensory bin activity that will delight your little ones.
Shark Craft for Kids
Mama of Minis offers this simple to assemble shark head made from construction paper and a cereal box.
Easy Paper Shark Craft
This craft from CraftingJeannie.com comes with a free template. It's great for practicing those fine motor skills.
Shark Fin Jello Cups
This is so fun to make...and then EAT! OHMY!Creative has easy instructions for making this edible activity. She also has a tutorial for making these super cute Shark Party Food Applesauce Cups.
Chompin’ Foam Shark Puppet
The Soccer Mom Blog has this easy to make puppet. You just need some craft foam, glue, and craft sticks.
Shark Handprint Craft For Kids
Simple Everyday Mom always has great craftivities for kids. In addition to this handprint shark, she also has tutorials for a paper plate shark and an easy shark painting template.

Shark Sugar Cookies by Homemade Heather

Middle and High School Shark Crafts

Shark Sugar Cookies
This is a more challenging activity best suited for older children (and adults!) from Homemade Heather. Comes with printable shark gift tags.
Stone-Cold Shark Painted Rocks
Here's an awesome video tutorial from Sustain My Craft Habit for painting your own sharks on rocks.
How To Make A Shark Shaped Pillow
I absolutely LOVE this handmade shark pillow from MeAndMyInklings.

Basic Craft Supplies

Here's a list of the basic craft supplies I try to keep in stock at my house. These are items that most craft projects require and they provide everything you need for some of the activities above.

Printables about Sharks

Lots of great printable shark activities are available!

First, for a printable resource available in English and Spanish, consider my Sharks of the World Fandex and Activity Sheets.
I really love these Free Printable Shark Bookmarks from ArtsyFartsyMama. Actually, she has other shark-themed printable activities, too, such as these Free Printable Shark Jokes and these Free Printable Shark Week Cupcake Toppers & Wrappers
Hammerhead Shark Coloring Pages
If you're just looking for a couple of coloring pages, Nature Inspired Learning has you covered.
Free Printable Shark Bookmarks to Colour
Picklebums also has a set of printable bookmarks, but your kids can color these in.
Homemade Heather has this little set of free shark printables.