Seahorse Paper Plate Craft w/template

I couldn't find a good seahorse template for this craft, so I made one. It works on a normal size paper plate. I printed it out on cardstock for them to trace around.  Be warned, it isn't easy getting it to form to the contours of the plate, so this is one you'll have to help even older preschools with holding to trace.

The line is also fairly difficult to cut, so we used teacher-assist scissors.

The children chose the color of paint and painted both sides on consecutive days. On the afternoon of the second day, we embellished. It was one of the children's ideas to do the glitter on the tails. I offered sequins for the body, but they wanted to do finger painting instead.

Really, the opportunities for embellishment are endless and completely open to whatever resources you have on hand and the artistic direction of your students/child. 

These looked really cute hanging up.

SKILLS
Art: artistic expression, painting, cut, paste, multi media, 3D art
Science: discussion of why the seahorse tail is curled
Fine Motor: trace, cutting curves, paste, paint, placing embellishments
Tags: ocean, sea, theme, unit, preschool, daycare, child, care, art, craft, seahorse, paper, plate, trace, cut, glue, paste, paint, sequins, glitter, finger, template, printable, free, kid, kids