DIY Hermit Crab Building Project
Crafting a Hermit Crab Inspired by Eric Carle's "A House for Hermit Crab"
Inspired by the beloved children's book "A House for Hermit Crab" by Eric Carle, this creative paper plate craft offers a fun and engaging way to connect with the story's theme. Here's a step-by-step guide to create your own hermit crab.
Step 1: Preparing the Paper Plate Base
Begin by painting a paper plate with vibrant colours that resemble a crab's shell, such as reds and oranges. Let it dry before moving on to the next step. The painted paper plate will serve as the crab's body or shell.
Step 2: Creating the Hermit Crab Body
Trace and cut out a child's handprint on coloured paper or cardstock. This handprint will represent the crab's legs and claws, as hermit crabs have legs that poke out from their shells.
Step 3: Attaching the Handprint
Position the handprint under or at the edge of the painted paper plate to resemble crab legs attached to the shell. Secure it with glue.
Step 4: Decorating the Shell
Adorn the painted paper plate with sequins to mimic the decoration of "A House for Hermit Crab," where the hermit crab collects shiny and interesting objects for its shell. Sequins simulate these “shell treasures” and add sparkle, reflecting the book’s theme of growth and change with adornments.
Step 5: Adding Crab Features
Glue googly eyes or draw eyes on small paper circles, and attach them to the top of the paper plate as the crab's eyes. Add a smile or other facial details with marker.
This craft interprets the story’s theme by focusing on the hermit crab’s evolving shell decorated with collected items (sequins) and the use of a handprint to represent the crab’s legs and claws, which ties in well with artistic activities related to Eric Carle’s book.
While this method may not directly follow the specific instructions from the blog post "A House for Hermit Crab," it combines the paper plate crab craft with thematic details from the book, using mixed materials and a paper plate as a base, aligning with crafts for the book by incorporating various materials for decoration.
Happy crafting!
This craft connects the theme of Eric Carle's "A House for Hermit Crab" with a fun home-and-garden project, as it involves transforming a paper plate into a vibrant hermit crab, mirroring the crab's shell decoration in the story with sequins. Furthermore, the handprint creation represents the crab's legs and claws, tying in with the lifestyle activities inspired by the book.
