Montessori-inspired Crustaceans Activities for Preschoolers with FREE Printable

When Dinomite was young he would go digging for crayfish under the rocks on an island near our home where we would vacation.  He was fascinated by them.

All of the kids have always been fascinated by lobsters, shrimp and crabs.  

There's just something about crustaceans that attracts the attention of young children.

We've created this set of Montessori-inspired Crustaceans Activities for Preschoolers with a free printables for any and all who share the same fascinations!

Crustaceans are part of the arthropod family. The arthropod family also includes arachnids and sea spiders, insects and springtails, and myriapods. This makes crustaceans the perfect topic to study during the spring or summer.

Sunshine really enjoyed these activities a couple years ago.  They were perfect for her, as developmentally she was a preschooler at the time.

Montessori-inspired Crustaceans Activities for Preschoolers

Crayfish Do-a-Dot Page using Tweezers and Shells

This was such an enjoyable activity for Sunshine as she LOVES seashells.  The tweezers provided a challenge for her, but because she loved the shells so much, she was willing to do the work.

She would carefully pick up each seashell using the tweezers and place it on one of the circles in the "C."

Source: This printable is from our Montessori-inspired Crustaceans Printable Pack.  

Also included in the printable pack are three other versions of this same activity for kids to enjoy!

Crustaceans Counting Clip Cards

At the time, Sunshine was working on identifying numbers 11-20. We created these clip cards to help her out.  She loved having answer choices, and crustaceans lined up in rows so they were easy to count.

With each card, she would count crustraceans and then place a glass bead on the correct answer.

Source: This printable is from our Montessori-inspired Crustaceans Printable Pack. 

Crustaceans Number Writing Cards

Sunshine wasn't the biggest fan of numbers when these activities were presented, but she couldn'g get enough of writing. To draw her to number activities, I created these cards so she could practice writing.  Sure enough she used them!

Sunshine would count crustaceans and then write the number on the laminated cards using a dry erase marker.  At the end of the activity, after she checked her answers, she knew to wipe the cards and make sure they were ready for our co-op friends.

Source: This printable is from our Montessori-inspired Crustaceans Printable Pack. 

Crab Addition Clip Cards

Math was not Sunshine's favorite topic as it was extremely difficult for her. But, if I included clip cards with fun counters, she couldn't resist!  The counters helped her so much. Still to this day they are the best way to help her with basic operations as she's not able to memorize facts yet.

These crab counters were so adorable. Sunshine loved them, talking to them as she did her work. She enjoyed the fact that they weren't all the same so she could choose her favorites for each addition card.

When she finished solving a problem, Sunshine would place a glass bead on the answer and move on to the next problem.

Source: This printable is from our Montessori-inspired Crustaceans Printable Pack. 

Crustaceans Skip Counting by 10s

Sunshine always jumped at the chance to use the Montessori math beads, so when she had mastered counting to twenty, we started working on skip counting by tens in preparation for counting to one hundred.

In this activity she would select a card and then lay out how many tens beads were required to make the number.  Sunshine seemed to really enjoy this. It wasn't as overwhelming as the tens board was because she only had to focus on one number, not several.

Source: This printable is from our Montessori-inspired Crustaceans Printable Pack. 

Life Cycle of a European Green Crab

Sunshine has a thing where she's absolutely grossed out by something, but is completely fascinated and obsessed by it at the same time.  This activity definitely elicited that response from her.  As a result she completed the activity several times.  Lol. 

Using the control, provided underneath the blank life cycle shown, Sunshine placed the pictures in the correct order.  She asked for a magnifying glass so she could study the images even more.  The magnifying glass then became part of the activity.

 Source: This printable is from our Montessori-inspired Crustaceans Printable Pack. 

Once Sunshine was familiar with the order of the life cycle, I introduced these cards paired with numbers. She could  then show and explain the order, telling a story as she went.  

What I love most about this activity is that the images are true to life images and they really are fascinating!

Crustaceans Sort

Sunshine loves animals and understanding their differences and similarities. She is drawn to the small details.  While completing this activity she grabbed her magnifying glass again and studied each crustacean, commenting on how she perceived how it looked.

After examining each true to life image thoroughly, she would sort them by type of crustacean.  Sunshine really enjoyed putting the cards in rows and seeing how they looked when the activity is complete.

Source: This printable is from our Montessori-inspired Crustaceans Printable Pack. 

Crab Pin Poking Activity

Sunshine really enjoyed pin poking activities. I love that she loved them because they helped her develop muscle strength in her hand and fingers. We added an extra layer of fun by having Sunshine grab her colored pencils and color the crab before she started poking.

Source: This printable is from our Montessori-inspired Crustaceans Printable Pack. 

There are so many wonderful crustacean themed printables for preschoolers included in the Montessori-inpsired Crustaceans Printable Pack! Be sure to grab your copy today!

And while you're add it, don't forget to grab this new freebie as well!

FREE Montessori-inspired Crustaceans Printables for Preschoolers

One can never have enough crustacean activities for little ones who enjoy them.  I created this set of FREE crustaceans themed language activities to go long with the Montessori-inspired Crustaceans Printable Pack for all to enjoy as a bonus freebie.

The Montessori-inspired Crustaceans Printables for Preschoolers includes the following:

• Crustaceans Nomenclature Cards
• Crustaceans Syllable Counting Clip Cards
• Crustaceans First Letter Sound Clip Cards
• Crustaceans Last Letter Sound Clip Cards
• Crustaceans Writing Strips

Source: The Crustaceans Language Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your copy, follow the directions below.

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6. Click on link.

7. Find the printable pack you are looking for listed in alphabetical order, click on it, and voila!

We hope you enjoy your free printable.

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