Rock Crabs

We are reviewing our colors this week, but to make it more exciting I decided to teach the kids about colorful animals along the way. Today's colors were red and orange, so we learned about Sally Lightfoot Crabs (also called Red Rock Crabs). And what better way to make a Red Rock Crab than with a rock!

Cute, ain't he? I started by painting the kids' hands red and orange. I decided not to do their thumbs. I overlapped the palm prints on the paper.

Then the kids painted rocks.

When everything was dry, I used masking tape to attach red pipe cleaners to the bottom of the rock. I also used scotch tape to attach the pipe cleaners to pincers I had cut from red construction paper.

I cut out the hand prints and helped the kids shape the legs, just by folding the fingerprints up, then down again. We used regular glue dots to attach the rock to the hand prints and mini glue dots to add the wiggle eyes.

Even though there are no other facial features, I still feel like they each have a personality!

I love how they turned out!

Fun Fact: When Sally Lightfoot Crabs come out of hiding to feed, they can move at remarkable speeds (hence the name Lightfoot).