Are your kids fascinated by jellyfish? Then they will love making a paper plate jellyfish. This simple craft project is a great way to spark your child’s interest in these strange, yet beautiful sea creatures.

In this post, we’ll show you how your child can create their own jellyfish out of a paper plate.

This is the perfect activity to do before or after visiting an aquarium where you can watch them swimming around! Be sure to check out our entire collection of craft ideas for kids.

Half of a paper plate painted light blue with googly eyes and a drawn on smile and yarn tied to holes along the flat bottom of plate to look like a jellyfish. Blue yarn tentacles laying over striped scrapbook paper. Text near bottom of photo says Paper Plate Jellyfish.

Preschoolers will have fun working on fine motor skills while creating their own jellyfish. Painting, cutting, using the hole punch, and tying are all important skills for young children to practice.

We will also share tips to extend this craft with other learning activities, such as making ocean zones in a jar.

It also makes a great addition to an ocean themed art center, unit study, or week of summer camp at home.

Table of Contents

More Ocean Crafts for Kids

Jellyfish Paper Plate Craft Supplies

There is very little prep needed and you can have your very own bloom of jellyfish created in under 30 minutes.

(Did you know a group of jellyfish is called a bloom? That’s just one of the collective nouns used for them. They are also referred to as a swarm or a smack!)

Close view of finished jellyfish craft made with paper plate and yarn.

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White Paper Plate
Blue Craft Paint
Blue Yarn
Googly Eyes
Single Hole Punch
Paint Brush
Scissors
Black Marker
Glue

You may use large paper plates or small ones. It would be fun to make some in both sizes to have variety just like in the ocean. Simply adjust the number of holes and pieces of yarn as needed.

Speaking of yarn, if you do not have any on hand, you could use ribbon or crepe paper instead.

How to Make a Paper Plate Jellyfish

First, cut your paper plate in half. Then paint the front side of it blue. Give it time to dry and apply another coat if needed.

Bottle of Aqua Sky blue paint to the left of half of a paper plate being painted blue.

You don’t have to paint the back of the plate, but you can if you want. Painting the entire plate would look nice if you plan on hanging up your jellyfish.

Half of a large paper plate painted blue with holes along the flat side. Silver single hole puncher laying next to plate.

Punch about eight holes along the flat part of the plate. Measure and cut 12 inch lengths of yarn. You will need one for each hole in the plate.

Half paper plate turned over to show how yarn was tied in a knot on the back at each hole.

Put the yarn through the hole and tie a knot to hold it in place.

Another option is to fold the piece of yarn in half and push the middle part through to make a loop. Put the ends of the yarn through the loop and pull them through.

Glue on the eyes (or peel and stick, depending on the type of googly eyes you have) and use a marker to add a smile.

Now you can hang your child’s jellyfish or they can play with it. If making these in a classroom, you can add names to the front and use them to decorate a wall or bulletin board.

Jellyfish made using a blue painted paper plate cut in half and blue yarn hanging down.

Ocean Books for Kids

Do your kids like to learn interesting facts and tell you all about them? Then they will love looking through The Fascinating Ocean Book for Kids: 500 Incredible Facts!

They might also enjoy the Ultimate Oceanpedia from National Geographic Kids. It is full of gorgeous photos, amazing facts, illustrations, and diagrams. This is an excellent book to use in an ocean unit study or to create mini research reports.

Have fun reading the collection of rhyming poems in Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae with the kids. The poems are all about animals that live in and around the ocean.

Ever wonder what an octopus would do if it escaped the aquarium? Children will love reading Inky the Octopus by Erin Guendelsberger with you.

It is based on the true story of a brave and daring octopus that escaped from his tank at the National Aquarium of New Zealand. This picture book also includes interesting marine biology facts for kids.

More Paper Plate Crafts

Jellyfish Paper Plate Craft

Yield: 1

Active Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Estimated Cost: $5 or less

Make this fun paper plate jellyfish for an easy preschool craft!

Materials

White Paper Plate
Blue Craft Paint
Blue Yarn
Googly Eyes

Tools

Single Hole Punch
Paint Brush
Scissors
Black Marker
Glue

Instructions

Start by cutting the paper plate in half.
Paint the plate blue and set aside to dry.
Use a hole punch to make eight holes along the flat part of the plate.
Measure and cut 8 pieces of yarn that are about 12 inches long.
Pull yarn through the hole and secure it with a knot.
Add googly eyes near center of plate.
Draw a smile with the marker.

Darcy Zalewski

Darcy is the founder of “Life With Darcy and Brian,” where she combines her love for education, board games, and crafting to create engaging learning experiences for kids. Her creative projects and writing have been featured in outlets like The Toy Insider, CafeMom, Mom.com, Parents.com, Country Living, and The Pioneer Woman.