3 DIY Crafts for an Ocean-Themed Classroom

A beachy bulletin board (full of ocean puns!), a “Whalecome” sign, and a “No Shell Phones” box — all DIY!

UPDATE: Since this original post, we’ve made NEW printable signs with a little more artistic flair!  Swim over to our post 10 Ocean Wisdom Motivational Quotes (Printable Wall Art) to get them, or keep scrolling down for the original ones.

Is it really time to get ready for back-to-school?  The summer seems to go faster and faster each year!

To start this school year with a splash, we’ve created a few DIY crafts to go along with the ocean theme. It’s our passion to share the ocean’s magic with others, and classroom décor gives the perfect setting to do this!

Ocean Wisdom Bulletin Board

We love how this turned out and it almost makes leaving summer behind a breeze!  The weathered wood paper really sets a beachy tone, and dollar-store fish print scarves work as a sweet border.

We painted a piece of balsa wood with a blue and aqua background, and then stamped the letters on with a computer printout and paint pen to make the “Ocean Wisdom” sign.  After hot gluing a faux sea star and thumbtacks to the back, it was ready to go!

(Roll over each photo to see a description of the step.)

We didn’t want to cover up the weathered wood effect so we printed the ocean messages on transparencies and attached them with silver thumbtacks.

We had a few wooden anchors (about 30 cents each) that we painted using the same blue and aqua colors as the “Ocean Wisdom” sign.  In our craft stash, we also discovered a couple of aqua artificial starfish, so we hot glued a thumbtack to the back of them and also to the anchors to attach them to the bulletin board.

Want to make this?  Here are the supplies:

• weathered wood bulletin board paper
• dollar-store fish print scarves (3) or other narrow fabric
• printable overhead transparencies
• ocean sayings to print (here are the ones we made)
• silver thumbtacks
• artificial starfish (2 for bulletin board)
• small craft wood anchors (3)
• “Ocean Wisdom” sign:
  • piece of balsa wood (1/8″ x 4″ x 36″)
  • small artificial starfish (1)
  • acrylic paint in dark blue and aqua
  • paintbrush (1-2 inches wide)
  • white paint pen
  • printed letters on regular printer paper that spell “Ocean Wisdom”, cut into individuals (here are the ones we made)
  • hot glue gun

Keep scrolling for a couple more bonus DIY ocean-themed classroom ideas!

“Whalecome” Door Hanger

Who doesn’t love a good ocean pun?  Well, get ready for them because this post is filled with them!

To make this one, we printed the message on parchment style printer paper, cut it out, and then used Mod Podge to glue it to the metal and over the top to seal it and add texture.

We then hot glued rope around the message and also a shell on top of the rope in the corner to cover the ends of the rope.

Last but not least, we painted the whales dark blue, hot glued them to the metal, and then painted the spout with aqua acrylic paint.

(Roll over each photo to see a description of the step.)

 Want to make this?  Here are the supplies:

• hanging metal sheet
• wooden whale cutouts (2)
• craft rope
• small paintbrush – one for Mod Podge and an even smaller one for the spout
• acrylic paint in dark blue and aqua
• hot glue gun
• Mod Podge
• printed message on paper of choice, cut (I used a parchment-style paper)
• bivalve shell (cockle, clam, oyster, etc.)

No Shell Phones Wooden Box

Works as a sign to remind students to keep their cell phones put away, and also as a place to put them if they need help staying focused!

(Roll over each photo to see a description of the step.)

Want to make this?  Here are the supplies:

• wooden box
• white chalky finish paint
• paintbrush
• stencils (mine were adhesive)
• seashells
• hot glue gun
• paintbrush (1-2″)

And there you have it.  Just in time to welcome this year’s students for a FINtastic year of ocean exploring.  

Have a favorite ocean pun?  Hit us with a comment below!