Ocean Coloring Pages

An octopus has three hearts

Two pump blood to the gills and one to the rest of the body, and the blood is blue. Consider that permission to color the Octopus and Shells page any color you like; real octopuses change color anyway.

Source: NOAA Ocean Service

Coral is an animal, not a plant

Each coral branch is a colony of tiny animals called polyps. The bright colors on a healthy reef come from algae living inside them, which is why the Coral Reef Friends page deserves your loudest markers.

Source: NOAA Ocean Service

Seahorse dads carry the babies

Male seahorses carry the eggs in a belly pouch until they hatch. The Seahorse in Seaweed page might technically be a portrait of an expecting father.

Source: NOAA Ocean Service

Three depths, one jellyfish

• Print the Jellyfish Dance page three times.
• Color one with bright sunny-zone colors, one in dim twilight blues, and one nearly black with a pale jellyfish.
• Label them sunlight, twilight, and midnight zones; instant ocean-layers lesson.

Porthole diorama

• Color and cut out the octopus, seahorse, or turtle.
• Glue it inside a paper plate painted blue, then tape plastic wrap across the front.
• Add a paper rim of bolts around the edge so it reads as a submarine window.

Class reef mural

• Give every kid a Coral Reef Friends page and one rule: no two fish the same color.
• Cut out the finished sea creatures.
• Assemble them on one big blue paper reef; the variety is what makes it look alive.

Beach memory pairs

• Print two copies each of the crab, starfish, and dolphin pages, scaled small.
• Color each pair to match exactly; that is the hard part.
• Cut into cards, shuffle face-down, and play memory.