Ocean & Beach Themed Activities

We ran across the Stephanie's "Ocean & Beach Unit" at Shining Our Lights and thought she and her little ones were off to a great start with a combination of fun hands on activities, reading exercises, and printables from Ana at Ingles 360. As always, here's a sneak peek at our favorite exercises...

Shell Hunt & Wash

If you don't live near the beach, this activity is still very possible to complete in the indoor/outdoor classroom. Simply fill your sensory table with sand, tucking different types of shells {purchased at your local craft store} throughout, and, "excavation tools" in hand, invite your kiddos to fill a bucket full. It might be fun to make it a 'scavenger hunt', providing students with a checklist that features each of the different types of shells they should find {of course, checking them off the list as they unearth them}. At the conclusion of the hunt, invite your preschoolers to wash the sand off their shells in a tub of warm soapy water. This always provides a fun sensory experience!

Seashell Prints

Armed with their newly washed seashells and a can of play dough in their favorite color, invite students to roll it out, gently press the shells into the pliable dough, then remove them to reveal each shell's unique imprint. For a messy shell printing exercise, you might also consider painting with shells. Dipping them in craft paint and rolling/pressing them to art paper to reveal their different textures and lines.

Literature Links & Activities

Like the fun printables Stephanie found at Ingles 360, consider including similar activities to enhance the selections on your ocean and beach themed literature list.

• Literature/Reading Journal Pages. Invite your students to pen simple answers to various prompts - "My favorite character is...", "Some new words I learned: ___", etc. - as well as draw their favorite scene from the story.
• Task Cards. Create unique tasks to go along with each story. For instance, have your preschoolers write a post card from the place where the story takes place, describe a birthday gift they would give to their favorite character in the story, etc.

Be sure to visit Shining Our Lights for lots of other great ocean and beach themed exercises!