OK, so here we go with Week 1! “Under the Sea” AKA Ocean Animals.
Books we read:
Mister Seahorse
Commotion in the Ocean
Clumsy Crab
Rainbow Fish
The pout pout fish on the big big dark
A house for a hermit crab
Fish School
Little Shark
Way down deep in the deep blue sea
Songs we listened to:
“Under the sea” – Little mermaid (duh!)
Finding Nemo soundtrack (there’s a “finding nemo the musical” soundtrack that is amazing! My kids love it and know it by heart)
Baby Shark (also duh!)
Daily Activities:
Click on the activity title to be taken to the activity details.
Please Note: I have given credit to the original source where I got the activities from (If any). However, some of the activities were modified to meet our needs/resources :).
Day | Activity | Type |
Monday | Octopus Bead Counting | Art/Counting |
Monday | Tissue Paper Seahorse | Art |
Monday | Sponge fish target toss | Gross motor |
Tuesday | Playdough Ocean Animals | Art/Sensory |
Tuesday | Under the sea Stained Glass | Art |
Tuesday | Seashell Dig Sensory Bin | Sensory |
Wednesday | Paper bag jelly fish | Art |
Wednesday | Frozen ocean | Sensory |
Thursday | Paper Plate Jelly Fish | Art |
Friday | Shaving Cream fish sensory exploration | Sensory |
Friday | paper plate sting ray | Art |
Friday | Hair gel sensory bag | Sensory |
Friday | Ocean Sensory bottle | Sensory |
Octopus Bead Counting
Source Link: https://mrsplemonskindergarten.com/2017/05/tot-school-ocean.html
What you’ll Need: Paper Plate, beads, string, hole puncher, sticky eyes, paint
Description: This activity allows kids to use their motor skills and also their counting skills. It’s a win win :). Let kids paint the paper plate, count beads and place them on each tentacle whole, and glue the eyes.
Prep Work (if any): Prep work is needed for little kids but older kids might be able to do all the presswork themselves 🙂
- Cut a paper plate in half
- Cut yarn/string
- Punch 8 holes and tie on yarn legs (AKA tentacles)
- For little kids you can write the numbers for each whole. For big kids, you can let me write the numbers and then add the beads
Photos:
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Tissue Paper Seahorse
Source Link: https://mrsplemonskindergarten.com/2017/05/tot-school-ocean.html
What you’ll Need: Seahorse cutout, Tissue Paper, Glue, Foam Brush
Description: Use a foam brush to spread water down glue (mix glue and water) to the seahorse cut out. Then have kids place the tissue paper on to the seahorse.
Prep Work (if any):
- Cut out Seahorse shape
- Mix Glue and Water
Photos:
Playdough Ocean Animals
Source Link: https://mrsplemonskindergarten.com/2017/05/tot-school-ocean.html
What you’ll Need: Playdough, Ocean Animal Cookie cutters, Beads for decoration
Description: Let kids cut out shapes on the play dough using the cookie cutters (Ie. Fish, sea star). Give them a bowl of beads to decorate. So simple yet so entertaining for the little ones.
Photos:
Sponge Fish Target Toss
Source Link: https://mrsplemonskindergarten.com/2017/05/tot-school-ocean.html
What you’ll Need: Sponges, scissors, buckets, water
Description: Allow kids to throw their sponges aiming for the inside of a bucket full of water. Kids will also love playing with the sponges and the water after. Be sure to be prepared for water play. This activity is best done outdoors.
Prep Work:
- Cut out fish shapes on the sponges
- Fill buckets with water
Under The Sea Stained Glass
Source Link: https://mrsplemonskindergarten.com/2017/05/tot-school-ocean.html
What you’ll Need: Black construction paper, Contact paper, Tissue paper, tape, scissors
Description: Cut out two rectangles from the black construction paper (cut the inside of the rectangle out). Then cut out multiple ocean animal shapes from the construction paper (3-4 per kid). Finally, cut out the contact paper to match the size of your construction paper rectangles. Allow the kids to decorate their contact paper with tissue paper and then glue/tape everything together
Prep Work( if Any):
- Cut out 2 rectangles from black construction paper
- Cut out contact paper rectangle
- Draw and cut out animal shapes from construction paper
- Cut tissue paper in to little pieces
Photos:
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Seashell Dig Sensory Bin
Source Link: https://mrsplemonskindergarten.com/2017/05/tot-school-ocean.html
What you’ll Need: Bucket/Container, Sand, Seashells (you can buy sand and seashells from the dollar store!), kid’s tongs, digging tools like the ones that come with beach toys
Description: This one is pretty simple. Fill up the container with sand and throw/hide the seashells. Give the kids some tools to dig away. This will get messy so best to do it outside
Prep Work(If any):
- Fill bucket with sand
- hide seashells
Photos:
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Paper Bag Jelly Fish
Source Link: https://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2013/07/paper-bag-jellyfish-craft.html
What you’ll Need: Paper bag, paint, scissors, google eyes, glue
Description: Allow the kids to paint the bag first, then cut the bottom of the bag to reflect the jelly fish tentacles (or cut them yourself if they are still little and can’t work scissors yet). Finally, let them glue the eyes
Prep Work: None! Yay
Photos:
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Frozen Ocean
Source Link: N/A
What you’ll Need: Container, Water, Ocean animal figurines, food coloring, Pipetes (like the ones that come with medicine)
Description: Fill up a container with water and add food coloring (preferably blue for Ocean water), then add ocean animal figures. Freeze overnight. Allow kids to melt the frozen ocean using pipettes full of warm water. Kids will be so excited when they start to ‘free’ all the animals.
Prep Work:
- Freeze water container with animal figures inside (add food coloring if desired)
Photos:
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Shaving Cream Ocean Sensory Exploration
Source Link: N/A
What you’ll Need: Shaving cream, food coloring, ocean animal figurines
Description: This one very simple. Fill a container with shaving cream, then mix in blue food coloring. Place the animal figures inside and freeze overnight. Have the kids dig into the container and find the hidden animals. Great sensory experience for everyone. You can even have the kids do all the prep work too if you’d like.
Prep Work:
- Fill container with shaving cream and add blue food coloring
- Place/hide animal figures and freeze
Photos:
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Paper Plate Sting Ray
Source Link: https://www.theidearoom.net/ocean-crafts-treats/
What you’ll Need: Paper Plate (by this time you’ll realize all you need for a week full of crafts is paper plates), sponge paint brush, paint, construction paper, google eyes, glue
Description: Cut out tails made of construction paper. Allow kids to paint both the plate and the tails. Then with a different color, let the kids use sponge paint brushes to decorate their sting rays. Finally, let the kids glue the google eyes
Prep Work:
- Cut out sting ray tails
Photos:
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Hair Gel Sensory Bag
Source Link: N/A
What you’ll Need: Hair gel, beads, glitter, zip lock bag, good coloring
Description: This one is easy. Just grab a zip lock bag and fill with hair gel. let the kids fill it up with glitter, food coloring, and all the beads they want. Once done, I used tape to secure the opening of the bag to avoid any messes if kids try to open the bag
Prep Work: None
Photos: Couldn’t find any on my phone :(.
Ocean Sensory Bottle
Source Link: https://happytoddlerplaytime.com/ocean-sensory-bottle/
What you’ll Need: Plastic bottle, ocean stickers, glitter, water, baby oil, food coloring, sea creatures, seashells, funnel, measuring cup
Description: Allow the kids to use the stickers to decorate outside of the bottle. Then let them fill the bottle sea creatures, glitter, and seashells. Then have the kids add the water and baby oil (half and half) using a funnel. Add a few drops of blue food coloring. Close the containers and shake.
Prep Work: None
Photos:
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Ocean Graham Crackers Snack
Source Link: https://thefirstyearblog.com/under-the-sea-graham-crackers
What you’ll Need: Graham crackers, blue food coloring, cake frosting can, a bag of gold fish, kids knives, cake sprinkles
Description: Mix the food coloring with the frosting to create blue frosting (ocean color). Let the kids spread the frosting on the crackers using a knife. Use sprinkles and gold fish to decorate. Let them eat and expect a full on sugar rush 10 minutes later 🙂
Prep Work:
- Mix frosting with blue color
Photos:
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Paper Plate Fish
Source Link: N/A
What you’ll Need: Paper plate, tissue paper, glue, construction paper, google eyes
Description: Use watered down glue to glue the tissue paper on to the plate. Allow to dry. Then have kids glue the eye, fins, and tail. Some kids opted to add a tongue so feel free to do so :).
Prep Work:
- Cut out the plate to create the fish’s mouth in a triangle shape. This will become the fish’s tail
- Cut out fins and tongue from construction paper
- cut Tissue paper into small squares
Photos:
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