Diving Into The Ocean!

Now that the days are getting warmer, all I want to do is head to the ocean! Since we can't pack up and head to the beach, the next best thing is to bring the ocean alive for my kids.

I love exploring ocean life of any kind. There is a mystery and wonder to the aquatic world. This is what I love to emphasize with my kids.

 

There is a plethora of reading material available for kids to explore the ocean. You can see a few of the ocean books that I use with my kids here.

I love creating hands-on, learning opportunities for my kids. Here is one of our all-time favorites! I got this idea from an amazing science center near my home. You can create sharks out of cardboard boxes and kids are able to "feed" the sharks. FUN! You can see DIY directions to make the sharks here.



 Kids are able to explore the eating habits of sharks and the effects of pollution on our oceans and aquatic life. It really highlights the far reaching effects of littering and pollution. See ideas for this activity here.

As you can see, I am a sucker for sharks! I had to create a poem and set of activities to feature my favorite animal! You can get a free copy of the poem here.

And DIY directions on how to create a math manipulative from a Pringles can and shark squirters!

I created a mini-unit on the characteristics of fish and mammals. My daughter kept calling a dolphin a fish and this set of games was born!  Get your copy here.

You can explore the characteristics of fish and marine mammals. Students will use anchor charts to discover the similarities and differences, use graphic organizers to organize their information, and play games to identify specific types of fish and marine mammals.

 My kids loved the cards so much, they wanted to "win" the cards to start their own collection!

I have a few ocean freebies for you! Swim over to my blog and pick up two ocean themed math activities and one literacy activity! Hope you picked up a few ideas to get your kids excited about the ocean!

Until next month,