Planning an Under the Sea week? Check out what activities we did to teach my preschooler about the ocean!
My daughter LOVES ocean animals, especially sharks! Our Under the Sea week was a big hit and she loved every second of it!
Flexibility
Quick note before we get into what we actually did.
Currently my daughter is working on learning a few sight words, numbers 11 – 20, rhyming, and blending. If your child isn’t quite there, that’s fine! In each of these activities I list ways you can adjust them to what your preschooler is learning.
Is your preschooler learning the alphabet? Check out this article!
Under the Sea Sight Word Practice
Both of these activities were relatively easy to set up and we were able to revisit them all week!
Sight Word Fish Sort
Ocean Animal Sight Word Activity
Under the Sea Sensory Bins
I did two sensory bins for our Under the Sea week.
This was pretty messy, but my daughter loved it! It was a great phonics activity for the week!
Animals and Water Beads
This sensory bin did require some prep work, but was relatively easy to set up.
Supplies
- Plastic tub
- Water Beads
- Ocean animals
How to do it
Put the water beads in the tub you plan on using and fill with water. It usually takes a couple of hours for the water beads to soak. Once done soaking, drain the extra water.
Add the ocean animals and give the sensory bin to your kid!
With all of my sensory bins I recommend putting a blanket down before giving the activity to your child. This week it was particularly helpful because my daughter really liked smashing the water beads. At some point she started making a pile of smashed and unsmashed water beads.
My daughter loved both of these sensory bins and she alternated between both all week. They were really nice to pull out when I needed to hop into a work meeting or had to get food going.
Crafts
We are really big on crafts in my home. My crafting supplies have long taken over my spouse’s music room!
Fine motor skill octopus
This was one of my favorites that we did this week! It did require some prep work, but overall it only took 2 or 3 minutes to put together.
Play-Doh and Buttons Activity
This activity was pretty low prep and a great way I introduce camouflage to my daughter!
Gluing Activity
This was a fun spin on my make a letter activity! It did require a bit of drawing skills though!
Benefits
This gluing activity is a fun way to work on your child’s fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination!
It is also a great activity to do when you need your child to work independently. I usually set one of these up when I need to do dishes or get breakfast started.
Supplies
- Paper
- Marker
- Liquid glue
- Cereal, beans, or dry noodles
How to do it
Draw a picture of an ocean animal on a piece of paper. If you aren’t super confident in your drawing skills, you can print a picture.
Cover the picture in liquid glue.
Find something your child can glue to the picture. I like using a bowl of cereal because then my daughter can snack while crafting!
Printable Under the Sea Activities
My DIY Do A Dot pages were a big hit this week. If you want to use the exact same pictures printables, you can check out the links below.
Under the Sea Letter and Number Do a Dot pages
Blank Under the Sea Do a Dot pages
