Friendly Frogs Under the Sea

Literature:
Book: Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae
Book: Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
This is a classic and I highly recommend it for every house with small children.
Book: Sharks by Scholastic Books

Dramatic Play: Underwater Adventure I used a roll of blue tablecloth, Busy Bee artwork, and crepe paoper to decorate the classroom like the ocean. Let them be a fish, and octopus, a shark, an eel, a whale, a squeaky dolphin, a crab, a starfish…

Fine Motor Centers:
Ocean Adventure magnet scene
Let's Go Fishing!
Art: Square Rainbow Fish

I gave each of the children 7 precut squares in varying sizes and colors and encouraged them to create their very own Rainbow Fish.

Math: Sorting seashells by color, shape, and size

Science: Land Animals vs Water Animals Chart

We used the flannel board to sort which animals live in water and which live on land.

Science: Sharks!

We read the shark book and talked about different kinds of sharks. Some are large, but others are small. Some are freshwater sharks. Some sharks have a funny shaped head! I showed them a shark tooth and we looked at pictures of the inside of a shark's mouth. I pointed out the multiple rows/sets of teeth on a shark. We learned that a person who studies sharks is called an Oceanographer.

Practical Life: What do fish need to live? Why can’t we live under water?

Language: adding to our list of P Words

Gross Motor: Crab Walk! How I wish I had taken a photo of this one....it was hysterical. Of course, they would probably say the same thing about me, since I demonstrated how to crab walk for them and I am certain I looked ridiculous. I set up some sea shells and encouraged the children to crab walk around each of the shells and back to their seat. Soooo funny. My favorite part was when Claire told me she can't crab walk because "fishes don't have arms, Mrs Meg! That's so silly!" I'll remember to have a photo of a crab to show the children next time. Too cute.

Music and Movement: Aquatic Songs
A Sailor Went to Sea Sea Sea
Slippery Fish
Tiny Turtle Tim
Baby Shark
Down by the Bay

Snack: ocean blue jell-o, gold fish pretzels and cheddar whales

Sensory: Magic Beans!
I bought a pack of those water-soluble capsules that have the tiny sponges in them. The children picked out capsules, looked at the photo on the package, and guessed which type of sea creature their capsule would be. They had to wait a few minutes and massage the capsules in their hands to get them to dissolve, but it was worth the wait. I did this activity during transportation week and they loved it. No surprise that it was a big hit again!



Boo. Under the Sea week usually means the school year is almost over.
I am going to miss them.