"Schools" of Other Stuff!!!
"Schools" of Other Stuff
Ocean Sounds/Movement
Tape record sounds from the ocean or use a relaxation cassette featuring ocean sound. Play the cassette for your students and have them pretend to jump over the waves,
swim, surf, move like crabs, octopuses, sea snails, sea gulls, etc.
Sounds of the Ocean
Let students listen to a conch shell for ocean sounds.
Ocean Play Center
Set up a center for all your neat ocean stuff and watch the children dive right in!
You will need the following:
- child's swimming pool (either inflatable or hard plastic will do)
- snorkel and mask
- fins
- bulletin board paper
- flourescent paints
- flourescent light
- diving tank (made by taping two 2-liter soda bottles together and add string for straps)
- ocean sounds tape
- anything else you may want to add to make the area more life-like
Use the bulletin board paper as a backdrop. Let children use the flourescent paints to paint an ocean mural.
This looks real neat when you use the flourescent light! Be sure to warn children to NOT put the snorkel in their mouth! If you will allow them to really use it, have alcohol handy to clean after each use!!
Fish Puzzle
- Line the lid of a shoe box with construction paper.
- Cut an oak tag fish shape large enough to fit inside the lid.
- Trace the fish onto the lid then cut the oak tag fish into puzzle pieces.
- Trace each puzzle piece on the fish inside the lid.
Write upper case letters on the lid and matching lower case letters on the puzzle pieces.
Variation: rhyming words, numbers and number words, pictures and words, etc.
Ocean Concentration
Purchase two sets of ocean stickers (or one set if there are duplicates in the same package)
- Attach the stickers to unlined index cards.
- Make sure you have two cards of each type of sticker.
- Let the children lay the cards face down and take turns trying to find the match.
- This is played just like the regular Concentration game.
A School of Funny Fish
- Take a photo of each student's face or reproduce a copy of the class picture and cut photos apart.
- Discuss what it would be like to be a fish and live under water. How would it feel to breathe through gills and not be able to talk? What kind of fish would they like to be? Where would they live and what would they eat?
- Have each student draw and color a fish and then glue their photo on the fishes "face". After cutting the fish out, students can glue them to blue construction paper. Leave enough room for them to dictate or write a short description about themselves. (as a fish)
Awards and Miscellaneous Sayings
- You are swimming along in .....
- You've made a big splash!
- Dive into a good book!
- A Whale of a Good Job!
- Get "Hooked" on......
Culmination Activity: Splash Day!!!
- As a grand finale to your ocean unit, you may want to have a "Fun in the Sun Day" or "Splash Day".
- All the kindergarten teachers at my school get together and plan a day filled with all kinds of activities for the children.
- These are some of the ideas incorporated in the past (you can probably think of other neat things as well!).
- Have sprinklers set up and also childrens swimming pools for the children to play in the water.
- Have a water table and put bubble solution in it or plain water and add water toys.
- Fill a hard plastic childrens pool with sand and add sandbox toys.
- Let the children use sidewalk chalk.
- Have a bubble area set up and have some neat bubble wands, too!
- Have parents volunteer to bring grills and have a cookout complete with burgers and dogs!
Here is a sample letter that we send to the families:
Dear Parents,
Friday, May 23, we will have our annual Splash Day for Kindergarten! We have various stations the children go to and do various activities at each station. This will be part of our ocean unit and it is LOTS of FUN!
Each child must bring:
- a change of clothes (complete: shoes, socks, underwear,etc.)
- a towel (please label)
- they MUST wear old shoes and OLD clothes- these shoes and clothes will get wet!! NO bathing suits
Activities will include:
- splashing/wading pool and sprinklers
- sand tables
- water tables
- bubbles/sidewalk chalk
Thank you for your cooperation!