Beach/Water Themes

Aquarium 

Try an underwater theme picture for learning about the ocean week. This activity has numerous possibilities and provides your toddler with a wonderful opportunity to explore sensory motor skills. You can adapt what materials you will be using from what your child is capable of and their age.

You will need blue construction paper, or a piece of card stock finger-painted blue, various finger paint colors, mini wheel macaroni, glitter, sand, Elmer's glue, Lo Mien noodles, and a paint brush.

Start by preparing your blue ocean. You can do this activity in sections, a little each day so if you want to start a day, have your toddler just paint the background blue. Fill small Tupperware lids with various colors of finger paint and let your toddler swirl the lo mien noodles in them to paint them. This is much easier than using a brush and is a fun way to get dirty. Once they are coated, have your toddler spread them out on a piece of newspaper to dry as the background dries. The next day, have your toddler make thumb print fish throughout the background. To do this, use your thumb as the fish body and then paint a small triangle for the tail on the end. For those small a blob or personal creativity will do! Once this is dry, have your child paint where the sand is with glue. Cover the glue with sand mixed with glitter for a little shine. Once the ocean bottom is finished, you are ready for the fun part. Let your toddler use the prepared sea weed (noodles) and shells (macaroni) to complete their underwater picture. You can use this time to talk about the ocean and how it provides many things for sea life. You can shape the lo mien noodles to almost anything as well, starfish, coral, jellyfish, ect… Let your imaginations run wild!

This activity is sure to get your toddler thinking about all the wonderful things the ocean has to provide. It is not only a fun way to learn, but it will expand your toddlers sensory motor skills with numerous colors, shapes, and textures to talk about. Use this activity as a stand alone, or with a A (aquarium), O (ocean), or F (fish) theme week.

Jellyfish Activity

You will need a coffee filter, clear plastic cup, markers or pens, tentacles (tissue paper, yarn, wool, string, tulle, ect…), and clear tape.

Start by coloring the coffee filter with pens and or markers. Wet the coffee filter with a few sprinkles, a water spray bottle, or a damp sponge. You can watch the colors blend together. Let the filter dry and while waiting thread some string through the base of the plastic cup so it hangs upside down. Then thread the string through the base of the filter so it hangs upside down and hides the cup. Now, cut long thin streamers of tissue paper (or whatever product you chose to use) and stick them to the base of the cup and filter using the clear tape.

Developmental skills your toddler will be learning include; letter J recognition, fine motor skills including using markers, tape, and threading and lacing practice.

These make a great hanging item from a room and your toddler will enjoy playing with them. For small children, even those 4 and under, we recommend that you prepare all pieces ahead of time. Check out our Beach/Water Theme section for more underwater activities! Toddlers do not have a lot of patience, so having all the materials ready will help the craft go smoother

Thumbprint Fish 

You will need for this activity finger-paints, blue construction paper and a paint brush for this activity.

For small children, try not to be too picky, they may enjoy just making a mess as opposed to following any instructions. However, for those a little older a thumbprint makes an excellent fish body where all that is left is a triangle tail and eye. You can complete those parts after you have thumb printed the piece of construction paper. For those children that are small, you can add the triangle and eye for them after you gather their thumbprints.

Your toddler will have a blast with this motor skill activity. It is a perfect opportunity for you to talk about the letter F. You can also use it as you explore an underwater theme. Check out the underwater aquarium for more great ideas for a sea adventure week!