CENTERS that have worked in our kindergarten class
Submarine...
Use an appliance box to create a mini-submarine. First cut an access hole in the back of the box. Cut portholes for viewing and cover with plastic wrap. Draw marine animals on the outside along with plants. Hang fish in front of the windows. Add gadgets inside the box for instrument panels. Place the box in the housekeeping area.
Sorting
The Sea...
Have the children study seashells, sand dollars, and other sea items have the
children sort them into their own categories.
(by color, shape, size, how they feel, if they can hear the ocean….)
What
is Sand?...
Use a magnifying glass to examine sand. Talk about how sand is actually tiny pieces of rocks, shells or coral. Explain that sand is created when materials such as rocks rub together. Over time, tiny pieces of rock wear off and these pieces become sand. To explain this concept have the children rub two sugar cubes together to make "sand". My children had fun with this.
Measurement
(How big is a whale?)
For a wonderful outside (or use the halls of your center) lesson in measurement, buy a 100 ft. rope or twine. Tell the children that the ball of twine that you have is the same size as the largest mammal in the ocean--The Blue Whale. Take the children to a place that will stretch 100 ft, and have them pull the twine until they reach the end. They will be squealing at seeing how large a 100 ft. Blue Whale is. Expand with predictions: How many children would it take to make a blue whale? How many blocks? How many paper plates? Could a Blue Whale fit in your car? Your house? etc..
Water Table
To
create a more interesting water play table, put various plastic fish and
underwater animals in the water. Put in rocks, small boats for fishing, shells,
objects that might be used for tunnels for the fish. You can also put a little
sand at the bottom to give the feeling of the bottom of the ocean. Oh and of
course some small plastic plants. Create and ocean and talk about the ocean and
the various life connected to the ocean as well as the importance of the ocean
to us humans.
Science Experiment
This is to show your students that warm water rises. Fill a clear container of water with cold water. Add hot water with blue food coloring in it to show the children warm water rises. You can expand by telling them that's how some fish live. for instance whales can live in the deep ocean while a smaller fish would live at the top where the water is warmer.
Sing "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" Have the children stand up every time you sing a word that begins with the letter "B". bonnie, bring, back It's lots of fun, and of course, you can go faster and slower too!!
Fish
Are Swimming...(Frère
Jacques)
Fish
are swimming, fish are swimming,
In
the sea, in the sea,
A-splishing
and a-splashing,
A-splishing
and a-splashing,
Look
and see, look and see.
Take Me Out to the Ocean...
(Take
Me Out to the Ball game)
Take
me out to the ocean
Take
me out to the sea
There
goes a starfish and sand dollar,
I'm
having such fun, I've just got to holler
Oh,
it's swim, swim, swim, underwater
Catch
a ride on a whale, don't fear,
For
the sea animals are our friends,
Let's
give a great big cheer!
Scooping
Up Sand...
(Ten
Little Indians)
Scoop up sand and put it in your bucket.
Scoop up sand and put it in your bucket.
Scoop up sand and put it in your bucket.
How much do you have?
I
Went Smimming In The Ocean...
(I've
Been Working on the Railroad)
I went swimming in the ocean
On a summer day.
I went swimming in the ocean
And kicked, and splashed and played.
After lunch we looked for seashells
I found three or four
You can hold one up to your ear
And hear the ocean roar.
Hear the ocean roar
Hear the ocean roar.
You can hear the ocean
Roar, roar, roar.
Hear the ocean roar
Hear the ocean roar
Hear the ocean roar, roar, roar.
I
Went To The Beach...
I went to the beach
And what did I see?
A bird on the sand
Using fingers- make thumb and index finger touch
Looking at me!
each other making a birds beak
I went to the beach
And what did I see?
A fish in the water
Using hand and make it like a fish swimming
Splashing at me!
I went to the beach
And what did I see?
A shell in the sand
Make one fist with one hand and have the other
Sparkling at me!
finger tap top of fist
I went to the beach
And what did I see?
Make a crab using all 10 fingers (place hand over
A crab in its shell
other hand and wiggle fingers)
Waving at me!
Here
is a Sea Gull Song...
(Frère
Jacques)
I
see sea gulls
I
see sea gulls,
At
the beach,
At
the beach,
Soaring,
diving, fishing,
Soaring,
diving, fishing,
At
the beach,
At
the beach.
Other
verses:
I
hear the ocean,
I
hear the ocean,
At
the beach,
At
the beach,
Crashing,
splashing, foaming
Crashing,
splashing, foaming,
At
the beach,
At
the beach.
Off
I Go Fishing...
Off I go a-fishing, a-fishing, a-fishing,
Off
I go a-fishing,
To
the sparkling brook.
I
hope there is a big one, a big one, a big one,
I
hope there is a big one,
To
nibble on my hook.
First
I cast my line in, my line in, my line in,
first
I cast my line in.
And
hold the pole so tight.
Watch the bobber go under, go under, go under,
Watch
the bobber go under-
I
think I've got a bite!
Now I start a-reeling, a-reeling, a-reeling,
Now
I start a-reeling,
This
fish must weigh a lot!
Here it comes a-wriggling, a-wriggling, a-wriggling
Here
it comes a-wriggling-
Just
see what I have caught!
Have
the kids pantomime the actions when singing this
FIVE
LITTLE SEASHELLS
Five
little seashells lying on the shore; (hold up five fingers)
Swish!
went the waves, and then there were two (bend down one finger)
"Down
By the Bay" Rhyming Lesson
Materials
Required: Rhyming picture cards, music for "Down By the Bay" by Raffi,
paper and crayons for big book.
1.
Show children the rhyming cards which are pairs or 3 word pictures that rhyme
like cat, bat, mat. Explain that words that rhyme sound the same at the end of
the word.
2.
Give out a card to each student and then have them find their rhyming partner
and sit with them. Go over the matches together and put them up together
on a pocket chart.
3.
Teach the children the song "Down By the Bay" by Raffi, clapping the
song with them. Then try to add verses to the song by looking at the rhyming
card pairs the class made earlier. Such as "Did you ever see a bone talking
on a phone?" "Did you ever see a clown sitting on a crown?" etc.
They should be silly rhymes, the sillier the better. (You'll find that they want
to put "kissing" in most of the rhymes because the one verse on the
song has that.)
4.
Write out the made up verses on the board or chart paper. You can also include
the original ones from Raffi. The children can then illustrate a big book page
for that rhyme and write or dictate the verse that goes with the illustration.
5.
Put together the big book (you can make it watermelon shaped if you wish) and
use it for the next time that you sing "Down By the Bay."
Down
By The Bay
Down
by the Bay, where the watermelons grow,
Back
to my home, I dare not go.
refrain
Did
you ever see a whale with a polka-dotted tail
refrain
Did
you ever see a fly, wearing a tie
refrain
Did
you ever see a bear combing his hair
Did
you ever see llamas, eating their pajamas
refrain
Did
you ever have a time, when you couldn't make a rhyme,
Down
by the Shore
(tune of "Down by the Bay")
Down
by the shore
In
the sand and the sun
I
like to dive and splash and run
and
as the waves
roll
out and in
I'll
get warm in the sun
and
have lots of fun
Down
by the shore
To
"The Wheels on the Bus"
The
sharks in the sea go chomp, chomp, chomp!
chomp,
chomp, chomp!
chomp,
chomp, chomp!
The
sharks in the sea go chomp, chomp, chomp!
All
through the day!
The
fish in the sea go swim, swim, swim...
The
lobsters in the sea go pinch, pinch, pinch...
The
octopus in the sea go wiggle wiggle wiggle...
The
sea horse in the sea rocks back and forth...
The
whale in the sea goes quirt squirt squirt...
The
clam in the sea goes open and shut...
The
crabs in the sea go click click click...
The
jellyfish in the sea go "bloop bloop bloop"!
We
had the kids tell us different sea creatures and this is what they told us:
The
Whales
I'm
a humpback whale,
I'm
a mighty orca
GAMES
Crab
Races...
Have
children practice walking like crabs. Once they are able to move in that
position, they are ready to race. The children may have individual races
or team races. Children may race forward or backwards.
Octopus...
Mark
a goal line at each end of playing field. Choose a child to be the
octopus, the rest of the children are fish. The object is for the octopus
to catch the fish by tagging them with a sponge ball. If a child gets hit
they must freeze and become an octopus tentacle. The tentacle may help the
octopus by using their hands outstretched to tag fish. Only the octopus
may move however.
To
begin playing, all fish line up at one goal line. The octopus calls out,
"Fish, fish, swim in my ocean." At this command the fish must
try to cross the ocean without getting caught. The last one to be tagged
is the next octopus
ART
Sand
Drawings...
Spread newspaper over the table. Have the children draw pictures by
squeezing glue into a picture. Then have the children sprinkle sand over
the glue and set aside to dry.
Stuff
a Sea Animal...
Have
the students create beautiful bubble prints on 2 pieces of 8x14 paper. (using tempera
paint, dishwashing liquid and water) Let
dry. Trace the
figure of their favorite sea animal from our favorite story “Rainbow
fish” by Marcus Pfister. . Making sure that when they trace and cut to
have the paper doubled.. Staple the two pieces together but leave a hole
on one side to stuff the animal. Stuff the animal with plastic bags that
have been shredded. Staple shut.
Don’t forget to add the final details such as a glittering scale.
The animals look great hanging from the ceiling.
(see the photo called Bubble Fun)
Sea Life Art: Paint a fish, yes a real fish (about 14-20 inches long) with a paint brush. Lift onto paper toweling or muslin. Nice print and kids love the fish !!!! I prefer to do this outside.
Fish
in the Sea
Need:
paper plates, paint, saran wrap, fish shapes
Children
color or paint paper plates blue and green. Children can either draw or cut out
colored fish from construction paper. Fish can be glued to paper plate. Cover
paper plate with saran wrap. Attach string and hang from ceiling
A wonderful story to read for this activity is Swimmy by Leo Lionni. Lovely mix of colors in this story book.
Crayon Rubbings
The Children were very excited when their crayon rubbings turned into animals. During center time the children liked to copy the names of sea animals.
SNACKS
Taste Tests
Which
is your favorite?
Bring
in different types of seafood to try during snack time (watch out for
allergies!) Our favorite sea food
was tuna, shrimp and salmon. We did
not like sea weed, sardines and squid.
Beach
Food....
Our
dollar store has gummi octopuses and fish. I made a big bowl (clear bowl)
of blue Jello and then let the kids add an octopus, fish or worm (eel) to their
water--Jello. They loved this.
Sand
Pudding...
"Sand"
pudding--vanilla pudding with graham cracker crumbs sprinkled on the top and a
gummy worm protruding from the pudding cup.
Edible
Aquariums
Get
in the swim of things with these fun-to-make edible aquariums. To make an edible
aquarium, add a few drops of blue food coloring to a container of softened cream
cheese. Spread some of the cream cheese mixture atop a piece of melba toast;
then press on a few tiny goldfish crackers. These snack sensations are sure to
make a splash with your youngsters!
Class
Books
A
House For Hermit Crab
by
Eric Carle
Sand
Dollar, Sand Dollar
by
Joyce Audy Dos Santos
Whale
Song
by
Tony Johnston
Who
Sank the Boat
by
Pamila Allen
Is
This a House for Hermit Crab by
Megan McDonald
At
the Beach
by
Anne Rockwell
Clams
Can't Sing
by
James Stevenson
Swimmy
by
Leo Lionni
One
Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
by
Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel
The
Rainbow Fish
by
Marcus Pfister, J. Alison James (Translator)
Fish
Eyes
by
Lois Ehlert My kids
enjoyed this story, they love to count. We
have colored fish counters we use for math sentences and sorting.
Hello,
Fish! : Visiting the Coral Reef by
Sylvia A. Earle, Wolcott Henry (Illustrator)
Commotion
in the Ocean by
Giles Andreae, David Wojtowycz (Illustrator)
This
book is an adorable addition to anyone's book collection. A different ocean
animal is featured on each page. Along with the picture is a short poem about
the animal. Children love the pictures and the rhyming text. Also check out
Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae. It has the same type of text and
illustrations but involves jungle animals.
We love these stories!!!
Math:
During our sea unit we worked on counting and simple math sentences. The children liked to set up their own sentences for each other.
Math
sentence fun!
Puzzles
Rainbow Fish was our favorite fictional fish. The fish in our ocean all have their own glossy scale.
Performances:
Charlotte
Diamond’s song “Octopus” (10 carrot diamond CD). Our
whales have humongous mouths.
Every one wants a turn to be the animals in the food chain song “Octopus”. Our puppets are hand made, and were the best investment.
